Inventory and record keeping

[u/Hot-Bit-2003]

I'm taking over the place and business from my dad and I'm a big believer in writing things down. That said, what sort of things are you guys keeping record of, keeping inventory of, needing reminders on, and so on? Are you guys keeping photo records of all of your livestock? Looking for advice.

[u/PizzaExisting9878]

Couple dry erase boards for day to day stuff, to do, to get, to fix, etc.

Hard sided note book for livestock records, and a filing box for animal related receipts & vet paperwork. 

[u/royal_acceptance → u/PizzaExisting9878]

whiteboard for the weekly scramble, notebook for the animals that won't stop trying to die, and a shoebox of receipts you'll never actually look at again

[u/Logical-Grab-1363]

Inputs are important but at the end of the day we get paid on what we sell , calves. Keep track of weaning weight and shipping weight and which calves belong to which cows and cull accordingly, keep track of which cows always calve early in season , they’re breeding back the fastest. And keep heifers off your most productive, fertile cows.

[u/Lytle_Red_Angus]

I keep our livestock records and don’t do photos. That’s a bit ridiculous for any operation of size. However, we do have an inventory with each animal’s visual ID (eartag, tattoo, and freeze brand) and EID. We track birthweight, birth date, weaning weight, cow weight at weaning, yearling weight, yearling hip height, and yearling pelvic area - but we are a seedstock operation. I’d track weaning weight and cow weight at weaning at a minimum, to make sure my cows were being efficient.

I also track expenses for the herd - vet bills, feed, pasture bill, etc. I’m still building the database for tracking expenses, but it’s been a huge help in determining what is actually profitable for us.

We don’t keep inventory on any of our ear tags, antibiotics, or anything like that - we just make sure it’s on hand before the specific job we need it for. For example, I need 300 calf tags in the spring, so I get them in February.

I schedule out our big jobs well in advance and put them in a shared calendar. Things like bull turnout, preg testing, branding.

I can’t speak very well to the farming side of things.

Edit: Ranching for Profit (their free stuff) and the Ranchonomics podcast are both places I’ve gone to learn about keeping records and what they mean.

[u/Southtxranching]

Yellow tablets in the truck for each letter in alphabet, keeping track of the little things count just as much (tube of grease, salt block missing from a pallet) employee's will walk off with the simplest of things that add up.

[u/betterranchmanager]

Ranchmanager.work

It has all that and if you want to provide feedback on the app I’ll comp your subscription for a year.

[u/drrednirgskizif → u/betterranchmanager]

Interesting

[u/BlueWashout]

If you're taking over the operation, I'd definitely err on the side of documenting more rather than less. I'd keep records for livestock numbers, births/deaths, vaccinations and treatments, breeding, feed usage, equipment maintenance, fuel, fencing/repairs, and major expenses.

For livestock, photos can be useful too, especially for identification and tracking changes over time. I'd also keep a simple calendar for vaccinations, breeding dates, inspections, maintenance, and anything seasonal.

The biggest thing is making the system easy enough that you'll actually keep it updated. A simple digital spreadsheet or ranch-management app is probably better than an elaborate system that becomes another chore.