cattle management software

Carl Andersen and his son, Mark, are partners in their cattle enterprise, Andersen Cattle Co., located near Lubbock, Texas. The commercial cow-calf operation consists of approximately 2500 acres, all pasture land. Supplemental income comes from leasing 1900 acres to deer and turkey hunters.

The Andersens began in a small way in 1992 on a small ranch and with registered Beefmaster cattle. After teaching at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, with no agricultural background of any sort, Carl decided it was time to do what he had always wanted to do - get into the cattle ranching business. Seven years later, in 1999, the present ranch was purchased and stocked with 113 bred heifers.

Since that time, the operation has switched from registered Beefmaster cows and bulls to commercial cows and Simangus bulls. The number of cows has been reduced the past couple of years because of an extended drought.

CattleMax software was first purchased in 2001 after Carl attended a program presented by Penny and Terrell Miller (CattleMax creators) at the Texas A&M University School for Successful Ranching. Carl says, "I bought the program with some excitement, but that was as far as it went. When I got home and started entering data, I simple bogged down - and quit."

That was as far as the CattleMax record keeping went until a couple of years ago when Carl saw the program presented again at the TAMU school. Upgrading to CattleMax CS, and beginning again, "This time I took the time to enter all my cattle properly," Carl says. "From that time on, CattleMax has been my record. It is simple to use, has many useful components and gives me the tax information I need. I can also print paper lists to take with me to the field. In a word - I love it!"

Carl says his favorite feature of CattleMax is the instant access to all the records about a given cow. But, he advises, "Be patient in getting set up. In the beginning, entering all the information is a bit tedious, but the helpfulness over time way more than makes up for it. Entering all your cattle data accurately is, in fact, a mountain to climb in the beginning, but it is a smooth, downhill coast all the rest of the way."

"I most often use the report with a description of the cows and each of their records," Carl says. Before purchasing and using CattleMax, Carl kept all the records in a hardback lined notebook - not a convenient system, he comments. "Our operation has benefitted greatly from CattleMax quite simply by accurate, accessible record keeping," Carl says.