cattle management software

Jim and Hedi Sokalski and their family operate Ridge Lane Ranch, located northeast of Vegreville, Alberta, Canada. Vegreville is approximately an hour east of the capital city of Edmonton.

Ridge Lane Ranch has been utilizing CattleMax software as their cattle record keeping system since early 2008. The ranch consists of 1200 acres, varying in soil type from black loam to marginal sandy soil. Most of the pastures contain some woodlot which provides shelter for the animals. Running with the cattle are Llamas which eat plant and bush species cattle will not eat. Jim says, "We are in the process of setting up the pastures to utilize rotational grazing, bale grazing and other strategies to improve soil and water quality. My policy is to make the cows work for me, not me working for the cows."

The ranch currently runs approximately 110 breeding cows, the majority of which are comprised of purebred Gelbvieh and Gelbvieh cross. About a quarter of the cow herd is made up of cattle of Red Angus origin. "We are basically a cow/calf operation, raising cattle in as natural a setting as we are able, and since changing to a late May, June and July calving season, we also feed most calves through part of the winter," Jim comments. "Our replacement heifers are sourced from within our calf crop with emphasis on well-rounded individuals. I tend to lean toward the purchase of polled bulls, however, a good horned animal is always worth considering."

As Canada began a push to traceability in the country's cow herds, a Verified Beef Production program was set in place on a voluntary basis. The program gave partial refunds on certain items designated to make life easier for the Canadian cattleman. Several record keeping programs, including CattleMax, were in the list for the partial refunds. Downloading a number of trial versions of record keeping software, among them CattleMax, Jim began evaluating the programs.

Many of the programs were good, but the one which showed through for Jim was CattleMax. "I believe this program is the most comprehensive program out there at this time," Jim says. "An animal's pedigree is very important to me, so I chose to purchase the CattleMax Registered Standard edition. It took many evenings to fill in the pedigrees of the active and reference animals for my herd, but once I had them in the system, it's made a huge savings of time with the auto fill feature when an animal is added to the system."

Lineage is very important to the operation and Jim is really pleased to be able to have the 5 generation pedigree available through CattleMax. Also, he says, having access to a cow record and her production over the years, all at a click of the mouse button, is certainly important. Jim uses the Cattle Inventory by Pasture customizable list to take with him to the pasture to help him determine which animals should be in a particular pasture. "In order to keep parentage accurate, this is of great help to me. It's easy to jot down any notes on the hard copy while staring a cow in the eye and later transfer the notes to CattleMax," comments Jim.

One of the other favorite features of CattleMax is the Rainfall record. "I monitor and report rainfall to the local crop insurance office and that information is stored for years and not lost - like a paper copy can be."

Tips for other users of CattleMax software: "Don't be afraid to get into the program and experiment with it. You will not only learn to work your way around in it, but you will also find many useful and handy tools at your fingertips. CattleMax can do almost anything but go to the pasture to check on the cattle!"

Jim likes the ease with which a producer can sort through the herd for whatever reason, using the filters and different criteria found in the reports. Pasture movement and bull turn out is made so simple with the group work (Herd Update) features. No need to do one animal at a time - records can be changed much quicker and easier, so much so, it's almost a pleasure to move a group of cattle.

Before CattleMax, Ridge Lane Ranch utilized a notebook made up with individual cow records and other charts designed for their use and record keeping. With the use of electronic identification coming into effect, Jim realized a need for a better, more accurate, fool-proof system of recording pertinent information - CattleMax filled that need.

Jim says, "I like to brag up my CattleMax program at any opportunity I can find. I've also informed several of my horse buddies about EquineMax! And, the service is second to none! I have had a case where I sent my entire program information (herd file) by internet to the CattleMax office, it was fixed and sent back to me online and free of charge. Updated aspects of the program are easy to download when available, keeping the program as current as possible. Where do you get that kind of service these days?"

Having recently added both an RFID reader and electronic weigh scale, I find Cattlemax excellent to work with when entering EID information or weights, Jim says. Both instruments have memory capabilities and entering that information into Cattlemax is very simple and mistake proof. From reviewing the individual cow records, I am also able to see production at a glance as I compare production over the years. Any question as to location of an individual animal, just check the general screen and you will see at a glance where the animal is to be found. It's almost like managing your herd from the comfort of your house. Cattlemax is one program that is usually opened in the morning of a day and the last thing to be shut down at the end of a day.