Herd records (breeding, pregnancy checks, births, weaning, treatments, etc.) have value from several perspectives including performance evaluation and economics. Unfortunately, most farms use a notebook or assorted formats of records that are incomplete and rarely digital. A digital format allows sorting, aggregation and analysis (by cow, calf, breed, date etc.) in a much easier manner. A template (or example database for you to duplicate) was assembled so you can obtain and keep these records digitally in a simple manner. This template is configured to facilitate detailed records related to:
- Artificial insemination
- Natural breeding
- Embryo transfer
- Pregnancy checking
- Calving
- Weaning
- Treatments
This template is based on Airtable, which is a cloud database platform that offers free services plus additional features for a fee. We believe it will be a rare instance for your Herd Records to require the paid level of service.
Don’t let “database” scare you … these are just lists, essentially.
Since many are new to AirTable and may be also new to the Digitizing records of farm records of any type, we have generated a series of four short (less than 40 minutes total!!) videos that walk you step-by-step through the process of getting the templates, customizing them to your own needs, and getting your reports downloaded to your own computer. We encourage you to watch part 1 which demonstrates the simple forms (like the one illustrated below) and illustrates the types of records you will have. You will see that the reporting can readily be done on a smart phone (or computer) literally in seconds. If that seems applicable to you, and we believe many will find this to be true, parts 2-4 explain all you need to know to have streamlined, digital, and private yet sharable records.
You will want to watch these training sessions in the proper order the first time for them to make the most sense. You may want to refer back to particular section as you duplicate and deploy this template for your operation. Be aware that this set of 4 videos will not cover all features of Airtable, but will cover all you need to know to take the Beef Herd template we have assembled and customize it for your operation.
Part 1: Brief demonstration of Airtable forms and results (9:58) | https://youtu.be/4OZ-gYYsne0
Part 2: Copying template and controlling access (6:45) | https://youtu.be/BvcxHzVwqTc
Part 3: Customizing the template for your operation and sharing the form (14:20) | https://youtu.be/EX6hgVbCHKE
Part 4: Airtable features of the template and exporting your data (5:47) | https://youtu.be/gn30P3nUppQ
This set of videos does not explain all that Airtable can do but will enable you to use this quickly. As covered in part 4, you will be able to export your data as csv and bring it into your software of choice (spreadsheet or other) for other analysis.
Finally … here is the view only link to the database template. After viewing those orientation/training/demonstration videos, you should be able to duplicate, then customize and deploy this for your operation.
Digital Beef Herd Records via Airtable
There are many additional applications of this same approach like machinery maintenance, income and expenses, field records, marketing and delivery records, and more. You can read about them here in a separate post about private databases for agriculturalists. There you will also find a link to recorded workshop (just 43 minutes long) on how to build your own database for other types of records.
