I know that I have been guilty of breeding a heifer and writing the information on a piece of paper and never getting it written down where it counts.We call those pregnancies "immaculate conceptions."There isn't a bull in sight and still she has a 35-day calf in her.No one wants to admit that the wind blew away an important piece of paper with her breeding data on it.

 

There are several great computer programs available to help us keep track of heifer information. They include PC Dart, Heifer Pro and Dairy Comp 305. When we first started breeding heifers, I kept all of our breeding records on a self-made Excel file. I thought we could keep track of when she was bred and when she would calve. Once my veterinarian convinced me to get a program, I was blown away. Not only did it calculate days until next breeding or vet check, you could also record vaccinations, treatments and about any other scheduled events you and your vet could come up with.

 

I chose to buy Dairy Comp 305 by Valley Ag Software. When I first got the program I really didn't use it much except for the few breeding features they helped me set up. Now we put in any information that is done to a heifer on our farm. From vaccinations to respiratory treatments, we record anything we do.It takes a lot of time and effort, but we have great records and know everything that has ever been done to every heifer.We know if a heifer is having breeding problems or if she had four treatments for mastitis. This has taken some of the guess workout of culling. If you raise heifers for different dairies, you can even keep track of individual clients for billing purposes.

 

I strongly suggest that if you don't have a computer program, such as the ones listed above, that you invest some time and money into your business.These programs do take some time to understand, but once you get the hang of it you will wonder how you ever lived without it.