PrimeTime_Fall_2018

USEFUL CATTLE RECORDS AND DATA Continued from page 52

points for you to use immediately in the day-to- day management of your animals. For example, a report might give the pro- ducer a list of all calves born and not weaned, with date of birth, sire and dam, birth weight, adjusted birth weight, sex, pedigree EPDs, pasture location and management group. This report could be filtered by birth date, sire, birth weight, adjusted birth weight and so on. As you think about this report, maybe the next logical report or even part of the calving history report would be a section that would give the produc- er a list of all sires represented in the calving group; the number of calves, by sex, each one sires; and their average birth weights, adjusted birth weights and their average pedigree EPDs. Such a report could enable a producer to see and compare sire performance on a real-time basis. Then the producer could tell if all sires were performing similarly at birth or if one had unusually high (or low) birth weights. A producer should not have to wait for days, months or even years to see actual or expected performance. Technology gives us the op- portunity to have real-time management data available at all times. To accomplish this, the producer should be collecting data, cow-side, that is entered into a system that seamlessly moves data to your management software, your breed associations and back to your manage- ment software. With the right software, data can be housed in cloud servers, allowing it to track with the animal at the time of sale, based on permission levels at both the producer and purchaser level. Neither party should have to waste time transferring data. By the end of 2018, we will introduce an off- line operating app, DigitalBeef CowSide, that will allow for data capture via Bluetooth-con- nected electronic identification readers, scale readers and more. This app will automatically synchronize to DigitalBeef Herd Management Software once your device is connected to the internet via wi-fi or using a mobile hotspot. Therefore, your management software will remain up-to-date without any additional effort, and all resulting processes will be sent back to DigitalBeef CowSide, keeping your records up- to-date at all times and across all devices. This synchronization will only involve relevant in- formation. The programs will track data from different cattle breeds, and record for commer- cial as well as registered herds. We have the technology to change the way we keep cattle records and the ability to have real-time data every day at any time. Stay tuned for more details on the release of DigitalBeef CowSide and DigitalBeef Herd Management Software. PT

The feeder will be able to better predict perfor- mance when every incoming animal comes with genetic, health and other relevant information. There is no doubt that animals delivered with data will have more value than those without. I do not believe that one system will fit all animals, but systems could be developed based on avail- able information to maximize performance. Since the mid-2000s, I have been working on registry programs, and I am now shifting my focus to cloud-based herd management and cow- side management software. This first started when I was a breed executive and, now, at DigitalBeef, it continues with beef breed associa- tions in the United States and Canada and with U.S. swine and equine associations. This expan- sion into working with other food and pleasure animals has given me a unique insight into the needs of beef, swine and equine associations. By the end of 2018, we will introduce an off-line operating app, DigitalBeef CowSide, that will allow for data capture via Bluetooth-connected electronic identification readers, scale readers and more. This app will automatically synchronize to DigitalBeef Herd Management Software once your device is connected to the internet via wi-fi or using a mobile hotspot. All associations, management software and producers have the same basic needs: a unique animal identifier and the ability to track unique events throughout an animal’s life. This data must be permanent, track with each animal, and include everything from breeding and ownership history to sale and harvest values and performance. Tracking and collecting this data should occur in real time and only be entered once. Data should move from manage- ment software to registry software to tracking software seamlessly so the producer should never have to reenter that data or have to make decisions on what to transfer. We have the ability to let data flow and create automated processes to group data in meaning- ful ways that will send associations the data they need for registrations to track ownership and performance, and to analyze data, whether for EPDs, indices or any other type of analysis. More important, data should flow seamlessly from the association to your management soft- ware to produce meaningful reports or data

Akaushi Prime Time • Fall 2018

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