The Sunday Mail
Farmer’s Diary
Sheuneni Kurasha
Welcome dear reader to this column where we explore all things farming.
Last week I looked at the significance of well-planned and organised records in livestock farming and went into greater detail on identification records, breeding records and fertility records.
As I promised the readers, this week I am continuing with the issue of record keeping in livestock production, focusing specifically on production records, feeding records, financial records, as well as disease and treatment records.
Production records are an important tool in measuring the performance of each individual animal as well as the entire herd. Accordingly, production records are very central in assessing the economic performance and viability of the farming business. Since production records can reveal, inter alia, how many animals produce how much and what that translates to in monetary terms, it thus assists the farmer in making decisions related to investments on the farm.
In order to have accurate production records, the farmer must record information on animal products such eggs per hen per week and milk per cow per day and the quality of the milk.
For slaughter animals such as steers and castrates, vital production information such as daily weight (to determine weight gain or loss), weaning age and weight, production period and number of animals that reach slaughter stage, must be recorded. Accurate production records help the farmer to know how much is available daily, weekly or during the production sale or selling season.
Another important component of record keeping is feeding records, that is, what is the type, quantity and quality of the feed given to the animals. Such information is cardinal to the day-to-day management and adjustment of feed ration.
When analysed together with data related to production, feeding records can help the farmer to adjust quality and quantity of feed given to each category of animals such as milking cows, pregnant ewes and calves, based on their peculiar needs. It also helps the farmer to take immediate and decisive measures in cases of poor feed conversion rates, for instance. Furthermore, it helps to inform future planning regarding forage production and grazing programme.
Crucial feeding records include produced or purchased forage which is available to feed the animals, in particular quantities and quality of different feeds, for instance, the content of energy, protein and minerals. It also includes a comprehensive feeding plan, which must indicate the amount of feed required per day per animal in different age groups, namely adults, newly born, pregnant etc.
Financial records on the other hand include records of costs and earnings related to the business, which help in cash analysis and economic performance assessment of the business. Financial records help to show if the farm is viable by, among other things, tracking the costs of production such as feed, security, labour, transport, machinery, infrastructure, medicine, animal replacement, artificial insemination, land levy or loan repayment and sales and marketing.
It also facilitates decision making on whether or not to make further investment and expand the business. By aggregating the total cost of production, financial records also help the farmer to establish a pricing structure when selling animals and other farm produce.
In view of the ever-changing economic environment in which farmers are operating with the attendant rising outlays, farmers are always anxious about the profitability of their business. Accurate financial records are therefore, handy to the farmer as they enable timely decision-making, for example, on whether it is profitable to buy supplementary feeds or to invest in machinery for forage production.
Should the farmer require a bank loan to invest in the business, it goes without say that every financier would require an assessment of the farmer’s credit worthiness, and in doing so, would need financial records. Financial records are also required by the revenue authority for tax purposes.
Since all farmers are concerned about raising quality and healthy animals, disease and treatment records are an important component of the farmer’s records. Farmers need to keep track of the diseases which affect each animal in the herd throughout its lifetime.
The analysis of such records can assist the farmer to develop better biosecurity procedures and management practices. By providing the health status of each animal and the entire heard, disease and treatment records form the most important ingredient in the establishment of effective prevention and treatment protocols on the farm.
The records also help the farmer to comply with the withdrawal period requirements after treatment. Disease and treatment records should include disease occurrence (recurrence) and dates, treatment protocols administered to cure diseases, vaccination and deworming calendars, dipping schedules, hooves trimming, mortality rates and post-mortem in the event of deaths.
Paswera badza hapanyepi!
Till next week.
Sheuneni Kurasha is the managing director of Chivara Farm which specialises in stud breeding in boran cattle, Boer goats, Kalahari red goats and damara sheep, as well as dairy farming. For feedback, kindly get in touch on email: [email protected], WhatsApp: +263 772 874 523 or Facebook: Chivara Farm.
