A simple guide to record-keeping

A wheat farm in Narok. Accurate record-keeping greatly contributes towards optimising production and maximising profit. PHOTO/GEORGE SAYAGIE

What you need to know:

THE MUST HAVE FARM RECORDS

Reproduction records: Identity of female animal, the age, calving date, type of birth and sex.

Growth or weight records: Periodic recordings of the animal’s weights.

Health records: Records of health status, date of clinical episodes, signs and symptoms, nature of interventions, dosage, vaccinations and mortality.

Production records: Milk and egg production, carcass yields (these weights can be obtained from the abattoirs) and average daily gain.

Mating records: Sire, dam and progeny identification, heat dates and age at first service.

Feeding records: Especially if farmers are using commercial feeds.

 Financial records: Expenses of feed, health, incomes from products sales and profits realised

The keeping of livestock records is an important aspect in good livestock management practices.

Its importance is equivalent to a pen to the editor and a hoe to the farmer. Unfortunately, most livestock farmers are not keen in livestock recording and valuable information is often lost, resulting to irreversible repercussions.

Accurate record-keeping greatly contributes towards optimising production and maximising profit.

Several studies have shown that through the adoption of daily performance record-keeping by small-holder farmers, remarkable improvement in relation to the farmers’ care and handling of the animals was noted that directly correlated to an increase in milk production.

Record-keeping assists the farmers to keep track of their farming enterprise, analyse their efficiency and quickly detect changes in production and implement corrective measures swiftly.

There has been a continual misconception by farmers that records are difficult to keep and have no value addition.

Unlike in the ‘analogue times’, it is imperative to embrace the good management practices of keeping updated records of your farm activities.

Record keeping benefits the farmers as it aids the efficient management of the reared animals, assesses profitability or losses and also guides feed management. Smallholder farmers should now be moving from subsistence farming to profit making ventures.

Records give small-holder farmers safety nets and help them realise higher outputs and greater profit margins.

Before a farmer adopts record-keeping,, some form of identification of the animals he is rearing should be in place.

Recording acts as a management tool where health, production, reproduction and performance evaluation records are systematically updated. It informs the farmer on the status of his farming enterprise.

On-farm records help farmers evaluate and improve thelr livestock performance and should be drafted in a simple and easy to understand format.

Entry of the information should be straight forward and devoid of unnecessary columns. The key point is that these records should not be cumbersome, thus indirectly influencing the lack of utilisation by the farmers.

Lack of recording places the farmer in a situation of ignorance and poor planning. Small-holder farmers have over time associated record keeping with commercial farmers, but I would like to encourage them to change this perception and embrace record-keeping for the better management of their herd, flock or litter. 

Dr Muchunguh is a livestock expert.