Overview

One of the biggest challenges to an effective production record system is data collection and the timely availability of the analysis of that data. User of CowCalf5 and other production record systems have struggled for years trying to get the data entered in to the computer in a timely matter so that management decisions could made.

For most people, if they could get the data input within a few weeks of collecting it, it was an accomplishment. The problem is that even a few weeks is too long, when decisions have to be made the same day in many cases.

Early versions of CowCalf created a Chute Side program that would run on a notebook computer for field data entry. This was effective in getting the data input into the computer for timely decisions, but had its draw backs. Primarily, the problem was that notebooks are quite expensive, and most ranchers do not want to take an expensive computer into an environment where it could be damaged easily. Secondly, the screen on a notebook is nearly impossible to see in bright sunlight. These issues made using a notebook unpractical for most operations.

The advent of the PDA (Personal Data Assistant) changed the way we collect data, making it less expensive, and more flexable than any notebook could do.

See Palm Pilots and Pocket PC for information on how that works.