Off The Record...
Time to Get Organized!

Record keeping is a task that no one looks forward to. It is time consuming and frustrating, and quite often feels like a thankless job. But the importance of accurate, meticulous record keeping has never been more important than in today’s dairy industry.

Precise animal health and production record keeping is a sure-fire way to maintain a profitable operation, by allowing herd managers to identify the most efficient, profitable animals in the herd, and allowing for early culling of chronically ill and underperforming animals. Keeping accurate health records for every animal from birth to culling allows progressive dairymen to recognize trends and identify recurring herd health problems early so that adjustments to management practices can be made long before drastic measures need to be taken.

Animal traceability is another hot topic within the industry during recent months. Again, accurate record keeping at the farm level is the corner-stone of an effective traceability and age verification system, which in turn builds consumer confidence both domestically and internationally. As stated in the September 2005 issue of Bovine Veterinarian by Dr. David Thain, DVM, a Nevada State Veterinarian, “It does raise the standard from everyone’s standpoint for things like residues. I think, in the majority of the cases, a good producer has little to worry about. I think that the more documentation you have, the better your standpoint is, legally, if anything ever does happen.”

Last year, Kansas passed a law that reduces liability on producers if they show that they have used good management practices (GMP) in their herd. “If they follow GMPs, they’re actually going to be less liable than those who can’t document what they do,” explains Dr. Karen Jordan DVM of Siler City N.C. in the same article.

The key to useful record keeping is to remember the old adage of “Garbage in, garbage out.” As Greg Bethard explained in his September 25, 2002 Hoard’s Dairyman article, “Too often, dairy managers use inadequate information to decide the effectiveness of a change. Poor decisions result… Perfect information is rarely available, and perfect conclusions are impossible. But, with good record keeping, you can evaluate the impacts of changes.”

Whether yours is a herd of 20, 150, 2000 or anywhere in between, the benefits of sound record keeping will be evident in your operation’s bottom line.

Article by Kathryn Kyle
Client Service Representative

Click here for a printable version of this article (PDF)

For more herd management articles click here

Posted Jan 10th

<< Back to Top