farm record keeping

[gsanocki]

I have looked a a few record keeping programs (feild records, chemical ect), but have not fould any that I really liked ,I am hopeing some one might give me a few idaes of different programs to look at.
thaks very much
gary

[NS_Shepherd]

I use Microsoft Access from the Microsoft Office Suite as my database program for my livestock records. I have not totally mastered it yet. I also use a calendar program to generate a farm diary for input and activity records on horticulture crops.
I have not found anything else yet that is easy and economical to use. Thanks for starting this thread!

[pickarock]

I have helped many people set up their farm books with Quickbooks and it seems to be easy for people to pick up. I would recommend that you speak to your accountant to see what program they support. All the programs work well but if you have someone to call when you get stuck it sure reduces your stress level and makes it a more enjoyable task. I know that Alberta Agriculture does offer some training in Quickbooks in a classroom setting. Not sure where you are but there is one coming up in Hanna at their Learning Centre (403) 854-2099

[ryoung]

Just wondering what you've come up with for an Access database to look after livestock records. I've looked into several programs designed to do this, but anything that has any quality to it is outrageously expensive. I hope to start working on something this winter, and I'm interested in seeing what others are doing.

[wtuck]

We have been using Settler Gold for our farm bookkeeping and find the support from Settler excellent. The Training Courses are very helpful and it is a Canadian Company. We are just starting to use Field-Mate and have not explored all the possibilities yet.

[jimsmith]

Have a look at Farmworks. I have been using it for 3 years. www.farmworks.com

[farmboy1]

If you're looking for cropping and nutrient management software with other add-on modules, look at the package from SIGA. I'll be purchasing it this winter but I played around with it with the dealer rep. and really liked what I saw. Try contacting Jeff @ 1-902-825-2076 and he can explain their package in detail. I think you'll like it. Later, farmboy1

[winston]

I have used both Settler and Quickbooks. I am going to stick to Quickbooks since it is much faster to make entries to and easier to look back and see what has happened in a particular account (ex seed expense). Settler is too slow when making entries and generating reports and prints out about 1.5 times as much paper as Quickbooks. I am a farmer with an accounting background.

[jlamb]

Winston:

Great responses to this question.

It has been my experience that for a new user finding a company offering strong technical support and an understanding of their business should be the priority.
I look forward to other thoughts and opinions.

[mctom]

I've been using Settler mostly because of the support they give. They have been very helpful in providing the support I needed getting started last year and have been good since. As for speed, i use a P133, the reports do require a bit of a wait, but the transactions enter as fast as I can type.

[settler]

Settler AgExpert is continually improving and enhancing the GOLD software to improve speed, add features and increase user-selectable features (ie. select only what you want to print so you don't waste paper and ink).

While off-the-shelf accounting programs are available - Settler AgExpert is a recommended program for farmers/ranchers that are not accountants, and desire quality management reports beyond just income/expenses.

Check out more information at http://www.settler.com

[ValueChainFX]

Looking into the future keeping track of your expenses is only one aspect of what may be coming down the line. Simple solutions like quick books probably will do a good job for you. Down the road I think you will also want to track product, yields etc. There will be programs that make entries to these programs as easy as scanning a bar code or a rf tag.

Good luck