cattle management software

Jackson County, Minnesota is home to a true family tradition. This 230 cow operation is run by Glenn and Ruth Dicks and their son Rodney, of Dicks Family Shorthorns. Their daughter and son-in-law Chris and Scott Johnson and grandsons Riley and Carter, of S&C Cattle Co., are also deeply rooted in their ranching enterprise.

Chris Johnson said that her father, Glenn Dicks, has been in the cattle business for 40 years. The family also feeds and finishes 15,000 hogs each year and has a custom haying operation.

Johnson said that they have seen significant growth in the past five years, including an increase in herd size by 100 head, 65 of which are investor cattle. They have developed an extensive embryo transfer program, and three years ago started their own private treaty sale, held annually in September.

Johnson said they began using CattleMax two years ago, after her father saw an advertisement in a publication. She said she evaluated the program for him and loved it.

“I like the fact that this program has the AI and ET records and reports; most cattle programs aren’t set up with those features,” she said.

They had previously used another software program, but found that it could not keep the detailed records they desired for their herd.

“We switched to CattleMax for the more detailed reports and the AI and ET records and reports we use a lot of,” Johnson said.

She said they use the calving worksheet reports most often to track their 200 head of spring calving cows and 30 head of fall calving cows.

They also use the breed association interface within the software to quickly and easily handle calf registrations.

“We register all the calves from our private treaty sale each year and we like the fact that you can print out registration forms right from the program,” Johnson said, “This has saved us tons of time by not having to handwrite all the forms out.”

Johnson also shared a support tip for other CattleMax users.

“When you can’t figure something out with the program, the CattleMax Help Desk has many issues that most of us have already experienced, so it’s a great tool in helping me figure out my problem,” she said.

Dicks Family Shorthorns specializes in club calves and heifer sales. They can be found online at http://www.showsteers.com/dicks. This page is updated every spring following calving season to showcase the new calves that will be available at their private treaty sale in the fall.