FeedFIT Feeding Software: New Year Resolutions

Profile Picture of Post's Author Jordan Hunt | Posted February 5, 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Crazy to think we already have one month down. New year resolutions are a great way to reinvigorate yourself and your team to hit goals for the coming year. Sadly though, we often have great intentions with New Year resolutions but fall short because they are not feasible, we lose interest or simply forget about them. Hopefully that is not the case for you, and you are ready to tackle the New Year full steam ahead! The key is to set obtainable resolutions that create quick wins and build momentum to where you end up doing more than initially planned.

Today I want to focus on how to get more out of your feed software program. Our GPS FeedFIT program has a feed software module to help with this. But first, let’s answer the why behind this. Feeding software has been largely adopted across herds and has helped streamline the feeding process tremendously. However, the data from it doesn’t always get looked at or managed to the degree that it deserves. We need to go beyond just using it for feeding cows but dive deeper and extract important information that you can use to make decisions and drive dairy profitability. So, let’s review what some good feeding software New Year resolutions could look like:

  • Does your farm have a designated captain for managing the inputs and outputs for your feed software? And no, your answer here cannot be your GPS Dairy consultant. We are here to help with the process but it’s critical someone on farm manages the program so entries like ingredient deliveries and prices get entered regularly. As well as reviewing dry matter intake by pen at least weekly and ensuring weighbacks are entered so those dry matter intakes are accurate. You wouldn’t let your herdsman enter preg check information 1-2x/month, so don’t let feed software be any different.
  • When is the last time you have spoken to your feed software provider? This is a great opportunity to make sure your equipment is up to date and working correctly. We encourage you to touch base with the provider 1-2 times per year so you can get the most of your system and leverage it for decision making. For example, if your software has capabilities of pulling in milk data but you’re not using, let’s get it set up and start looking at IOFC by pen and not just herd level. Opportunities might be lurking, but you don’t know what you don’t know.
  • Phone apps are a great thing in today’s busy world where everyone is on the go and getting time in front of a computer can be tough. We always have our phones! If your software has an app available, get it! This will allow you to look at data quickly in the palm of your hand.
  • Have a third party review your data and provide feedback for an outside perspective. My colleague, Dr. Erin Mosley, offers Feeding Data Reviews as part of our nutritional consulting services which provides a comprehensive analysis of data looking at three months. This gives a nice snapshot of what’s going on with feeder and cow performance without having to spends hours on it. Strive to get at least one FDR done per year.

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about your feed software but certainly not limited to this list. Our team encourages you to make 2023 the best year yet when it comes to managing and leveraging your feed software capabilities! We look forward to more conversation on this.

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