Et cetera : Taking Swine Closeout Records to Next Level

A workshop will be held April 4, 1 to 3 p.m., at the Borlaug Learning Center, Nashua, IA to discuss how accurate swine closeout records are a tool to improve your operational management. New features of Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) Group Tracker software will be presented. Discussion will highlight the benefits of building and analyzing a database of your operations closeouts to improve your management decisions.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Swine Field Specialists, Mark Storlie and Matt Swantek, will lead the workshop. ”We are excited to announce the release of IPIC Group Tracker version 1.50. Group Tracker is a Microsoft Excel® Template designed for producers to compile production data into summary reports to better define their business and production parameters. Reports are designed for growers, lenders, and themselves to better marketing strategies and production benchmarks”, said Storlie. He added “Group Tracker was developed to provide standardize reporting formats and is designed to accommodate the different types of feed manufacturing/diet receiving/deliveries for flexible recordings and ease of use.”

“Submission of the individual closeouts to your regional swine specialist will allow a database to be established for the producer,” noted Swantek. He continued, ”The benefit of the database is the ability to benchmark, make comparisons and look for trends to make better business decisions.” Comparison can be within a farm to look at different buildings, genetics, nutritional programs and/or management practices. When an operation has submitted adequate numbers of closeouts, then comparison may be made with the entire Group Tracker database.

The Iowa Pork Industry Center is the point source for distribution of Group Tracker and may be found on the swine tools of its web-site. http://www.ipic.iastate.edu/softwarepurchase.html

Volatile agricultural markets, high input costs and rising amounts of capital for a farm operation have driven the importance of timely, accurate records to make effective risk management decisions for pork producers. Producers interested in taking their closeout records to the next level are encouraged to attend.

Current and potential users of Group Tracker are welcome. Pre-registration is appreciated for material preparation. To register or learn more, please contact Mark Storlie at 563-425-3331 or email mstorlie@iastate.edu