MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES

• Comprehensive herd management programme
• Management groups
• Matings
• Pregnancy tests
• Births
• Pedigrees & registration
• Performance testing (all phases)
• Inspections
• Liniar classification
• Cull reasons
• Sales
• Animal health etc.
• Developed by ARC
• Joint project with private software house (BenguelaSoft CC)
• Developed for SA requirements
• Meets the requirements/needs of ARC (National Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme), SA Studbook and most breeders’ societies
• Can be used independently as beef herd management software
• Stud and commercial herds – equally suitable for both
• MS Windows operating system
• Afrikaans and English language options
• The only beef management software with performance data processing according to ARC Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme’s protocol, formulas, methods and adjustment factors.
• Electronic data transfer & downloading
• Easy and fast
• In the format required by INTERGIS
• Database population with INTERGIS data
• Database population with data from certain other beef management software
• Sending birth notifications to Studbook
• Downloading computer numbers*
• Sending performance data to ARC
• Downloading performance data of Phases A, B, C & D tests*
• Downloading breeding values
       * Logix electronic users
• Calculate inbreeding coefficients for possible matings
• Prevent unplanned inbreeding
• Data exchange with Genus 2000
• Pedigree information
• Breeding values
• User friendly
• Logical menu
• Quick and easy data input screens – standard & user-defined
• Powerful search, sorting and selection functions
• Various standard and user-defined selection and management reports
• Reports
• Weigh lists
• Performance tests
• Cow progeny summaries
• Pedigrees
• Inspection lists
• Sale catalogues
• Transfers/cancellations
• Lists of codes and descriptions
• Management group lists
• Management calendar and diary
• Record routine and ad hoc management tasks
• Reminders of tasks to be performed
• Address list
• Name, postal address, telephone, cell & fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.
• Print address labels
• Handy for marketing of animals, placing orders and requesting services
• The only beef management software that stores both official (INTERGIS) and BeefPro calculated indexes, etc.
• Extensive data checking and error tracing functions
• Warnings if invalid data is entered or essential data is missing
• Preventing invalid/incomplete data being sent to Studbook/ARC, e.g.:
• Invalid parent, weight or test dates
• Missing computer number
• Invalid age variation in test group
• Animal photos can be saved and displayed with animal record
• General notes can be stored with each animal
• Stock registers
• Medicines and vaccines
• Semen
• The only beef management software with country wide user support and marketing via ARC officials and private agents
• Continued user-driven development and upgrading
• ARC keeps users’ “Wish list”
• ARC co-ordinates priorities for new developments/changes

COMING SOON…

• Provision for embryo flushing & implant data
• Integration with electronic scales and Pocket PCs (with Windows Mobile OS)
• Integration with ARC’s range and forage programme (Stock Manager)
• Integration with financial programme
• Record keeping of animal numbers and total weight per group and the total herd
• Other Wish List priorities…

WHAT DOES BeefPro OFFER THE COMMERCIAL FARMER?

As mentioned before, BeefPro is equally suitable for both stud and commercial herds and can be used either as an independent beef herd management programme or as an integral part of stud breeding and/or performance testing through the National Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme of the ARC. Most of the management functions BeefPro caters for (e.g. linking of animals to management groups, matings, pregnancy tests, births, weighings, animal health, sales, cull reasons, etc.) apply to all cattle – irrespective of if they are stud or commercial animals. Only a small number of functions in BeefPro which are directly linked to registration/stud breeding of animals (e.g. inspections and linear classification) will be used mainly by stud breeders. [A commercial beef cattle farmer can, of course also “inspect” his animals to determine which ones are good for breeding purposes and keep record of the reasons why animals are culled].

Regarding performance testing, BeefPro is the only beef management software which does all performance data processing exactly according to the ARC’s National Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme. Most commercial beef cattle farmers will only be interested in index calculations on traits recorded on cows, calves and replacement heifers (e.g. weaning weights of all calves and post weaning weights of replacement heifers). Only the few functions in BeefPro which relate to growth tests of bulls (e.g. feed intake, body measurements and ultrasonic measurements of carcass traits), will probably not be used by commercial beef cattle farmers.

The only other BeefPro functions that commercial beef cattle farmers, who are not members of the ARC’s National Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme, will not use, are the functions for electronic data transfer and downloading (e.g. sending performance test data to the ARC and downloading of processed performance data and breeding values).

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS

Minimum system specifications:

• IBM-compatible Pentium II or more powerful computer with:
• 128Mb or bigger RAM (depending on Windows version)
• 100Mb hard drive space
• Windows 98, 2000, 2003, XP or NT

Recommended system specifications:

• Pentium 4 2GHz computer with:
• 512Mb RAM
• 100Mb hard drive space
• Windows 2000, XP or 2003

MORE INFORMATION

Web site: www.beefpro.net