Record Keeping for Cow-Calf Herds
Even though many cattle producers keep some form of records, it is not always apparent how to make the best use of the records collected. Reviewing herd records can help identify problems in the herd, either those slowly developing over the years or ones that are an immediate problem.
Our guide discusses the advantages of record keeping, what formats are available, and how to use data visualization to help identify herd problems by creating charts like these in Excel:
![bar graph for website2 bar graph for website2](http://ucanr.edu/sites/Neonatalcalfhealth/files/401846display.png)
- Explore your calving season to detect shifts in pregnancy rates over time.
![Pinkeye cases chart Pinkeye cases chart](http://ucanr.edu/sites/Neonatalcalfhealth/files/401407display.png)
- Chart disease outbreaks to know when to best employ prevention measures.
>Record Keeping for Cow-Calf Herds: An Excel Guide (UC ANR resource)
Additional Resources:
When it comes to data visualization, the sky is the limit. You do not have to memorize how to create these charts. There are a lot of short videos on YouTube that take just a few minutes to explain how to create various charts, so don’t feel constrained by what is shown in this short guide.
Microsoft offers online video training, e.g. how to create a chart from start to finish.
Website guide: “Create a chart from start to finish” from Microsoft.
Coursera is an online learning platform that offers hundreds of courses just on Excel, from beginning to expert. Coursera courses can be taken for educational credit for a fee or can be audited (i.e.taken for free).