Computerized data management for dairy farms
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Date
2002
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Department of Livestock Production and Management, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy
Abstract
Dairy farms play an anchor role in the development of dairy sector and
in turn sustainable milk production. Efficient farm management inevitably
requires proper data management. As the traditional recording system seems to
be disadvantageous, computerized data management system is gaining
importance for efficient record management. So, the present study was planned
to analyze the existing system of record management and to develop a
computerized record management system for dairy farms.
The study was conducted in the University Livestock Farm, College of
Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. The existing system of data
recording was analyzed. The input requirement in both manual and
computerized recordings were observed. The time required for recording data,
both in manual and computerized recording system were measured. Based on
the results obtained by the assessment of existing recording system, the input
requirement for computerized recording was identified.
By incorporating these inputs, the computerized data management
system 'DAIRYSOFT' was developed using visual basic 6.0 as front end and
MS Access as back end program. From the study, it was found out that manual
recording system consisted of many unnecessary entries and duplication of
entries. The number of entries to be made for a single recording in the manual
recording system was considerably more than that of computerized recording
system. The time taken for retrieval of information required screening of two
to three registers whereas, computerized recording system required a single
worksheet.
The man hour requirement for entering data in manual recording system
for treatment, breeding, growth, milk recording, milk distribution, birth,
artificial insemination (AI) and mortality registers were 3.13 ± 1.10, 4.47 ±
1.81,1.19 ± 0.25, 22.]8 ± 1.13,3.70 ± 0.31,1.81 ± 0.]8,1.95 ± 0.19,1.46 ±
0.40 and 2.55 ± 0.30 minutes respectively; whereas the man-hour requirement
for entering data by computerised recording system for treatment, breeding,
growth, milk recording register, milk distribution, birth, AI and mortality
registers were 2.63 ± 1.10,2.98 ± 1.32,0.67 ± 0.10,17.37 ± 1.35,2.88 ± 0.19,
0.96 ± 0.07 and 1.18 ± 0.21 minutes respectively. The variation in the man-hour
requirement between manual and computerised data management system was
found to be significant (pThe computerized data management system IS a user-friendly
programme. It is based on menu system, which is protected with a password.
The programme consists of main menu and several submenus namely stock
position, registers, reports, health and data entry. Each submenu is provided
with several options. Submenu stock position describes the present day stock
position of different categories of animals and other details such as total milk
production and number of pregnant animals available presently. Submenu
'registers' allow the user to view all the registers of the farm. The user can
retrieve any information from different registers using the options available,
which displays the concerned register. Submenu 'reports' allow the user to
obtain various reports required for analyzing the efficiency of the farm. The
user can directly take hard copy of the report. The submenu 'help' gives
information about the software and the last submenu was exclusively formatted
for data entry.
From the study, it may be concluded that the developed computerized
data management system may ensure effective recording in dairy farms, timely
retrieval of needed information, generate important reports that are useful for
managing and evaluating the efficiency of the farm.
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Citation
172009