Nebraska Family Simplifies Feeding with Cattle Management App
Jordan Gall is a third-generation cattle feeder, working alongside his brother and parents on G&A Farms, their family operation near Clarkson, Nebraska. They own and custom-finish cattle, manage a cow-calf herd, custom feed hogs and grow corn and soybeans.
Jordan recalls spending hours with pen and paper, calculating and recalculating numbers to get a better handle on their cattle business performance.
“I wrote everything down in a book and would go through every group at the end of the month,” says Jordan. “I’d go through every number, every group to calculate inventory, breakeven and other needs.”
The Gall family used another software program before switching to Performance Beef, but difficulties with the program triggered the need for a change. Jordan noticed they were continually overfeeding.
“Our other program told us what we were supposed to feed, but it didn’t measure what was being delivered,” says Jordan. “This is how I got my dad on Performance Beef. I calculated how much he was overfeeding with the other program and showed him what we were losing every month. It was clear that using Performance Beef was going to save us money in the long run.”
Performance Beef’s simplicity made it a smooth transition. Often steering clear of new technology and even delaying adoption of a smartphone, Jordan’s dad is a good indicator of the ease of use. He quickly picked up Performance Beef, using it daily to set all the rations and loads as well as follow up to check feeding stats. “If he can use it, anyone can use it,” adds Jordan jokingly.
This cattle management software removed the guesswork.
“We’re no longer throwing away feed and other costs. With Performance Beef every dollar is captured and accurate,” says Jordan. “Previously we were guesstimating based on a rough estimate of head in a pen. Now we know exactly what is in a pen, how they’re getting fed and are able to accurately capture all associated costs.”
The increased knowledge and clearer picture of their operation’s performance make it a no-brainer for the Galls.
“I can honestly say I recommend Performance Beef to everybody I know who feeds cattle,” says Jordan. “Just the ease of the entire program and analytics behind it. You get so many more insights than relying on complicated programs or pen and paper. And it’s all on a handheld device. It’s just easy.”
