The weather is keeping us inside more in the evening, so why not take this opportunity to get your cattle record keeping in order? Whether you already have CattleMax or are checking out the trial version, these free online workshops are for you.

This month, the workshop topic continues to be “Basics of Cattle Record Keeping”. Penny will show and discuss common areas of CattleMax, with the majority of workshop time going to questions. It’s a comfortable, friendly setting – no question is too basic – so come join one or several workshops.

This month, the workshops will be on Tuesday, March 9th; Thursday, March 11th; and Tuesday, March 23rd. All of them start at 8pm Central time and last an hour.

Learn more and sign up for the online workshops

Now that Microsoft has announced the availability of the new Windows 7 operating system, we are happy to let you know that CattleMax CS is fully compatible with Windows 7.

If you already have CattleMax CS, just download and install the current update and CS will work on Windows 7.

If you have a previous version of CattleMax, this is a good time to upgrade to CS (and you can get it for just 1/2 the full price), or see other improvements and enhancements available in CS. (Your CS purchase receipt will include steps to easily transfer your records into the new version).

Are you considering CattleMax for your record keeping needs? With over 6,000 ranches in 35 countries depending on CattleMax, let us help you with the cattle record keeping technology so you can spend more time with your cattle.

Looking for screenshots or technical information about Windows 7?
PCMag.com has a resourceful Windows 7 section at http://www.pcmag.com/Windows_7/

The CattleMax online workshop schedule for September is now posted at http://www.cattlemax.com/workshops .

The topics this month are “Cattle Record Keeping for Small Herds” and “Getting Started with Cattle Software in 3 Steps”.

With these workshops, you see CattleMax on your screen while seeing and hearing me show different areas of the software. What’s also great about these workshops is that you can ask questions (just by typing into the box on the screen) and I’ll answer your question right then and there!

Check out this month’s schedule and participate in a workshop – all designed to help you get (or stay) organized with your cattle records.

You know having more organized cattle records makes a difference – so where do you start? What’s needed to get up and running with CattleMax? This free online workshop, especially for producers in search of a record keeping solution, will show you how easy it is to keep your records up-to-date so you can enjoy the cattle lifestyle even more.

• Wednesday, August 26th 8pm-9pm CST
• Thursday, August 27th 10am-11am CST

Concerned about your Internet speed? Not a problem – this presentation system works just fine on dial-up Internet connection. To get started, you’ll simply click a link that’s emailed to you, and you’ll see the demonstration and hear the audio (your choice – through your computer speakers or by calling a special phone number).

You’ll be in “listen only” mode, which means you’ll hear Penny presenting the software, but she’s not able to hear you (so don’t worry about everyone hearing the dogs barking or phone ringing!). To ask a question, you’ll simply type it into the questions box that is on the screen.

After registering, you’ll receive an email with more detailed information, including an agenda for the workshops.

Spots are limited – register today! For more information, visit http://www.CattleMax.com/workshops

Did you know there were CattleMax Discussion Forums available?

That’s right. Anytime you come across a question in CattleMax you want someone on the Cattlesoft Team to answer, or a certain feature you want to know how other ranchers are using, just add a topic in one of the discussion forums.

There are two areas of discussion:

• CattleMax General Discussion Forum, for more basic topics about the general use of CattleMax
• CattleMax Power Users Discussion Forum, for more advanced topics such as production years, data exporting, and the MS Access Companion

If you’re interested in participating in the discussion forums, you can set up a free account here. All it takes if your name and email address, and you’re ready to join in on the CattleMax discussion.

Did you know you could answer questions in the discussion forums?

The discussion forums were designed for you to interect with the Cattlesoft Team, and with other ranchers. You’re always welcome to post your own thoughts, ideas and solutions to questions from other ranchers.

To view topics in the discussion forum, just click on the colored link for that topic:

Then, if you’re ready to add a response to the forum post, just click the “Reply to this topic” button right below the question:

The CattleMax Discussion Forums are a great way for you to help out other ranchers from your own experiences with CattleMax. You might even be able to get an idea or two for yourself on how others are utilizing certain reports, or making a particular record update.

You can check the full line of support and education resources, including video tutorials, online workshops and help articles at CattleMax.com/support.

Set up your free account and join the CattleMax Discussion Forums today!

Rosehill Farm, New South Wales, Australia

Are your pastures this green yet?

Depending on your location, maybe so, but one would venture to guess probably not.That’s because this CattleMax customer, John Richardson of Rosehill Farm in New South Wales, Australia, is in the middle of summer, as we here in the U.S. are just now creeping out of winter.

With ranchers using CattleMax spread across the globe, sometimes it’s enlightening to think that we’re not even experiencing the same season in weather, but all have common ground in the cattle industry.

We may all be in different time zones, countries and even continents, but we can still learn from each other when it comes to cattle records.

That is where participating in things like the CattleMax Discussion Forums, Online Workshops and sharing your CattleMax Success Stories can be very handy. Today’s technological tools enable us to communicate with one another and share experiences in a brand new way.

The Online Workshops alone have already brought together cattle producers and CattleMax customers across many US states, Canada and even Australia – from a whole day ahead of the rest of us. We encourage you to keep engaging and participating where you can, and focus on the things that bring us together, like our common ground in the cattle industry.

Over the past ten years, we have heard from so many producers who have experienced a computer crash, fire or other disaster that destroyed years of cattle records. Unfortunately, they had not kept good backups of their records. They either didn’t make them at all, just stored them on their hard drive, or had kept them on CDs or disks in a drawer next to their computer.

This meant they had lost not just their current working file, but years of historical information they could never retrieve—a situation we want to help you avoid. We know how important it is for you to always have access to your cattle records, and how lost you might be if they disappeared. We have always suggested for you to backup your records often, and store these backups in a separate location from your computer.

This fall, we decided to help you out even more. We created the CattleMax Online Backup Service, based on 13 years of proven technology from Amazon.com.

Now, when you backup your CattleMax herd file, there will be an option for “Online”. This system guarantees your records are safe and secure, accessible from any computer with CattleMax and an Internet connection, and protected from any disaster.

Learn more about the CattleMax Online Backup Service, including all the benefits it offers, or order your subscription to keep your records safe, secure and accessible.

Greetings

We wanted to let everyone know about the new CattleMax CS 4200 Update that we released yesterday.

As ranches who have used previous CattleMax versions know, the new CattleMax CS version includes a new reporting system, known as “Customizable Lists”, which addressed feedback from many customers who were seeking a way to customize reports without the need to use the Report Wizard to make custom reports.  This new style works great for many because producers could dynamically resize the columns, add and remove their own columns, and change formatting styles.

However, one of the downsides of this new reporting is that it lacks certain functionality of the reports in the CattleMax 2006 version.  We came to the conclusion that both options were needed in CattleMax CS so that you have the right tool for the right job – sometimes we want to customize and sometimes we just want it to print.
So, a summary of reporting options in CattleMax CS 4.2.4200 and later

• Customizable Lists – basic lists where you can change columns and formatting
• Preset Reports – based on CattleMax 2006 reports, advanced functionality, nicer looks, columns can’t be customized
• Report Wizard – Located in the Access Companion, this lets you create your own reports from scratch, including selecting columns, sorts, and formatting.  You can look at it as Customizable Lists’s big brother.  Microsoft Access is not required for this part of the Access Companion.
• Microsoft Access – The MS Access Companion, accessible from the Reports tab in CattleMax, lets those familiar with MS Access work with their own reports and queries.

If you are a new customer or not as tech savvy, the Preset Reports and Customizable Lists are a quick and easy way to get the information you need.
Other significant updates/changes in this update:

• Enhanced Electronic ID Tag list import from files, vendors, and readers
• Improved international date formatting
• Export button now on customizable lists
• New breed interfaces for Red Angus, Gelbvieh, Maine-Anjou, and Yak
• Updated breed interface for Brangus
• Easier backing up and restoring of custom reports and queries in Access Companion

Currently using CattleMax CS?  Download the update and let us know what you think

Thanks

Terrell & Penny Miller and the Cattlesoft Team