Dr Temple Grandin, who is well-known for her animal behavior and handling expertise, is hosting a free workshop in Abilene, Texas, on March 9th. This is a great opportunity to hear Dr Grandin in person.

More information about the workshop is at http://www.texascattleraisers.org/newsdesk/2010/2010_0303.html

What a great time at the NCBA Convention! Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Our next trade show is the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Association’s Convention in Ft Worth, Texas, March 19-21. Penny will be speaking about herd management software options at the School for Successful Ranching. We’ll also have a booth setup at the trade show.

Come by and visit!

More about the TSCRA Convention: http://www.texascattleraisers.org/convention/

Making plans for the NCBA Convention? The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention and trade show will be in just a few weeks – January 27-30 in San Antonio, Texas.

Be sure to stop by and visit – Ken and Nathan (CattleMax service representatives) will be there!

Check out
the NCBA Convention website for detailed information about the activities.

CattleMax team members, Ken and Becky Lyon, attended and manned the CattleMax booth at the Texas Farm Bureau annual Meeting December 5th through the 7th at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

We appreciated the opportunity to talk with our current customers and friends who stopped by to visit with us, as well as producers who are looking for a record keeping solution. We enjoy talking with cattlemen about their farm and ranch operations and we welcome our new customers that purchased CattleMax at the convention.

Congratulations to the Farm Bureau member that won the drawing for the CattleMax CS Commercial Small Herd edition donated by Cattlesoft, Inc. We look forward to working with you.

We also would like to offer special thanks to Si Cook, Joann Wilhite, Chrystal Gardner and Betsy Simon from Farm Bureau for their effort in making this a very pleasant convention and for the personal attention we received in Ft Worth.

Thank you to everyone who visited with us – came by our booth, attended yesterday morning’s Business Management workshop, and those who attended the CattleMax afternoon workshop!

During my presentation yesterday morning, I mentioned a document titled “Individual Cattle Identity Records for Cow-Calf Producers: Ways to Make Records Cost Effective” – this short document lists ways for your investment in record keeping to be beneficial. The document can be downloaded from agrisk.tamu.edu

My presentation slides are at http://www.cattlemax.com/files/CattleMax_BCSC2009.pdf

The CattleMax workshop went well. Lots of great questions and good ideas exchanged.

Were you not able to attend the CattleMax workshop but have questions? Be sure to attend a free online session. Check http://www.cattlemax.com/workshops for more information and schedule.

The Beef Cattle Short Course is just around the corner – August 3-5. Held at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas, this event draws producers wanting to learn more about all aspects of cattle production and features experts in the cattle industry giving their insight and suggestions. We’ll have a booth at the trade show – come by and visit.

Additional information about the Short Course is at http://animalscience.tamu.edu/ansc/BCSC/

Interested in the business aspect of cattle production? Be sure to attend the “Beef Cattle Business Management” workshop on Wednesday morning 8:30 (August 5) of the Short Course – we’ll be speaking about “5 Reasons that Better Records Make You a Better Manager”. The session will also feature speakers presenting about the importance of marketing in your operation and also tax and management accounting.

Want to see CattleMax in action and have your questions answered? Join us on Wednesday, August 5th at 12:30 (after the completion of the Short Course) in room 292 of the MSC on the TAMU campus. The event is free. A light lunch will be provided. The workshop is open to everyone. No need to RSVP – feel free to come! In the past, the session has lasted about an hour.

Well, it’s official.

This year marks the 55th Annual Beef Cattle Short Course held at Texas A&M University, just miles from where CattleMax got started. This will be the ninth year for us to participate in the BCSC, as a sponsor and guest speaker.

The educational and networking event will be held on campus at Texas A&M in College Station, TX, August 3-5.

With 20 unique educational sessions presented by more than 50 guest speakers, this year’s event will focus on all the issues most important to producers these days:  drought, high production costs, disease and combatting a less than desirable market.

All these challenges make it a better time than ever to attend events like this where you can learn more about the markets and what to expect, and most importantly – what you might be able to do about it.

Aside from the educational aspect, there will also be a trade show at the BCSC featuring more than 100 agricultural exhibitors, including us. Be sure to stop by if you attend and find yourself wandering through the trade show!

If you’re interested in the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course, you can read more about the sessions they plan to offer, or even register online. Producers from any location are welcome to attend this well-rounded collection of educational courses.

There are always quite a few requests for opportunities to meet with us in person, and one has arrived. January 28-31, we will be in Phoenix, AZ, for the 2009 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.

If you find yourself wandering the aisles of the trade show in a few weeks, be sure to stop by and see us at Booth 1503, located near the Chuckwagon Café. We always enjoy the chance to catch up and answer any questions.

If you’re looking for a little more interaction, join our special workshop, “The Cattle Rancher’s Guide to Better Management Through Better Records”.

This workshop will cover how CattleMax CS can improve your cattle records and provide the complete information you need to make better decisions. As always, there will be plenty of time for questions on CattleMax, the decision-making process with record keeping software, and the kind of records you might want to be keeping.

It will be held on Wednesday, January 28^th, at 10am in the Ellis Room East at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Phoenix, right across the street from the convention center. Even if you don’t attend the NCBA Trade Show and live in the area, you are welcome to join our free meeting to learn more about CattleMax and ask any questions.

Hope to see you there!

For the month of December, we already had two online workshops designed for those just getting started with CattleMax CS or still evaluating the trial version to take a guided tour and have an opportunity to ask questions and learn from each other. Both workshops were successful, and our evening workshop boasted the largest attendance yet.

We still have four more opportunities for you to learn with the CattleMax Team through our free online workshops this month.

Next Friday, December 19^th, we’re hosting two workshops on Basic Reporting in CattleMax CS. It’s designed for producers who want to learn about using the reporting features in CattleMax and will give a basic introduction to the different reporting features and how to use them.

Then on Monday, December 22^nd, we’ll have two opportunities for you to learn how to use the extensive AI (Artificial Insemination) and ET (Embryo Transfer) inventory and breeding records in CattleMax CS. We’ll cover everything from entering your first semen or embryo inventory records to using clean-up bulls to reporting your AI success.

View the schedule and register today!

We just wrapped up our 9th Beef Cattle Short Course last week.  Congratulations to the TAMU Animal Science Dept for a great job organizing the event. With over 1500 attendees, this year’s Short Course was the most attended ever.

On Sunday evening before the Short Course, customers came to the CattleMax Workshop and gained a more hands-on understanding of CattleMax CS, the newest version of our CattleMax software. There were great questions and we appreciate the customers who took time to attend our workshop.

The Wednesday morning Business Management session at the Short Course was well attended. I enjoyed talking with everyone and highlighting the importance of good record keeping, especially during the current time of high input costs. For those interested in the article I referred to during my presentation, you can download a PDF from http://agecoext.tamu.edu/resources/animal-id/information/articles.html.

After the completion of the Short Course activities on Wednesday, some familiar friends and new faces attended our afternoon CattleMax workshop. We received good questions at this workshop as well, and appreciate everyone attending and participating.

Thanks again to everyone for another great year.