MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Measuring Producer Level Beef Cattle Alliance Financial Performance

There has been a movement toward developing production and marketing alliances in the beef cattle sector in the United States to improve communications and ultimately provide higher priced branded products consistent with consumer demand. Beef cattle producers do not employ a consistent methodology to measure the financial performance of alliance participation. Nor do they have the information to negotiate financially sustainable agreements. The concentrated packer and retail sector do not share cost and returns information beyond total business data required by public traded corporations. A methodology using cost accounting and economic analysis is described to measure return on producer's assets for an alliance agreement. This information can be used to inform the margin sectors, feedyards, packers and retailers on what share of increased revenue from branded product sales to pass to the cow-calf segment to make participation competitive and the alliance financially sustainable. The cow-calf segment must absorb the added costs and cyclical financial loss to participate in alliances. Increased revenue is required to make branded products a more profitable marketing option than producing commodity beef.Agricultural Finance, Livestock Production/Industries,

Microcomputer Selection and Uses in Beef Cattle Management.

4 p

RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ISSUES IN PRODUCTION ECONOMICS

Production Economics,

A DECISION SUPPORT AID FOR BEEF CATTLE INVESTMENT USING EXPERT SYSTEMS

The beef cattle investment decision provides an excellent opportunity to increase the economic efficiency of beef cattle production. The investment questions that face beef cattle producers are of interest to beef cattle producers, educators, and financial institutions involved in lending to beef cattle producing firms. This study develops a decision support aid utilizing expert system technology to assist beef cattle producers in making well-founded investment decisions with respect to the firm's beef cattle herd.Beef cattle investment, Decision support, Export systems, Livestock Production/Industries,

MICROCOMPUTER BUDGET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The enterprise budget, whole farm cash flow, and income statement are fundamental tools of farm and ranch management. The "Microcomputer Budget Management System" (MBMS) is a microcomputer software package that facilitates the storage and use of information for crop and livestock budgeting. It performs the calculations for several enterprise budgeting formats and for preparation of whole farm resource use reports and financial statements. The MBMS also includes internal machinery and irrigation cost calculation routines. MBMS was developed for use by extension staff, researchers, lenders, consultants, and operators of diversified farms and ranches with many enterprises that use enterprise and whole farm budgeting for analysis and planning activities. The flexibility and detailed nature of the program requires the user to have knowledge of enterprise budgeting and operation of complex computer programs. This paper presents a discussion of the features and capabilities of the software and the computational procedures used in the cost calculations.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO COW/CALF COSTS, PROFITS AND PRODUCTION

In this study, cow/calf Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) data for Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico are used to analyze how total cost, production, and profitability are affected by management choices. Total cost is the financial cost associated with raising a calf through the weaning stage; profits are measured using the rate of return on assets; production is determined by pounds weaned per exposed female. Variables such as herd size, pounds of feed fed, calving percentage, death loss, length of breeding season and investment in asset groups are used in regressions. Key factors contributing to a cow/calf operation's costs, production, and profitability are identified.Livestock Production/Industries,

Retained Ownership Strategies for Cattlemen

4 pp., 2 tablesRetained ownership, or market integration, involves carrying over a production activity into the next phase of preparation for the marketplace. This publication discusses the advantages associated with this production and marketing strategy

Analyzing Replacement Stock Alternatives

4 pp., 1 tableReplacement management strategy involves comparing the values of the breeding stock you own with the value of potential replacements, and then choosing the investment with the highest expected worth. This publication discusses the application of capital budgeting to the replacement decision for breeding stock