Breedcow & Dynama herd management tool goes online
Agricultural economists at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have transformed the iconic Breedcow and Dynama herd budgeting software into a new online tool to help beef cattle producers understand the potential economic impacts of ways of managing their beef cattle enterprise.
First developed by Bill Holmes, Principal Agricultural Economist with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in 1988, the program is designed for graziers and advisors working with graziers.
“Breedcow and Dynama was developed thirty plus years ago and this year we have moved the platform online,” explained DAF Grazing Economist, Tim Moravek.
“The new online program helps graziers understand the costs and benefits of management decisions such as trading cattle, supplementary or production feeding, or investing in infrastructure.
“We have improved the usability, increased the information sharing, and provide assistance and help resources with the online tool which really improves the ability to work remotely.”
The decision support tool is made up of six major components designed to assist with economic decision making on varying levels of complexity. From deciding what to sell when destocking or what to buy with there is an opportunity to comparing profitability of different herd management strategies and 10 year forward projections.
The program allows registered users to easily share scenarios and is supported by an online user manual. Users can follow step by step instructions when inputting data into the program and have access to an ever-growing online support structure – which is a key enhancement of the online version of the program.
Breedcow and Dynama is free to use and producers can sign up online at breedcowdynama.com.au.
DAF is offering free Breedcow and Dynama training workshops over the next few months. To register your interest in participating, please email breedcow@daf.qld.gov.au
The program is supported by DAF agricultural economists based in regional Queensland. For any more information please phone 13 25 23.