Write It Down!

In the third part of our series on successful breeding, Jack Smellie considers record keeping and how it can be fun, useful and reassuring

- Jack Smellie

Confessions first: I LIKE record keeping. We have several databases, spreadsheets and notebooks and, along with our daily smallholding blog, all combine to produce a pretty thorough record of all that takes place here on our 10 acres in North Devon. The data that accumulates is both fun to look back on and also fantastically useful when it comes to such tasks as updating our health plan, selling stock and, most crucially, planning our breeding programmes.

We know, for example, which of our chickens to use as broodies in order to maximise hatching rates, which sheep to keep a special eye on for limps when the land turns wet and how many days we should be counting between seasons for individual goats and cows. We also know (potentially) how much forage we require for the autumn and winter and when we need to order more feed.

For anyone involved in keeping livestock, some record keeping is a legal requirement. Example are on and off movements for sheep, cows, goats, deer and pigs, records of all births and deaths, plus the administering of medications. For anyone selling produce from their premises, accurate records are a must in order to prove traceability and correct storage….

Little and often