PORK$HOP.07 HELPS YOU ADAPT TO THE NEW COST SQUEEZE
 |
While providing a long-overdue windfall for corn growers, the ethanol explosion is pressuring livestock producers to tighten their control of feed—and other significant—costs.
If you're among those feeling this "squeeze," please reserve Wednesday,
June 6—one day prior to World Pork Expo—for the PORK$HOP.07
management seminar. This year this elite event will explore
innovative strategies to adapt to what may be a long-term production "cost
squeeze." Highlights include:
| • |
The
latest Cost of Production Benchmarks from the Latta Harris
Hanon & Penningroth CPA firm will be unveiled. |
| • |
Producer
and expert panels will discuss Feed Cost Strategies, Issues,
Threats and Opportunities. On the docket analysis from a Kansas
State University swine nutritionist, Mark Greenwood from AgStar
Financial Services and Moe Russell of Russell Consulting. |
| • |
Keynote
"Ag Economics and the Impact of US Energy Policy on the Cost
of Corn" by Dr. Michael Swanson, chief ag economist for Wells
Fargo Bank. |
| • |
"Investment
Diversification" by The Profit Zone's Don DeWaay |
| • |
Plus
the latest concepts for refining and automating management reporting,
budgeting and data collection by FBS users and consultants. |
 |
| The
PORK$HOP location this year is the brand-new Commerce
Park office complex in Clive, Iowa (west side of Des Moines). |
For more information or to register visit our web
site or call 800.437.7638 today.
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THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR SOFTWARE COULD DO: HANDHELD COMPUTERS AND PDAS
This month's
installment of "things you never knew your software could do" looks at
how handheld computers and PDAs (personal digital assistants) can be incorporated
into farm recordkeeping.
Background
The biggest recordkeeping challenge for most operations is getting field
and feedlot data recorded in a timely manner. Traditional methods such
as printed worksheets require two steps: completing in the worksheet,
then re-keying that data into the computer. Nearly every industry with
non-deskbound employees has developed portable data collection systems
to stay on top of inventories and business processes. We've all encountered
the gadgets carried or worn by package couriers, store employees or rental
car staff. Most are highly-customized (and expensive) terminals or stand-alone
computers that are customized for specific functions.
Production agriculture has lagged adopting this technology for various reasons:
| • |
Low
perceived value of information |
| • |
High
(relative) cost of the technology |
| • |
Lack
of standards |
| • |
Harsh
environments for sensitive equipment |
| • |
Employee
training and convenience |
The operations that have successfully implemented handheld computers tend
to be innovators with a higher-than-normal tolerance for new technology.
In order to be widely-accepted by no-nonsense, commercial operations handhelds
much hit the "sweet spot" between price, durability, size and ease-of-use.
Options
Are we there yet? Certainly great strides have been made in these areas:
| • |
PDAs are now
a commodity item—even incorporated into "smart phones." |
| • |
The Microsoft
Windows CE/Pocket PC/Mobile operating system family has provided
developers a common platform and users a familiar interface. (While
Palm and Blackberry O.S.s are also popular, few ag applications
have been developed around them.) |
| • |
"Ruggedized"
handhelds now run Windows Mobile and "clamshells" are available
to protect consumer-grade PDAs |
Here's a comparison of two alternative approaches: off-the-shelf PDAs and industrial handhelds.
| Category |
Off-the-Shelf
PDA |
Industrial
Handheld |
| Cost |
<
$500.00 |
>
$1,000.00 |
| Durability |
Low,
although "clamshells" help |
High |
| Ease
of use |
Low—requires
using stylus |
Higher—"soft
keys"/one-handed operation |
| Size |
Pocket-size
or lower |
Bulky |
| Other |
Integrated
with some "smartphones" |
|
How it Works
| 1. |
Handhelds
are connected to host computer via USB cable or Wi-Fi. Definitions
(products, fields, groups, etc.) and selected historical database
are exported to the handhelds. |
| 2. |
After
new information is recorded in the handhelds (and possibly the host
computer as well) a "syncing" process combines the newest records
from both sources. |
Summary
Disadvantages:
| Hardware cost/durability |
| Interface (stylus and/or tiny keyboard) requires training and patience |
Advantages:
| • |
Validation
of data during remote entry |
| • |
Access
to database in the field |
| • |
Requires
no data bridging |
| • |
Works
with both Crop Audit and Smart Feeder |
Crop Audit CE: $495.00 for first unit, $247.50 for additional units.
Smart Feeder CE: $495.00 for first unit, $247.50 for additional units.
Special offer: Either Crop Audit or Smart Feeder CE bundled with JETT®ce handheld computer with Wi-Fi for $995.00 (a $2,000.00 value). Get a rugged, industrial computer for the price of a consumer PDA!
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BETA TESTERS NEEDED FOR NEW FIELD/LIVESTOCK DATA ENTRY TECHNOLOGIES
We're looking for a select number of innovative managers willing to field test an exciting, new data collection tool this spring. Jobs that can be automated include:
| • |
Field
operations and applications |
| • |
Field
labor records |
| • |
Harvest
worksheets |
| • |
Feeding
animal death loss, treatments and movements |
| • |
Sow
cards and breeding worksheets |
For more information e-mail Norm@FBSSystems.com.
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|
SOFTWARE
Q&A – WITH Q'S FROM YOU, OUR CLIENTS!
Send
us your questions/problems–be they short, long, simple or downright
frustratin'!–about SeRVware
and we'll handle them right "on the air" for the benefit of all.
|
Q.
|
How can I reconcile my FBS TransAction Plus general ledger with the Red Wing Payroll program? |
| A.
|
Here are the steps to this multi-step-process:
| 1. |
Start with a small expense/liability like FUTA or SUTA. They are set up to go to separate expense accounts, but the same liability account. |
| |
a. |
In FBS run a User Defined Report for the FUTA expense account. |
| |
b. |
In
Payroll, run a Report/Employer Tax Report/Tax Liability
for FUTA for the time period you need to check. If
checking prior years, you need to do End of Period/Change
Tax Year. |
| |
c. |
Compare entries on each report. |
| |
d. |
The same figures (plus SUTA) should also be in the liability account. |
| 2. |
To
check an individual pay run, use the Pay Data/Pay
Run Totals/Pay Run Liability Totals, and use just
the date of the payroll checks and the vendor "Payroll
of" in FBS to get all the employer payroll expenses
and taxes. |
| 3. |
Use
the Pay Data/Pay Run Totals/Pay Run Employee Totals
and compare with an FBS User Defined Report using the
date of the payroll checks, the payroll and payroll
liability accounts and Entry Type C to get the
employee data. The recap by ledger accounts should match
the totals on the payroll report. |
| 4. |
Repeat step 1 for the different taxes, but use the corresponding ledger account numbers in FBS. |
| 5. |
Be
sure to save each User Defined Report you setup
as a macro so you don't have to set it up again. |
|
|
|
