EXTREME FARM MAKEOVER, EPISODE 1

You wouldn't let weeds take over your farm, neglect servicing your machinery or allow your buildings to rot or rust.  Chances are, though, your management information system is beginning to show its age through an accumulation of "binary barnacles," habits of "high-ineffectiveness" and homemade "work-arounds."  The computer world often refers to these conditions as "legacy systems," which is a polite way of saying, "antiquated, yet functioning, hardware and software held together with baling wire and duct tape."

While maintaining a current software version is a critical first step, it doesn't take the place of an occasional—and sometimes radical farm makeover to counter the "creeping crud" that can insidiously overtake your system.  Here are some common indications:

•	Accounts, centers or other codes randomly cubby-holed or "splattered" across your listings
•	Blended accounts (ie. "Utilities" used for recording electricity, telephone and propane expenses)
•	Outdated centers, locations and products cluttering up your system
•	Redundant or confusing accounts or centers that may be used haphazardly
•	Difficulty in finding items on a pick list or in a "single-pass" report
•	Challenges in training new people on "your way" of doing things
•	Out-of-balance inventories and trial balances

To be honest, many of these problems originated or have been perpetuated by the exceptional lifespan and flexibility of FBS software.

•	Back in the "good old DOS days" memory was limited and expensive, so in order to save space ledger account and enterprise codes were restricted to 2-4 numbers.  As seasons rolled by and operations expanded compromises were often made to shoehorn new definitions into what had begun as a logical coding system.
•	Since FBS clients have always been able to move their records from one generation of computer to another, some data files may be 25 years old and interspersed with outdated items.
•	Our modules are intentionally "forgiving," allowing inventories to go negative without freezing the system and "mechanized," dutifully rolling bad, as well as good balances forward from year-to-year.

Modern Windows computers have allowed us to dramatically expand software capacity as well as incorporate the flexibility required for you to customize and adapt your system "on-the-fly."  Our approach is not just providing a wide array of software tools, but also transferring the knowledge you'll need to take advantage of them—similar to The Home Depot's slogan: "You can do it.  We can help."

Some projects—like replacing a faucet washer or renaming an account—are quick and simple.  Others—such as remodeling a house or switching accounting from cash to accrual—require much more skill and experience.  Our staff and allied consultants have reviewed hundreds of operations and can apply their expertise in accounting, records and analysis to your specific requirements.

In the coming months we'll be demonstrating how to fine-tune, and in some cases, gut and totally rebuild information systems using real-life case studies.  If you're willing to submit your operation for a free extreme farm makeover case study, e-mail norm@fbssystems.com right away for more details.

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The first application farmers associate with yield monitors are yield maps. Yet you can also import the same "free" information into Crop Audit production / inventory records. Our newest version supports these brands of yield monitors:

•	Ag Leader
•	John Deere Greenstar
•	Case New Holland
•	AGCO

Here's how the process works:

1.	Copy your "raw" yield data to your computer.
2.	Launch the Import Crop Yield File from your FBS Input menu
3.	Select your device from the menu.
4.	Point to the folder and yield file and click OK.
5.	A screen is displayed for each field with the yield monitor's designation for the field at the top of the screen.  Select the Crop Audit Center and Project/Field from the drop-down lists and enter a unit price.  Load splits are shown on the bottom half of the screen.  Designate the FBS Storage Bin and Variety for each load from the drop-down lists.
6.	Here are the yield monitor records after being transferred to the Crop Audit data file.
7.	Here are maps created from SMS Basic and SST Summit Plus the same yield data.

You can activate the Yield Monitor Data module by calling 800.437.7638 or e-mailing sales@fbssystems.com.  The price is $595.00.

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