2016-109: Factors Affecting the adoption and exploitation of data management systems in the Canadian beef industry
Researcher: Eric Michaels
Funded: $10,000
The purpose of this project is to better understand the reasons behind the adoption of herd data management tools as well as the factors that influence greater utilization and effectiveness of these tools on certain farms and ranches. In order to note adoption of innovations and its uses, the researchers have proposed to examine factors that separate tech adopters from non-adopters, and then those factors that allow producers to fully exploit the data they have available.
Results:
While there are producers recording their production data, including their costs, open rate, weaning weight, and so on, not all producers have used this information to guide their future decisions. However, those that do have been able to markedly improve their production, as they allocate time and resources in the search for improved performance and genetics.
The producers surveyed weren't likely to use computer software to record their production results, perhaps because they didn't see a link between production metrics and financial metrics. Finding a method to connect the two would be a helpful way to ensure producers received more benefits for the time and effort made to record their data.
As technology continues to evolve, understanding the needs of producers so that they can easily exploit these tools will be as important as their development.
More information can be found here: https://www.beefresearch.ca/factsheet.cfm/record-keeping-and-management-on-western-canadian-farms-and-ranches-279