Importance of Record Keeping in Commercial Pig Farming

April 2, 2023 Agric4Profits

The keeping of accurate records is absolutely essential for the success of any pig enterprise especially in a commercial pig farming level. The pig farm records must be simple, reliable and relevant to enable you evaluating the farm performance.

Importance of Record Keeping in Commercial Pig Farming

It gives a clear picture of the type of operations, so that the exact degree of success can be measured.

Act as aids to management and financial control.

They are used to assess the strength and weakness of a farm and to plan for future activities.

Records tell a pig producer what has been achieved.

They provide valuable information for decision making in order to increase productivity and profitability of your farm.

They are helpful in health programs e.g. monitoring treatments and vaccination.

What to Record?

What you record will depend on your needs and your capability to record information.

The number of records maintained and the details recorded will vary according to individual needs and how the information is to be used.

The records you choose to keep should be related to the purpose you are going to use them for. Each record should have a specific objective and be used for that purpose.

Types of Farm Records in Commercial Pig Farming

1. General administrative records.

2. Resource inventories

3. Production records.

4. Financial records.

1) General Administrative Records

These include personal records e.g. pay roll, record of visitors to the farm. By knowing the amount of labor required and timing of labor requirement, you can better plan what pig enterprises are feasible when faced with labor constraints on your farm.

2) Resource Inventory

This is a detailed list of resources such as land, stock, workers, machinery, equipment and working capital.

Farmers must maintain current inventories so that they know the foundation from which they operate.

Importance of Record Keeping in Commercial Pig Farming

3) Production Records

These are technical records used to evaluate the performance of the pig enterprises and they include;

1. Breeding records.

2. Health records.

3. Feeding records.

4. Number of pigs on the farm.

5. Performance records.

4) Financial Records

These are necessary for evaluation of the profitability of the pig enterprises and they include;

Sources documents.

Journals.

Ledgers.

Cash books etc.

Source Documents: These are documents where business transactions are first recorded and they include; invoices, delivery notes, receipts etc.

Journals: These are the first books in which information from source documents is transferred.

Ledgers: These are used to summarize and classify information received from journals.

Cash Book: This is a special record that summarizes and classifies all cash transaction on the farm.

Now let’s hear from you, do you keep any type of the above mentioned types of records in your commercial pig farming business? What are the benefits of keeping those records in your farm so far? Please kindly share your experiences and advice for us below so other pig farmers or intending pig farmers can also learn from you. Thank you as you share

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