Software programs are also available in such areas as financial management, crop and field records, mailing lists for customers of certified seed and breeding stock, machinery purchase versus custom hiring, investment feasibility of building and livestock facilities, commodity price charts and tables, income taxation, marketing, soil conservation, and integrated pest management.
The computer and its associated software packages can help you do four kinds of work: (1) store and manipulate records, (2) provide analyses for management decisions, (3) control machines or monitor production, and (4) communicate faster with other people through their computers and data bases.
Many experts recommend that you start on a small scale, computerize one thing at a time, and learn as you go along—rather than trying to put information on your entire farm operation into the computer all at once. A good place to start is with farm records.
You can use microcomputers to keep track of financial records—such as cash flow, bank balances, accounts payable, accounts receivable, net worth statements, costs, and returns—as well as other records—such as livestock breeding and production reports, crop and field records, and mailing lists.
After computerizing the farm records, the next step would be to do simple analyses on the microprocessor. A good place to start is by analyzing data already stored in the computer or available in the files.
For example, you could use the recordkeeping capabilities of the computer to record and depreciate equipment, and to decide whether it is cheaper to lease or buy farm equipment.
General software is available to help you with accounting and bookkeeping, basic business functions.