What do you use instead?
Cattle/sheep management software
- Thread starter Gulli
- Start date
100% recommend iLivestock.
It's been designed with the farmers needs in mind. You can keep your records, medicines, breeding, pedigree as well as any other notes you wish to keep.
We use it on farm, I purchased tablet bundle and have the tablet in waterproof case on clamp and I pop everything in as I go.
Support is fantastic, it's a Scottish business and the price is very attractive for what it offers!
- Location
- Newcastle upon Tyne
Farm Matters. Will do all the compliance aspects quickly and easily and is great for more in depth management. It has great backup and makes record keeping almost a pleasure to undertake......almost!! Neil is always at the end of the phone if you have problems and will listen and try and accomodate if you have suggestions for improvements/additional aspects that will help the software evolve.
We love AgriWebb: great functionality, easy to talk to staff, does everything we need and covers both farms with one subscription rather than some that charge per holding, which makes it expensive. And they work with lots of hardware, rather than limited options or having to buy in a specific one.
Matt
Member
- Location
- herefordshire, uk
Would recommend Farm Matters.
I spoke with Neil from Farm Matters about a 6 weeks ago now, as I was disappointed with the reports and details i was getting from our Sum-it cattle data.
Neil wanted me to get the best out of my trial period and he said send us your data we can look at getting it in so I had some relevant data to work with that made sense to me.
To be fair to him/them they have worked very hard to make it happen to get the best for me, and they even took on board my comments on some features and made it happen for everyone to benefit.
So on my findings, they are much more helpful and reactive to help people get more out of the data.
Down to me now to get to grips with a different system, but so far so good.
If i'm been critical the bit they lagging behind, is on the mobile app area.
I spoke with Neil from Farm Matters about a 6 weeks ago now, as I was disappointed with the reports and details i was getting from our Sum-it cattle data.
Neil wanted me to get the best out of my trial period and he said send us your data we can look at getting it in so I had some relevant data to work with that made sense to me.
To be fair to him/them they have worked very hard to make it happen to get the best for me, and they even took on board my comments on some features and made it happen for everyone to benefit.
So on my findings, they are much more helpful and reactive to help people get more out of the data.
Down to me now to get to grips with a different system, but so far so good.
If i'm been critical the bit they lagging behind, is on the mobile app area.
- Location
- east Ayrshire
I will fully second this sentiment, I have been with farm matter for a few years and Neil is still as helpful as day one and very accommodating to make changes to the program to make it do what you want it to do.
@Matt On the app front they do have a web based one you can use through a browser on your phone and I was speaking with Niel just the other day and there is an app in the pipe line.
Matt
Member
- Location
- herefordshire, uk
Yeah I've had a play with the Web based link.
Just feel its bit behind the others.
I feel A good app, and with their level of support and from what I've read about others experiences with them, they would be hard to beat.
I'll have to comment in a couple of weeks to see how it's going.
- Location
- east Ayrshire
Yeah I would agree the web link is lacking a bit.
But every other front you won't be disappointed I know I haven't and the customer support will not be beaten.
Matt
Member
- Location
- herefordshire, uk
I'm.glad to hear that.
I looked at a fair few/most of the others before deciding to.give farm matters a proper go.with our own animals for a few weeks.
I was getting fed up of our old system. Not doing what I needed, and some of it was simple stuff which took ages for them to implement.
- Location
- east Ayrshire
Well if there is anything it's not doing you think it should be tell Neil he is the most genuine man I have worked with and I if the system doesn't do It already he will find a way of making it even if that's adding it into an update.
I feel I have to add this here I am not affiliated with farm matters in anyway just a happy customer that's been f**ked off by to many software providers failing to provide what they promised.
Matt
Member
- Location
- herefordshire, uk
Similar boat to you.
Some of the updates in the last month was because of me telling him what I thought.
Tweaking to the polled status and herd health bloods.
Calf growth rates.
But same as you some companies yes they want to be good but they want your money more,
One company was offering me a suckler cow software, but couldn't even give me a list of the cows and their expected due dates.
And with sum it there was various things I wanted to record such as pelvis measuring, and they just said to record it as a comment against the animal, then i would have to go through each animals card to write it down on my own league table. But still want to charge you for it.
- Location
- east Ayrshire
Similar boat to you.
Some of the updates in the last month was because of me telling him what I thought.
Tweaking to the polled status and herd health bloods.
Calf growth rates.
But same as you some companies yes they want to be good but they want your money more,
One company was offering me a suckler cow software, but couldn't even give me a list of the cows and their expected due dates.
And with sum it there was various things I wanted to record such as pelvis measuring, and they just said to record it as a comment against the animal, then i would have to go through each animals card to write it down on my own league table. But still want to charge you for it.
Yeah my final straw at the last lot I worked with was I started using UHF Eid tags in all my cattle and I moved to Agriwebb as they had said they would be able to get the UHF reader working with there software, signed up with them got a reader sent to them and they strung me along for about a year and then said they weren't going to get it working in the near future. Along with a list of other issues they had with there app.
I then moved to Farm Matters as Niel already had the reader connected to farm matters in a fashion that made it useable but within a couple of months he had it working so as I can wiegh my stock with out touching anything on the reader or computer and able to use it for recording BCS, PD results etc.
- Location
- Newcastle upon Tyne
I agree completely. It almost sounds as though we are starting a Neil Fan Club!!!!
Credit where it's due though.
- Location
- East Sussex
Got to pay for all those free caps they were sending out. Must have four or five here on the shelf.
- Location
- UK
Thanks to all appreciate the kind words … I have been trying my best for over 26 years computerising reluctant farmers and I still take great pleasure in helping anyone who asks 
so if there is anyone out there needing advice just get in touch … zero cost and zero obligation ask away …. Record keeping, farm management software, inspection concerns Eid what ever you like apart from anything to do with women as I haven’t got a clue how they tick ! My better half didn’t take kindly to me trying to tag her ! UHF Of course !!!
so if there is anyone out there needing advice just get in touch … zero cost and zero obligation ask away …. Record keeping, farm management software, inspection concerns Eid what ever you like apart from anything to do with women as I haven’t got a clue how they tick ! My better half didn’t take kindly to me trying to tag her ! UHF Of course !!!Told a few people I'd update this thread once I'd made a decision and then promptly forgot until just now 
Anyway, gone with farm matters mainly due to value for money but I like the way the system works and it's all pretty simple so far, Neil has been very helpful as well.
I thought agriwebb looked very good but there's a whole load of stuff on there that id just never use despite paying for it
Herdwatch were very helpful on the phone and seemed like a nice bunch to deal with but the app just didn't quite fit with how I wanted to use it and long term was quite a cost for both cattle and sheep in comparison
Breedr got in touch with me about an unrelated problem that I'd had before they brought in their fee and apparently the 30 day free trial was meant to be seen as an extension of the notice period for current users. Despite the fact that you have to put in card details to get the free trial and then I believe cancel the subscription before you get charged although I may be wrong on that last bit. That aside I got on well with the programme and they were mostly very helpful with problems I just don't think they handled the changeover to a subscription fee very well at all.
Anything else I tried either didn't have the functionality I wanted or was priced out of the equation
Anyway, gone with farm matters mainly due to value for money but I like the way the system works and it's all pretty simple so far, Neil has been very helpful as well.
I thought agriwebb looked very good but there's a whole load of stuff on there that id just never use despite paying for it
Herdwatch were very helpful on the phone and seemed like a nice bunch to deal with but the app just didn't quite fit with how I wanted to use it and long term was quite a cost for both cattle and sheep in comparison
Breedr got in touch with me about an unrelated problem that I'd had before they brought in their fee and apparently the 30 day free trial was meant to be seen as an extension of the notice period for current users. Despite the fact that you have to put in card details to get the free trial and then I believe cancel the subscription before you get charged although I may be wrong on that last bit. That aside I got on well with the programme and they were mostly very helpful with problems I just don't think they handled the changeover to a subscription fee very well at all.
Anything else I tried either didn't have the functionality I wanted or was priced out of the equation