Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Beef Cow-Calf Standard Performance Analysis (SPA) program has aided cow-calf producers in the Southwest since 1992 to reduce costs and improve production, financial efficiency, and profitability. The program has amassed a database of over 650 cow-calf herds and 432,876 breeding cows, allowing producers to compare their performance and identify areas for improvement. To modernize the program, there is a plan to convert the SPA format from Excel and Access to a more user-friendly web application, broaden its scope to include other industry segments, and update all calculations to align with current Farm Financial Standard Council guidelines. The new web application will provide producers with a "report card" to benchmark their operations against others and track their progress over time. Workshops will be conducted across Texas to promote the new SPA web application, aiming to engage at least 240 producers over two years and encourage more producers to get involved. The goal is to make data collection and analysis more accessible and user-friendly, ultimately helping producers improve their efficiency, profitability, and overall operation.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The Beef Cow-Calf Standard Performance Analysis (SPA) program has been helping cow-calf producers in the Southwest since 1992. Its main goal is to support producers in reducing costs and improving production, financial efficiency, and profitability. Over the years, the SPA database has grown to include over 650 cow-calf herds and 432,876 breeding cows. The program collects data from participating producers and allows them to compare their performance with others while identifying areas for improvement. The goal is to help producers make informed decisions, set goals, and monitor their progress.SPA helps cow-calf producers reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase profitability. By participating in SPA, producers can achieve these goals through detailed analysis of their production and financial performance. This standardized analysis facilitates comparisons between different years, producers, and regions, providing valuable insights into areas where producers can improve.However, SPA mustbe upgradedfrom its original Excel and Access format. The project goal is to convert the SPA format from Excel and Access to a more user-friendly web application, increase the number of users, and improve ranchers' profitability. This new platform will streamline data collection and reporting, making it easier for producers. Additionally, the project will expand its scope to include other industry segments, such as stockers and breeding heifers. All calculations will be updated to align with the Farm Financial Standards Council's 2024 guidelines and FINBIN database requirements, ensuring the most accurate and relevant data analysis.One of SPA's primary goals is to help producers understand their production and financial performance. By enabling producers to benchmark their operations against others, SPA helps identify potential areas for improvement. The new web application will provide producers with a "report card" that shows how they rank compared to other producers in the database. This tool will also help producers track their progress over time, making it easier to make informed decisions and set realistic goals.The SPA project aims to modernize how cow-calf producers collect and analyze data. By making these tools more accessible and user-friendly, SPA hopes to increase participation and help producers improve their efficiency, profitability, and overall operation. The expected outcome is a standardized database and analysis framework that aligns with current guidelines and meets the needs of modern producers. The new web application will make it easier for producers to organize and report their financial information, leading to better decision-making and improved accuracy of the SPA analysis over time.Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct workshops across Texas to promote the new SPA web application. These workshops will train producers onhow to usethe new platform and highlight the benefits of participating in SPA. The SPA team will collaborate with various organizations and stakeholders to encourage more producers to get involved. The workshops aim to engage at least 240 producersover the course oftwo years, helping them understand the opportunities within data collection and the ease of using the new web application.Our specific objectives are to:Improve and align economic and financial analysis with the Farm Financial Standards Council guidelines. The expected outcome will be a standard database and analysis framework for Cow-calf operations that meets the producers' and FINBIN'sexpectations,given FFSC guidelines.Design and launch an online platform to collect data and assist the producers.Once we improve and align SPA inputs and outputs with FFSC and FINBIN, the second activity involves launching a website to collect and assist the producers. The team will update the SPA program to a user-friendly web application format: Update the current format of theprogramfound in Excel and Access and convert it to a Web App format. Partnering with AgriLife Information Technology (AIT) and the AgriLife Research Cloud (ARC) will allow us to transfer existing database records, build reports, and create a front-end web application by hosting it on a virtual server.Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct workshops across Texas to promote the new SPA web application. These workshops will train producers onusingthe new platform and highlight the benefits of participating in SPA. The SPA team will collaborate with various organizations and stakeholders to encourage more producers to get involved. The workshops aim to engage at least 240 producersovertwo years, helping them understand the opportunities within data collection and the ease of using the new web application.Report data to FINBIN Database.
Project Methods
The project will be conducted in the following timeframe.Project TimelineObj.Tasks and milestonesY1Y2Y31Task 1: Review and improve the SPA database.XX1Task 2: Align the SPA approach to FFSC and FINBIN data management and procedures.XX1Task 3: Align SPA reports to FFSC / FINBIN requirements.XX2Task 1: Transfer of database recordsXX2Task 2: Building reportsXX2Task 3: Creating a frontend web applicationXX2Task 4: Hosting of virtual serverXX2Task 5: ComplianceXX2Task 6: Platforms & InfrastructureXX3Task 1: Conduct workshops to present SPA and the websiteXX3Task 2: Collect and share the data with FBMB/FINBINXXThe initial step toward cost reduction involves, a precise measurement of production performance indicators, determination of unit production cost, the ability to benchmark production and costs against alternative systems.PI Abello is an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. He will work on aligning the SPA data management nomenclature and procedures to the Farm Financial Standards Council (FFSC) guidelines and the National Farm Financial Management Database (FINBIN). Abello will also overview the design and launch of the online platform to assist ranchers and collect data to be transferred later to the FINBIN database. As part of the SPA team, we will conduct workshops across Texas to support ranchers using the new SPA web application, evaluate their cases, showing them how the tool helps increase efficiency. Abello will learn how to use the FINBIN database to support AgriLife IT and Post Doc to transfer the database into FINBIN.Calil will also align the SPA data management nomenclature and procedures to the Farm Financial Standards Council (FFSC) guidelines and the National Farm Financial Management Database (FINBIN). He will overview the design and launch of the online platform to assist ranchers and collect data to be transferred later to the FINBIN database. As part of the SPA team, we will conduct workshops across Texas to support ranchers using the new SPA web application, evaluate their cases, showing them how the tool helps increase efficiency. Call will learn how to use the FINBIN database to support Post Doc to transfer the database into FINBIN.Dr. Goodwin is a Research Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Grazing lands and Ranch Management (GCRM) in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University. Goodwin will oversee and lead the assessment of grazing management practices implemented on the participating ranch properties and design the new production grazing performance analysis that ranchers can use to benchmark their productivity.As a project coordinator, Matzke will help manage the program by developing the workshops and promotional materials to announce them. Her current duties as a program manager include promoting events across social media platforms. During the workshops, Matzke will be on hand to assist producers with inputting data into the web application.A Post Doc will be hired to align the SPA data management nomenclature and procedures to the Farm Financial Standards Council (FFSC) guidelines and the National Farm Financial Management Database (FINBIN). They will overview the design and launch of the online platform to assist ranchers and collect data to be transferred later to the FINBIN database. As part of the SPA team, they will help conduct the workshops across Texas to support ranchers using the new SPA web application, evaluate their cases, and show them how the tool helps increase efficiency. They will be trained in using the FINBIN database and will be in charge of transferring the SPA database to FINBIN.The personnel from AgriLife Information Technology (AIT) and the AgriLife Research Cloud (ARC) will be responsible for building the new SPA web application, transferring existing database records, building reports, and creating a front-end web application with the hosting of a virtual test/dev/prod server.We will conduct self-evaluations among all PIs through bi-annual project meetings. This will ensure that the project is performed as planned without issues and if there are any obstacles to proceed with the project, especially during the first year.After the first year, the project will be evaluated by ranchers through an online survey (Example: Qualtrics) for each rancher that uses the new application and after each workshop. We will make the survey concise and attractive to increase the growth of participants in the survey. Survey results will be immediately used to update and improve the SPA web application. Evaluations will focus on change in knowledge about the operation performance, change in production system or behavior to pursue higher profits, feedback on the use of the app application from producers so we can improve it, future impact on savings, production system, and profits.The SPA team will conduct workshops across Texas. As a result, the ranchers will be informed about SPA changes and trained on using the platform. After the workshops, the SPA team will work with ranchers' data to evaluate their cases, showing them how the tool helps increase efficiency. Six workshops will be hosted in Year 2 and six additional workshops will be hosted in Year 3.The workshops will be announced through social media channels, the AgEcon Blog website, the AgriLife Today newsletter, and AgriLife Register - Event Services. The county will collaborate in advertising the tool in their programs, platforms, and outreach efforts.