North Dakota State University’s North Central Research Extension Center in Minot, North Dakota, will host a livestock record management program on Jan. 13 from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Ranch Counts and Calculations workshop will provide livestock producers with a hands-on opportunity to learn how to manage and evaluate spreadsheet-based performance records to maximize returns on labor and make confident herd management decisions.

“Management records may be one of the most underutilized tools in our toolbox,” says Lacey Quail, NDSU Extension livestock management specialist. “Calving season is generally a time of year when information gets recorded, but using those records to make informed management decisions is what makes them truly valuable.”

Quail encourages producers to bring their laptops and records, digital or handwritten, to the program. Topics covered will include the following:

• Which information can be most beneficial, and how to record it
• How to quickly identify culls or replacements based on specific criteria
• How to automatically calculate production metrics, such as adjusted weaning weights or estimated calving dates
• How to create easy-to-use summaries of birth/weaning weights, pregnancy rates and dystocia issues by management group or sire

“Ranchers are already doing the hard work of gathering information out in the pasture and barn,” says Paige Brummund, NDSU Extension agent for Ward County. “This workshop helps bridge the gap between collecting those records and turning them into practical decisions that improve herd performance and long-term profitability.”

Brummund says that their goal is to make record-keeping feel less overwhelming and more rewarding for every operation.

Quail encourages producers to come with specific questions or examples they’d like to implement in their own records, in addition to the topics offered.

There is no cost to attend. To register or learn more, visit ndsu.ag/recordmgmt26.

For more information, contact Quail at lacey.quail@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Dec. 10, 2025

Source: Lacey Quail, 701-857-7677, lacey.quail@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu