One of the more recent technological advancements with widespread acceptance is the smart phone. At one time, the use of these devices as a mobile phone was all that was really asked for.  As time marches on their functionality has increased dramatically. Texting, alarms, calculators, unique ring tones, camera, email, GPS capabilities, web access, only to name a few. And if you have not been over-run by the App world, let’s just say you must not be very hip… 

I actually fall into this latter category, not being very hip that is, with my reluctance to give up the phone that I have used for years since I still don’t know half of what it can do. My evaluation of the Apps or “Application Software” that first came on the scene for smart phones, was that they were basically games that provided activities to kill time. I know there were some that actually provided some useful information or performed some meaningful tasks, but I would have to say that when I saw most people using them they were trying to get a personal best at rolling toilet paper or to see how far they could fling an angry bird. Or something like that.

But when you look at the portability, connectivity, versatility and the adoption of the smart phones you just have to start thinking, “how can we use this technology to help our customers?” There has to be something that we can put together that uses such an intelligent device that can help us with improving our efficiencies, data collection, developing more visual tools for product training, managing our production and/or expenses, etc. I think you get the picture. 

That is where our journey begins as we put our toe in the water for designing Apps that are applicable to the beef cattle industry. Our first efforts will be demonstrated next week at the NCBA Convention in Nashville, TN and the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, SD and is available at your iPhone or Android App stores now. We have designed an App that we feel can be very useful in helping Beef Cow-Calf producers to better manage the nutrition program for their cow herd. So how can that happen with the use of a Smart Phone?

 The CRYSTALYX^® Beef Cow BCS App is available on iOS (Iphone) and Android platforms (See Home Menu Screen shot). 

You simply download the App and then head to the pasture and take profile pictures of your cows.  You can compare them to reference photos (see App photo comparison screen) of cows that represent Body Condition Scores from 1 to 9.

Determine the BCS that best describes each cow and save it within the App for future reference. If you would like to arrange your cows by pasture, that functionality is also available. You can then use these stored images as references at any point in the future to determine how best to manage your nutrition program to make sure your cows breed and calve in a timely manner. 

 Visit your phone's App store or scan the QR codes below to go directly to the App market.