Farming Express. Page 7
Farm Management
An introduction to Orchid, and the plus-points of cloud-based farm management software.
Over its thirty years of developing farm
software, Orchid has applied many of the
advances in computer technology to create
software that saves time spent on record
keeping, while providing accurate information
for inspections and enterprise management.
With a change in ownership in 2009, the
company again looked at emerging technologies
when developing its latest products for dairy,
beef and sheep recording. The era of desktop
computing was starting to give way to “cloud”
computing, coupled with a rapid increase in
mobile device usage.
The result of all this research and collaboration
is Orchid FarmWizard; a modern cloudbased livestock recording system that enables
producers to keep all their statutory and
management records in one secure place. One of
the main advantages of storing farm data in the
cloud is that it provides a central information
hub that can be accessed and updated in realtime by all farm stakeholders - owners, staff,
technicians and trusted advisers.
Wherever possible, Orchid’s cloud software
seeks to integrate with other official
organisations and on-farm systems. For
example, when a calf birth is recorded, the
system talks to the BCMS Cattle Tracing
System (CTS) to request the passport.
For dairy producers, further data links are
available, including milk recording agencies,
parlour systems, heat detection systems and
drafting gates.
Beef producers can take advantage of Orchid
FarmWizard’s latest development - the ability to
record cattle electronic (EID) tags and weights
on an Android smartphone using Bluetooth
wireless connections to an EID stick reader and
Tru-Test weigh box.
There is no software to physically install or
maintain. Data is simply accessed through a
web browser, which means that users quickly
become productive with the software. That said,
Orchid places a strong emphasis on customer
support and training for its customers; remote
screen-sharing software is employed to deliver
“bite-size” training sessions when needed.
New developments in the pipeline include the
addition of dashboard-style screens giving the
owner/manager “at a glance” information on
enterprise performance.
Cloud-based farm software, like Orchid
FarmWizard, offers unparalleled opportunities
to connect people to information, anywhere,
anytime. It also takes another significant step
towards a single entry point for data, where
information can be seamlessly transferred
between different on-farm systems and
official bodies. Orchid’s software aims to give
producers a future-proof platform to advance
into a new era of precision livestock farming.
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Manages your breeding calendar
Produces custom reports for farm
management, vets & advisers
Acts as an “information hub” for data
exchange with other databases and
systems (e.g. The BCMS, HUK, milk
recording agencies, farm advisers and
electronic milking parlours)
Provides additional recording facilities
for grassland and crop management
You can use the system with any type of
computer hardware, including PC, Mac,
smartphone
and tablet computers.
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gives you options to either list all
bovine movements or separately report
On and Off movements
Veterinary Treatments
Medicine Purchases
Feedstuffs
Bovine Herd Profile. This report
is useful because you can select a
historical date as well as “today’s”
date. You can select your own age
classification breaks and generate
summary count of animals by age.
Both sales and purchases can be entered
manually on an individual level, or in batches.
They can be entered by keying in animal
Animal records can be entered either:
numbers, or by scanning passports.
Most data entry tasks can also be performed on
• By scanning passports
the mobile app. Bullings, services, calvings,
• Single record manual entry
veterinary treatments etc, can all be entered as
• Batch import from an electronic data they happen, getting rid of the need to scribble
source e.g. spreadsheet
things down on a piece of paper to enter later
on. The mobile app can be used in offline mode.
“Rule Reports” lets you create and save your
That is, when outside of a WiFi or 3G / 4G
own custom reports, offering great flexibility
range. Data is simply stored on the device, and
for both the columns that can be chosen for the synced with your account when back within
report, and for selecting the animals to be listed internet range.
Orchid FarmWizard in use
on the report.
Orchid are happy to provide a free one month
Orchid FarmWizard is the market-leading cloud
trial of the system, so you can see for yourself
based information system for dairy, beef and
“QA” or “Quality Assurance” reports offer,
the many benefits it brings.
sheep management. It performs all the major
on a single screen, reports required by official
To find out more about just how easy Orchid
functions for your enterprise, including:
inspections for cross compliance and farm
FarmWizard is to use, or to have a free oneassurance, including:
to-one demonstration of the system, just give
• Keeps all statutory records for crossOrchid a call on 01536 443300 or email at
• Bovine Herd Register. This report
compliance and farm assurance
[email protected]