ABSTRACT
Low profit margins and high interest rates place a premium on a cattleman's management-information system. Automation of that system lends itself to the microcomputer. A producer-owned microcomputer should pass the same cost/benefit analysis as any other machinery investment. Costs can be easily identified and documented; however, the benefit of improved management is considerably more difficult to document. Determine the hardware specifications required to execute the needed software. The size of the business affects the volume of management information needed and this, in turn, determines the size of hardware needed. Estimate the cost/benefit of the proposed computerized management-information system. The final step is to make the decision whether to set up a computerized management-information system. Microcomputers are becoming a more common management tool for cattlemen. The preparation of financial balance sheets and income and cash-flow statements ranked second. Breakeven analysis of individual enterprises and crop-production records ranked as the third and fourth management functions.
