Building a food secured Africa
Record Keeping: 8 Types of Records You Should Keep as a Vegetable Farmer
Different farmers have different ways of keeping records. Some claim they have good brains, others tell their wives, children or workers as a way for saving the information while another category just note vital information in pieces of papers which they may lose at any time. Yet another category of farmers rather than use any of the stated means, prefer hiring a professional to keep and manage their records for them. Irrespective of your means of data storage, it is best to ensure that records are accurate, properly documented, easily accessible and easily retrievable.
Generally, farm records can be kept using two basic methods,
Digital (electronic) Method and
Traditional (Paper/Manual) Method
Whichever method is preferred, the different types of records for a vegetable farm include;
Farm Inventory: This is the record of all farm possessions such as lands, farm tools, farm house, machineries, agrochemicals, seeds etc. This record should be updated regularly so as to present the current state of all farm inputs as it will serve as a proper guide to know when to restock.
Farm Dairy/Farm Management Record: This is the record of the day to day activities of the farm including farm practices employed at different stages of production e.g. planting dates, pest control treatments, fertilizer applications, weather conditions, plant health, disease outbreak etc.
Production Record: This is the record of details of production such as crop yield, size of land etc. It forms a proper guide to the farmer in tracking the production of the farm as pertains to types of crops and their respective yields e.g. nursery record, harvest record.
Financial Record: This is the record of all expenses and income of the farm business. It helps to track all expenses (cost of seeds, agrochemicals, labour, transportation, tax payments etc) and income (sales of produce) made from the farm e.g. sales record. This is also the profit/loss account
Accurate record keeping is essential for easy farm management and profitable farming. So, ensure you keep accurate and retrievable records of all farm procedures. I assure you, you will be grateful you did.