Jim Yance

With custom heifer development and a multifaceted cattle operation to manage, Alabama producer Jim Yance says Performance Beef has become an essential tool – offering real-time visibility, accountability and peace of mind. 

“We’re tracking different pens, different classes of cattle, generating monthly invoices for yardage, feed and treatments. It saves hours in the office,” Jim says. “And that time-saving is a huge plus for me and my wife.”

Streamlined feeding and invoicing

The family’s JYJ Red Angus LLC operation includes a commercial cow herd, a registered Red Angus herd and a growing custom development division near Columbia, Alabama. The Yances retain ownership of their commercial calves, feeding and managing them with a 60-day backgrounding program before sale. They also develop custom heifers for clients, feeding them to breeding weight and offering AI services or turn-out options.

To manage this complex structure, the operation now relies on Performance Beef to track feed delivery, batching and billing. With multiple employees and three college interns rotating through summer roles, the software ensures consistency and accuracy – even when the owner isn’t in the feed truck.

“If I’m not the one delivering feed, how do I know it’s getting done correctly?” Jim says. “Most of the time, the feed wagon is run by the least-experienced person. And yet, it’s the most important job. Performance Beef helps make sure it's done right.”

Easy for Interns, useful for owners

With new interns each summer, the software’s intuitive design has been a big win.

“They all caught on quickly,” he says. “They’re just clicking from load to load and everything’s already set. I don’t have to worry about them changing anything and I can track everything they do.”

This real-time tracking helps him spot issues immediately and address them the same day, whether it's batching errors or adjustments needed in dry matter intake.

Practical, not complicated 

The family uses Performance Beef for feed tracking, pen management and generating monthly invoices for custom cattle. They also record weights and vaccinations using the processing features.

“It’s seamless,” Jim says. “I can look at it on my phone, my wife can see it on her desktop and the data is always there. It’s cloud-based, accessible and easy to use.”

As someone who values efficiency, the biggest win for Jim is reducing time spent behind a desk.

“You’re not digging through notebooks or chasing down numbers. Everything’s already logged and you can generate a report or invoice in minutes.”

In addition to the software’s functionality, he credits Performance Beef’s customer service as a standout.

“Every time we’ve had a question, the team has been on it,” he says. “Whether it's scale head calibration, Bluetooth troubleshooting or just walking through an invoice setup, everyone has been incredibly helpful.”

A smart investment

While the Yances initially adopted Performance Beef to help manage internal feeding, it’s now a foundational part of their expansion into custom development.

“Having the ability to quote, bill and show detailed records to potential customers makes it easier to grow this side of the business,” Jim says.

From accountability to time savings, the software continues to prove its value.

“It’s probably not being used to its full potential here yet,” he admits. “But even the features we are using have already made a big impact. It’s a tool that helps us be more efficient, more accurate and more confident in what we’re doing.”