Cattle Management Software Makes Records and Data Accessible for Trent Rehder

Trent Rehder has never been one to shy away from technology. Growing up, he recalls technology advancements on the row crop side of things. After graduating college and coming back to the family farm, Trent saw a need to bring similar technology into the livestock side of their operation.

Trent works alongside his father, Steve, his uncles, Jeff and Kevin, and a family friend and business partner, Tim Schmidt. His family’s farm was established in 1902 near Hawarden, Iowa by his great-great grandfather, Julius. Today, they grow row crop, feed 900 head of cattle and manage 4,500 farrow-to-finish hogs a year.

Data at your fingertips

Prior to using Performance Beef, the Rehders tracked records on pen and paper. Now the beef cattle management software does it all for them.

“What I love about Performance Beef is that it is constantly updating and changing to improve–not every program does that,” Trent says.

In 2021, Performance Beef rolled out animal health features that allow Trent to digitally track historical weights and medications for each animal he runs through the chute. He doesn’t have to look back through notes or text messages, that data is all right there on his iPad.

The same goes for sick pulls. He simply looks up that animal’s tag ID number in the processing app and voila, he knows that animal's health history in seconds. 

Trent has already entered tag numbers into the program so that when he runs the calves across the scale come August, they are in the program and ready to track.

Real-time reports for real-time decisions

“Performance Beef is a game changer,” Trent says. The platform is easy for him and his family to access anytime, anywhere.

Trent and his dad love to use the inventory tracking sector of the platform as they can go through and read bunks and feed while instantly seeing what was taken out of the silo. They also have their account shared with a trusted advisor who can see closeouts and reports in real time, a useful tool for them. 

“He can get in there and edit prices and rations whenever needed. We also have the program shared with a cattle marketing firm, so those cattle reports are definitely getting looked at,” Trent says. 

From sharing their account with a trusted nutritionist, Trent believes that their operations communication and outlook on where they want to go in the future is better, as it allows everyone to have access to the real time data and throw out suggestions as they go.

Trent grew up with his dad feeding cattle and remembers constantly wanting to be out there on the tractor with him. Him and his dad purchased five cows in 1999, one for each member of the family. Trent took that opportunity and turned it into a 90 head cow/calf operation for himself. 

He has seen a lot of change throughout the years of raising cattle and believes that the cattle industry will continue to grow in the agtech realm of things. 

“You still have to have the animal to person contact like walking yards, but having the technology makes everything so much easier and accessible for everyone,” he says.