Am I the Records Keeper?

One thing we’ve had to learn (and are still learning) at Grace Heritage Ranch is how to keep records of everything that goes on. Heaven forbid that papers are lying everywhere with scribbled notes of important information that can’t be forgotten, only to find that when you need it, it has been lost or misplaced somewhere.

Without a backup for your computer, you will lose everything, which would be especially devastating after years of work. If everything is on paper though, it’s hard to quickly get the information if you are away from the physical location. Paper also has more of a tendency to be misplaced or ruined by spills or other unforeseen happenings. Where is the balance? What goes on paper, what goes digital, and what goes both? If both, how does one reconcile the logs simultaneously so that you always have the current version and nothing is left out?

Much of our records are still hard copies. Papers in file folders or notebooks placed in certain locations. As the years go by we need to go through everything and decide what information is still relevant, what we can throw out, and what needs to be digitized. For example, the goats’ pedigree was on paper. We made a PowerPoint of it and now it can be edited and easily sent to different family members who are working on things related to that. Financial records are also digital and can also be easily brought from one computer to another.

There is so much information to be kept track of that you might not realize when starting out on your own ranch. Each group of animal, individual animals (breeding, behavior, health, etc.), vet work, sales, purchases, recipes, future plans, building plans, people you need to keep in contact with, garden plans, and more. Save yourself some time and take the time to put some thought into how you will keep your records organized.

To learn even more and get hands-on experience, join us at Grace Heritage Ranch for our Saturday morning tours. We are located just 30 minutes northeast of Harlingen, TX near Santa Monica. Please visit us at www.GraceHeritageRanch.com or www.Facebook.com/VisitGHR. For a recorded message, please call 1-855-447-8687. We offer both public and private tours.