The launch of inexpensive WAP-enabled mobile phones this year means that you can access the Internet from almost anywhere. With your records on the web, that means you can use your mobile phone to access CattleController from the field, the barn, the market – wherever you like. Just enter a few digits of an ear tag and you can view the whole record – age, premiums claimed, end of retention period, breed and even how long you’ve held it on your farm. The program checks your records for you every week and sends you an email when, for example, any of your beef cattle reach 17 months.

Walter, son of a Devon cattle farmer, has worked extensively with databases in the property and financial sector since he graduated from Imperial College, London. Familiar with the increasingly complex paperwork involved in cattle farming, he developed CattleController to be simple to use. “At the moment, you’ve got to write everything down so many times. I’ve set up CattleController so you never have to type anything twice and all the calculations are done for you. That’s how it should be. Simple and straightforward.”, he explains.

CattleController is a completely secure system. Your records are password protected and all information transferred over the Internet is encrypted so no one but you can access it. Because the software runs on a central server rather than on your desk, CattleController runs on a more advanced and powerful database than would be available for personal use and all your data is automatically backed up several times a day.

CattleController is currently in its pilot program and will be launching nationally in mid August. There will be a one-month free trial period after which it will cost just £10 per month with no limit to the number of cattle you enter. You can try CattleController today on its website at www.CattleController.com where you are guided through an on-line demonstration or you can enter data of your own.