Field note
The goal is not more paperwork. The goal is a herd record that still makes sense when the buyer, vet, accountant, or banker asks for the story later.
Buying cattle is one of the riskiest things you do. You're introducing animals whose history you don't know, whose vaccination records are whatever the seller tells you, and whose genetics are a guess at best. What you do in the first 30 days — and what you write down — determines how well that purchase pays off.
Most ranchers record too little. Here's what actually matters.
At purchase
Write down the basics before you load them:
- Purchase date and source — seller name, ranch, location
- Purchase price — total and per head
- Tag numbers — if they're already tagged, match their tags to your records now. Don't assume you'll remember later.
- Estimated or known age — teeth, papers, or seller's word. Note which one.
- Weight at purchase — if you ran them over a scale, this number is gold. It's your cost-per-pound baseline and the starting point for calculating gain.
- Any health records the seller provides — vaccination history, last treatment, breeding dates if they're bred
If the seller gives you paperwork, photograph it and attach it to the animal record. Paper gets lost. Photos don't.
On arrival
Before you turn them out:
- Processing treatments — every vaccine, pour-on, or treatment you run through them. Product name, dose, date, who administered it. Your vet wants this if something goes wrong six weeks from now.
- Arrival weight — if you weighed at purchase and again at home, you already know shrink. If not, weigh now to establish a baseline.
- Body condition score — a quick note on their condition tells you what you're working with and where feed costs are headed.
- Any animals that look off — pen them separately and log what you noticed. Don't wait to see if it develops.
The first 30 days
New cattle stress. Respiratory disease peaks in the first 2–3 weeks. Log any treatments immediately — product, dose, date, animal. If you treat an animal twice for the same thing and it doesn't resolve, your vet needs that history to make a good call.
At the 30-day mark, weigh them again if you can. The difference between purchase weight and 30-day weight tells you how well they're adapting and whether your feeding program is working.
Why this matters at sale time
When it comes time to sell — whether that's 90 days or 3 years — the animals with documented health programs and verified gain records sell better. A buyer who knows exactly what went into a set of calves bids higher than one who's guessing.
The records you take at purchase are the foundation of that story. Don't skip them.
HerdCommand lets you log all of this from your phone at the chute — purchase event, arrival weight, processing treatments, individual health notes. Everything links to the animal and stays searchable.
Field-ready herd records
Turn daily ranch notes into records you can search later.
Track every tag, event, treatment, weight, group move, and sale from any phone — then find the history when it matters.