Record Keeping in Catfish Farming

What is record keeping in catfish farming?

This can be defined as the activity of organizing and storing all documents, and files. Invoices etc. relating to an organization activity.

It is very important that Fish farmers keep track of all their activities so that production costs, sales, and net income can be easily calculated to evaluate the overall economic performance of the fish farm as an enterprise. But unfortunately, this is not done by the majority of the farms, so it becomes very difficult to determine if the farm is profitable or not, areas that needed to be improved on are also not known because the activities were not captured.

Content of a Farm record

There are two types of a farm record sheet

1. Digital Record: This is built using different software such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. It can be used on a mobile phone device or a computer. It makes the recording easier and does the calculation giving you the result.
2. Traditional method: This is making use of a notebook or a record sheet to document farm activities. It is most time tedious to use.

Farm records ideally should contain details and costs of the following

1. Pre-stocking activities involving land purchase/rent, borehole installation, pond construction, and preparation
2. Stocking activities including the cost of fingerling, logistics cost for transporting the fingerlings to the farm, and stocking
3. Post-stock management involves feed and feeding costs, water quality monitoring and its management, pond management, fish health, and harvest.
4. Other Expenditures include salaries for workers, utility bills, logistics costs, farm tools

Sample of a typical record sheet used in a catfish farm

• Number of fingerlings or juveniles stocked in your farm
• The date you stocked them
• The quantity of feed bought or produced
• Amount of feed eaten daily at different intervals.
• On a daily basis, you also have to record the mortality rate of the fish.
• During harvest, you have to record the number of kilos and pieces of fish that you harvested

Importance of record keeping in the catfish farm

1. Record keeping in catfish farming helps fish farmers to learn from past mistakes, thus reducing risk, hazards, and costs of production in subsequent cycles.
2. Record keeping helps the farmer in farm planning, thus knowing when to expand the farm production
3. Record keeping helps the fish farmer to determine if they are making profits or loses
4. Record keeping helps the fish farmer to curb theft among farm workers since everyone is aware that all activities are documented, and this will restrain them.
5. Record keeping helps fish farmers get access to grants and loans for farm expansion.
6. Record keeping helps the fish farmer understand the business properly.

Conclusion

Keeping accurate records is very critical in running a successful farm operation because they help the fish farmer fully understand the business, learn from past mistakes and give the farmers precision for future production and better decision-making.

Learn more about the catfish farm operation by downloading the Ebook on the guide to starting a successful catfish farm using this link. Get our Automated farm record sheet

Visit our YouTube channel for more videos on farm record sheets and how to make use of it.

How to calculate your expenses in catfish farming #Excel #catfishfarm #
https://youtu.be/niWdGRlPQ7c  

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