Various farm support experts already offer different Excel based feed formulation tools for farmers.
Some itemize steps users can follow, to manually create formulas in MS Excel worksheets, to build simple feed formulation tables. When the user gets it right, this works okay.
But such solutions can sometimes be like asking users to work in a minefield
When a controlled environment is lacking, the target audience can make all sorts of mistakes. The damage from feeding animals wrong ration formulas can be devastating, and sometimes irreversible!
Apart from errors, manual Excel feed formulations workbooks can be cumbersome, time consuming, and tiring to use. Farmers with pressing farm concerns rarely find them endearing!
That’s why I believe the ease of use, time saving – and accuracy/reliability – of manual Excel- solutions, will be greatly enhanced if they are modeled after the Excel-VB Ration Formulator™.
One Example: A Windows-Based User-Friendly Feed Formulation Workbook (WUFFDA) for Rabbits is available online.
It uses a range of ingredients and nutrient profiles, including amino acids, and trace minerals.
However, it needs manual updating of different large data tables periodically. Users have to copy and paste across tables, highlight/drag ranges of cells, scroll through large sheets etc
When using MS Excel, that is an invitation to user generated errors of all kinds!8,9,13
The WUFFDA is a great feed formulation resource. However, intelligent Excel-VB automation, with intuitive graphic user interfaces, will make it more user-friendly (by simplifying and/or taking over routine and repetitive tasks), while also making it more reliable and accurate.
Typical benefits of using the above approach include (See examples in the case study featured in Issue 052 of my Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter published 2 days ago – click here):
i. Reduction of User Created Errors: Error handlers can be built-in to prevent users from accidentally ending up with faulty rations for an example).
ii. Time and Effort Saving User Friendliness: in-cell drop down menus, as well as automated floating data entry forms, with drop menus speed up data entry by reduce typing.
iii. Feed Formulation Speed and Accuracy: Excel’s powerful calculation engine, combined
with useful database functions, and Excel-VB automation, will enable fast generation of multiple ration formulas, with minimal effort. Since the process is automated, repeat accuracy is assured.
iv. Adaptability: Best practice worksheet design, and customizable interfaces/code make it easy for a competent person (e.g Excel-VB trained extension specialist) to modify the app to
suit changing requirements, whenever the need arises: with no developer fees incurred!
v. Extension to Other Farm Business Aspects: Learning achieved can be easily applied to17
other farm business aspects e.g tracking poultry layers’ Key Pe4rformance Indicators(KPIs)
using an Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager™ (See 16 Step-by-Step Screenshot User Guide Video Tutorials for it here – click).
NB: This article is based on excerpts from this 2013 international agribusiness paper.