These programs can be downloaded elsewhere on the web, it’s true. Our purpose here is to gather a few freeware programs that may be of interest to local producers, so that they can be downloaded and installed easily without the hassle of having to locate them elsewhere. Basic instructions for installations are: right-click on the software link, select Save Target As (note the location to which you are saving), and double-click or open the downloaded file to install or run. As always, we are open to suggestions concerning additions to this page. You can e-mail us at info@gclpo.org.

From Texas A&M comes this free Excel template, Marketing Cull Cows. It “was written for cull cow owners to help them evaluate the possibility of retaining ownership until a later date.  Microsoft Excel is required to run this template.  To save this document, follow the instructions below:

-    Right click on the link above.

-    Select "Save As”

-    Save the file to a folder on your computer.

-    You will then be able to open this file on your own computer.

After you have saved this program to your computer, you must reset the "Macro Security Settings" in Microsoft Excel to "Low".  This will enable the macros within the file to run.”

From OSU comes the Excel template Cowculator and its instruction manual, “designed to assist cattlemen in making informed decisions associated with beef cow nutrition. Animal criteria (such as cow weight, body condition, stage of production and breed), as well as the feed and forage library can be customized to each operation or to specific scenarios within an operation. Animal requirements and performance predictions are based on years of research data, including the 1996 and previous versions of the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle.

Cowculator can be used as a decision making tool for individual operations and is especially useful as a teaching tool.”

Beef Cow Record Book is a program to record beef cattle breeding, weaning, calving data. Monthly notes, a gestation calendar and pop-up calendar are included features. Some cow/calf producers will find this program useful, although others will prefer to use a commercial program or to generate their own spreadsheet or database template.

Weather Watcher is a freeware program that doesn’t take up much space or use much memory. Once installed, it resides conveniently in your system tray (bottom right-hand corner of the desktop). Instant information on local weather conditions, forecasts, weather maps, and alerts. Its major advantage over WeatherBug is that there are no ads, and it is spyware-free.

Picasa is a free photo organizing program from Google. You can categorize your digital photos, add searchable keywords, view slide shows, create albums, etc. It is arguably the best free program of its kind available.

Equine Nutrient Requirement Calculator is a utility to assist in the process of calculating the nutrient requirements of horses. Units are metric, even the horse’s body weight, so remember that 1 kg = about 2.2 pounds; so to convert pounds to kg, divide by 2.2.

AVG 7.5 Free is an antivirus program that is free to individuals (not for commercial use). It works great, updates automatically, and there are no ads. This program is a large download (~17 mb), so it will take some time if you’ve got a dial-up connection.

Interest(ing) Calculator is a handy little financial program. For loans, you enter three of four variables (principal, interest rate, term, installment) and the fourth is calculated for you, along with an amortization schedule. You can also use the program for savings planning, either using fixed or recurring deposits.

Image Resizer Powertoy is a Microsoft program (requires Windows XP) that easily resizes pictures so that they are more convenient for e-mailing. After you download and install the program, whenever you want to resize a picture (or batch of pictures), select them, then right-click and choose the “resize image” option. Your original image is never altered – this program simply creates another file (renamed) with the resized image in the same folder as the original. Very handy.

Google Earth “puts the world’s geographic information at your fingertips”. Get satellite photos, driving directions, distance information, and much more. This is a large download (~15 mb), so it will take some time if you’ve got a dial-up connection.

 Animal Gestation Calculator is a small program that calculates gestation periods for several cattle breeds, along with dogs, cats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, and many other animal species.