Keeping track of livestock markets, prices and insurance got easier with a new smartphone app.
Canfax has released a free CFX Pro app to help livestock producers manage the increasing information needed to sell cattle.
Senior market analyst Brian Perillat said the free app has been downloaded 500 times since its release.
“The guys are certainly using it. The fact that people are wanting it is certainly positive for us,” said Perillat.
“It’s a pretty select crowd. We’re not going to have millions of them out there.”
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The app allows producers to check the markets for live cattle futures, the Canadian dollar, basis levels, cattle price insurance and historic cost of production data.
The app is specially designed for the Canadian cattle industry, he said.
“It is hard for some people to relate to U.S markets and futures market and market information and make it useful to their Canadian operation.”
The app also has break-even calculators for buying calves, background or finishing animals. Producers can even project prices on newborn calves or feeders that will be sold months into the future.
Perillat said not everyone uses all the features of the new app. It’s a good introduction to a combination of market signals for people not used to following markets closely, he added.
“It’s designed to help them make decisions and have better and more timely market information.”
The app took three years to develop from an initial idea to its launch with good support from government and industry groups. The app is available for iPhone and older models of Blackberrys. It is not yet available for the latest Blackberry or Android phones.
Perillat said not every cattle producer will download the app because some still want market information in more traditional forms.
“We have a few that still get it by mail and others who keep pushing to get it faster and better.”
