The Shift: Making Chicken Sheet

Serial entrepreneur Logan Webster of Fayetteville built an app to help chicken farmers manage their flocking finances.

Why it matters: Oftentimes, the difference between a profitable farm and one that's not boils down to close management of specific metrics, including costs for propane, water and electricity.

• Anecdotally, less than 5% of the farmers Webster talked with while developing the app track detailed finances from each flock, Webster told me.

State of play: The data-secure app called Chicken Sheet is free for farmers to download and use.

• Webster earns income from advertisers on the platform looking to reach a very niche-but-engaged and competitive audience of more than 25,000 U.S. contract farmers .
• A farmer with multiple properties who may have hired hands can allow workers to add data, but the owner has the option to retain an admin view.

The interface takes disparate data points and puts them into a graphical representation viewable on the fly and in real time, which is likely easier than crunching numbers over spreadsheets at night.

Since most farms are remote, a constant Wi-Fi or cell connection isn't required to use the app.

What he's saying: "I've yet to see another platform that doesn't try to cater to the needs of the integrator [like Tyson or George's] first and the farmer second."

• "This is an app meant for short- and long-term planning based on past and present data."

What we're watching: I can't wait to see what Webster comes up with next.

🐥 The Shift is a regular feature to catch up quick on what's happening in Arkansas' economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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