Reaping the Benefits of Technology: JS West and Companies Gets Started on LIVE

In the late 1940’s, the JS West family farms got their start with just a few thousand egg laying hens and with the vision of a man whose hard work and devotion turned his dreams of prosperity into reality.

Today, JS West is one of California’s largest egg producers. Third and fourth generations actively manage the business with close to 300 members of the extended family of employees. Their farms, located around the fertile San Joaquin Valley, house a total of 1.5 million laying hens.  To meet the growing market demand, they have upgraded their hen housing, equipment, and software to effectively manage their birds.

Recently we spoke with John Bedell and Michael Silva. Bedell is JS West’s Production Manager and Silva is their Compliance Manager.  They both are very knowledgeable about the layer industry and are active members of the Pacific Egg and Poultry Association (PEPA).

Q:  How will Aeros LIVE change the way JS West does business and what parts of the software are you currently using?

A:  Right now we are still new to LIVE, so we are still learning parts of the software. At the moment, we are putting in all our production information and using the reporting feature. The reporting feature has already given us the flexibility we wanted. We can run reports for any department, we can customize them, and so forth- it’s a powerful tool. Also, the graphical information is incredible because it shows us the trends very quickly. We don’t have to be analyzing numbers all the time. Prior to LIVE we were doing work manually, now it’s all there.

Q:  What software functionality are you looking forward to the most and why?

A:  We are really looking forward to feed deliveries. Right now we are still doing that manually. Once we are all set with the software, LIVE should do the work for us. We are really looking forward to that — can’t stress that enough.

Q:  In your opinion, how can up-to-date technology help a family farm, or any business in general grow and stay competitive?

A:  A family farm’s growth is always related to its ability to adapt. To be flexible and fluid in a changing industry, like animal production, means having quick access to information, so no time is lost when decisions need to be made. A family farm owner’s time can be spread over every aspect of the business, from feeding to equipment repairs. This does not always leave time for fine tuning. If an option like Aeros LIVE is available to identify the areas that require attention, more opportunities present themselves for growth and efficiency.

Although JS West just got started on LIVE, we are very excited to see their progress. They have learned their way around the software quite quickly and will be LIVE masters in no time.

“They have been very quick to pick it up. Moving on to a new software is challenging for anyone, but I am impressed by their drive to learn and it shows by how much they know already,” said Amanda Thomas, Aeros Customer Support Specialist and Implementation Specialist.

We are proud to work with a company who is committed to providing quality products, and who provides their customers, employees and resources value, integrity and freshness.  As their slogan goes, their “Eggs just can’t get any fresher!”