A tool so you can easily and quickly look up acreage data by variety and geography
I made a tool on Excel that allows the user to rapidly retrieve acreage data by inputting the variety and region. As readers of this blog know, I advocate greater use of basic data in this industry and I hope this helps.
I made this tool with three purposes in mind for users: First, to create a quicker way to look up acreage data than flipping through a book or scrolling through spreadsheets. Second, to make it possible to carry the whole acreage report on a tablet and easily access the data, so you can always look up acreage numbers. And finally, I included a feature that outputs the data arranged in mirror images, to give you the option of having it arranged either way, without wasting time re-arranging the data yourself.
The worksheets are protected so that you can select and copy anything you want, but can enter data only in the three cells that parameters are typed into. The data is still included in a modified version of the raw NASS numbers in the three rightmost tabs/sheets. The tab called "Tool" is the actual place to enter your parameters (in the three bright yellow cells.)
I am currently planning to add in past data, but am waiting for the NASS to give me data in a more useable form than they currently put out. It should happen by the time the 2014 acreage numbers come out. I also plan to make a tool like this for the Crush Report once final, 2014 numbers come out. I will be updating these tools annually.
Please share them widely, but please do not remove Vineyard Financial Associates' information. I really feel that our industry needs to make more regular use of available data and I hope these tools help nudge things along. Feel free to send me your feedback or let me know of any glitches and please check out my website to see what services I offer.
My blog is usually updated pretty regularly and I promise there's some good stuff there, including new tools and updated versions. Check out some of the first articles I wrote. Anyways, I hope this tool saves you time and improves your utilization of data in your business decisions.
With no further ado here is the link to the page I will store all of these tools on: Excel Toolkit. To receive updates and new tools as they are released, follow me on Twitter @VFA_Consulting.