Application dose: how much asset management does a small farm need?
Short answer: As much as the consequence of failure demands, and no more. The Farm Operating System, by Lou Cripps, offers every tool at three application levels: minimum effective dose, recommended practice and expanded. You choose the level by asking what would happen if this part of the farm failed.
Minimum effective dose
The term comes from medicine: the smallest dose that produces the result you need. Asset management at a transit agency involves software, analysts and audits. A family farm needs none of that to get most of the benefit. Doing too much is a real risk. A system too heavy to keep up gets abandoned, and an abandoned system is worse than a simple one that is used.
The three levels
| Level | When to use it | Example (water) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum effective dose | Every farm, every asset that matters. The least that reliably works. | A list of the well, pump, pressure tank and lines, with age and last service. |
| Recommended practice | When failure would be costly or disruptive. | Add condition ratings, a spare parts list, and a service schedule. |
| Expanded | When failure threatens animals, people, income or the farm itself. | Add a backup supply plan, a tested recovery procedure, and written instructions someone else can follow. |
How to choose
Ask three questions. What happens if it fails? How fast does it hurt? Who else is affected? If the answer is "an inconvenience", stay at the minimum effective dose. If it is "we lose animals or income", go to expanded. Most farms run a mix: expanded for water, minimum effective dose for the garden shed. Whatever the level, shrink scope, not logic.