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Support  > Android Documentation  >  Feed Planning  >  Feed Planning

Feed Planning

Overview

This screen provides a simple view of all paddock and feed store details along with the number of animals currently assigned to each and the number of feed days remaining for assigned animals. It also provides a tool to help you determine the feed requirements per day for a group of animals, view which paddocks and feed stores meet the minimum ME requirement for the group and the number of days that the group can be fed in each Paddock and/or Feed Store.

With this information, you can assign groups of animals to paddocks and/or feed stores and monitor the number of days remaining. 

This screen covers:

  1. How to view and interpret the information on the screen

  2. How to remove animals from a Paddock or Feed store

  3. How to analyze the feed requirements for a group of animals, determine where/what to feed them and assign them to a Paddock or Feed store

Notes: 

  • The number of Feed Days for an assigned group of animals will not be adjusted based on predicted animal growth per day or variances in ME level of assigned paddocks over the time that the animals are assigned to the paddock.

  • The number of Feed Days will be adjusted based on changes to overall MJ Available for a paddock based on growth, consumption and updated paddock inventories.

Overview

View Details

After adding a few paddocks, feed stores and analyzing/assigning some animals, a screen similar to what is displayed below will be presented. The displayed data is as follows:​

  • Type - either Paddock or Feed

  • Name - either the name of the Paddock or the combination of Feed Type and Feed Name
  • ​Current # - the total number of animals currently assigned to the Paddock (from previous assignments)
  • ME - the ME of the Paddock or Feed 
  • MJ Available - the current MJME available - currently this is adjusted based on the following scenarios
    • Paddock Inventory - paddock inventory is updated
    • Paddock / Feed Costs - Add Feed to an existing Feed entry
    • A calendar day passes and the amount is reduced based on the required feed for assigned animals plus growth assigned to Paddocks in the Paddock Inventory screen
  • Feed Days - the number of feed days left for previously assigned animals 
  • Remove /Remove All - if animals have been previously assigned, this button will be green. If not it will be disabled (gray) ​
    • The button will be labeled REMOVE if only one group of animals has been previously assigned.
    • The button will be labeled REMOVE ALL if more than one group of animals has been previously assigned
      • Selecting this will ​present the following dialog "Confirm Removal. This action will remove all previously assigned animal groups. Select the expand arrow to see specific assignments and remove them independently" The dialog will have a CANCEL that will cancel the action and REMOVE ALL button which will remove all assigned groups
    • Selecting either the REMOVE or REMOVE ALL buttons will:
      • Remove all currently assigned animals from the from the Paddock or Feed store along with the associated daily MJME reduction
      • Record the removal date for each animal group assignment in the history and remove the REMOVE button for that group assignment
  • Assign - if an analysis has been completed (selecting ANALYZE button), the ASSIGN button will turn Green (for Paddocks or Feed stores with at least 1 day of feed available). Selecting ASSIGN will assign the feed requirement for the analyzed animal group to the Paddock or Feed and add an entry in the history table.
    • Notes:
      • Removing an assignment made during an ANALYZE session will remove all history of the assignment
      • Exiting the screen will save the assignment to the Paddock and add the Paddock and Feed/Forage entry in the individual animal or Non-ID Group record
  • Expand Arrow - if this is selected, it will open the history of the Paddock or Feed store assignments and removals along with a REMOVE button for each current assignment.
View Details

If the expand arrow is selected, it will display a table below the primary row with all history of assignments and removals similar to what is shown below. The information listed is as follows for each row:

  • Stock Class of the animal group that was defined during feed analysis unless Existing Group was selected. In this case, the Group will be listed here - displayed <Group Year> - <Group Name>  

  • The number of animals in the group assigned 

  • The MJME consumed by the group of animals based on the feed analysis inputs and the number of days they have been assigned.

    • This turns negative and red type after the animal group has been removed

    • This amount increases each day that the group of animals has been assigned by the daily consumption amount determined during analysis

  • Remove Button or Remove Date - if a group of animals is currently assigned, the REMOVE button will be active - if selected, it will remove the animals from the assignment, remove their daily consumption from the daily calculation and display the date of removal

  • Assign Date - displays the date that the group of animals was assigned

Notes:

  • The MJME Available and Feed Days shown are updated on a daily basis based on consumption of assigned animals and changes made in the Paddock Inventory and Paddock / Feed Costs screens

  • Paddock growth defined in the Paddock Inventory screen (for paddocks with forages that growth applies to) is applied to the MJME available for each paddock per day before consumption is deducted. The MJME Available column for paddocks (collapsed row) incorporates this and assigned animal consumption.

  • Paddocks with forages that growth applies to also have defined maximum limits for kg DM/ha. If growth meets this limit, daily growth will only be applied up to this maximum. For example, if maximum limit is met on Monday and the daily growth for the paddock is 100 MJME, then the following scenarios would result in the following impacts on the Feed Planning screen on Tuesday:

    • No animals assigned ​assigned to the paddock - no growth will be applied

    • Animals assigned consume 50 MJME/day - 50 MJME of growth will be applied and the same number of feed days will remain

    • Animals assigned consume 150 MJME/day - 100 MJME of growth will be applied and the number of feed days will go down by the equivalent of 50 MJME/day

  • If a Paddock Inventory is completed for a paddock, it will reset the MJME Available for the paddock. Growth, if applicable will start being added the following day

  • Feeds purchased and added to the system will be added to the MJME Available as they are added to the system

Analyze Feed Requirements

The primary function of this screen is to help farmers accurately plan the feed requirements for specific groups of animals. To do this:

​1. Select the ANALYZE button 

2. This will open a wizard to enter

  • Scope

    • Analyze Existing Group

    • Analyze Generic Group of Animals

  • If Analyze Existing Group is selected, it will present the following screens next

    • Animal Type - Cattle, Deer or Sheep

    • Group Type - ID or Non-ID

    • Group - Available Groups in the system based on the selections made previously - displayed <Group Year> - <Group Name>  

      • Note: If there are no Groups that match the selections, the system will present "No Groups match the defined inputs. Click here to go to the Groups screen and create a Group". Select the link to go to the Groups screen  and create a Group

  • If Generic Group of Animals is selected or the steps above are completed for Existing Groups, the following screens will be presented:

    • # of Animals (pre-populated if Existing Group is selected above - editable)

    • Type - Cattle, Deer or Sheep (will not be shown if Existing Group is selected above)

    • Stock Class - options to select from will be based on Animal Type previously selected

    • Gender - options to select from will be based on Animal Type previously selected

    • Live Weight - current average live weight of animals being analyzed (pre-populated if Existing Group is selected above - editable)

    • Weight Gain - planned weight gain of animals being analyzed

    • Based on the Animal Category selected, the subsequent wizard screens will be different to accommodate the inputs required for the feed calculation. These currently include the following:

      • Pregnancy Status

      • Scan Result

      • Weeks Before Birth (pregnant animals)

      • Weeks or Months After Birth (lactating animals)

      • Calf Weaning Weight

      • Weaning Month

      • Current Month

  • Review - this will present a summary of your entries

3. After you select the COMPLETE button in the Review screen, the system will:

  • Remove the wizard

  • Present the inputs from the wizard along with the calculated feed requirement in MJME/Day and kg DM/Day for Flat Terrain and 10 ME forage

  • Present the number of days the analyzed group of animals can be fed in listed Paddocks and Feed stores. Note: this number accounts for currently assigned animals plus the analyzed group.

  • Highlight the ME of any Paddock or Feed store that has an ME that is insufficient to meet the feed requirements (red type)

4. To assign the analyzed group of animals to a Paddock or Feed store, simply select the corresponding ASSIGN button.

  • Note: If the ME is highlighted in red for the selected Paddock or Feed store, you will be presented a warning dialog.​

5. To split the feed requirement for the analyzed group of animals between a Paddock and Feed store:

  • Select ASSIGN on the Paddock row - this will remove the ability to assign a different Paddock but Feed ASSIGN buttons will remain active

  • Select the ASSIGN button for the Feed that you would like to split the requirement with - this will ask you to estimate the % of the requirement that will come from the Paddock and the Feed store and will recalculate the # of days based on this. 

Analyze Feed Requirements

Notes:

  • Removing an new assignment made while in an ANALYZE session will remove all history of the assignment

  • Exiting the screen will:

    • Save the assignment to the Paddock

    • If an Existing Group is selected, exiting the screen will save the Paddock & associated Feed/Forage entry to:

      • The individual animal record of all animals in an ID Group if an ID Group is selected

      • The Non-ID Group record if a Non-ID Group is selected

  • A progress indicator will be presented when exiting the screen while the entries are saved to records. This will typically not be noticeable but if there are a large number of animals in an ID Group, this may take a few seconds

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