Recording a Feeding

A feeding records one thing going out to one set of cattle on one day: which group or pasture, how many head, how much of which feed, and what it cost.

How to Record a Feeding

1. Go to Production → Feed.
2. Click Record Feeding.
3. Choose Group or Pasture, then pick which one.
4. Check the Head Count and set the Date Fed.
5. Choose the Feed.
6. Enter the Quantity and, if it differs from the default, the Cost per unit.
7. Add a Note if you want one, and click Save.

The Fields

Group or Pasture

The toggle at the top switches which list you are choosing from. Whichever you pick becomes the target the cost is attributed to on the Feed Cost report.

Be consistent. A group and the pasture those same cattle are standing in are two different targets — feeding the group some days and the pasture others splits one set of cattle across two cards on the cost report.

Head Count

Filled in from the target’s current membership as soon as you pick it. The refresh button beside the field re-reads it if the membership has changed while the dialog is open.

The head count is saved onto the entry. Moving cattle in or out of the group next week does not alter what this feeding cost per head. That is deliberate — past cost figures should not move because of something you did later. It also means you can correct the number by hand when the count on the day was not the count on the record.

Date Fed

Stored as a calendar date, with no time. Today’s entry is visible in the log immediately.

Feed

Only active feeds are offered, with their category beside the name. Picking one sets the unit for the quantity and fills in the default cost.

If the feed is medicated, a warning appears naming its withdrawal period. It is a reminder only — no withdrawal date is applied to the animals.

Quantity and Cost per Unit

Quantity is in the feed’s own unit, shown as a suffix on the field. It must be greater than zero.

Cost per unit starts at the feed’s default and can be changed for this entry — use it when a load came in at a different price. Leave it empty and the feeding is recorded with no cost, which keeps the quantity in your history but leaves it out of the cost figures.

As you type, the dialog shows the running Total (quantity × cost per unit) and the Per head figure, so you can sanity-check the numbers before saving.

Reading the Feeding Log

The log lists Date, Fed To, Feed, Quantity, Head, Cost and Cost / Head. Four filters sit above it:

• From and To — the date range. It opens on the last 30 days.
• Fed To — all, groups only, or pastures only.
• Feed — a single feed.

Editing and Removing a Feeding

• Edit — click the row, or use the row’s Edit action. The same dialog opens with the entry loaded; the total is recalculated when you save.
• Remove — use the row’s Delete action and confirm. The entry is gone from the log and from the cost report.

Both are written to the audit log, so there is a record of who recorded, changed or removed a feeding.

Why a Feeding Might Not Save

• “Quantity must be greater than zero.”
• “Head count cannot be negative.” Zero is allowed; it simply leaves that entry out of the per-head math.
• “Cost per unit cannot be negative.”
• “A feeding date is required.”
• “That feed type could not be found.” The feed was deleted or retired in another tab.

Tips

• Record as you go, not at month end. The head count is pulled from the group as it is today, so a batch of back-dated entries all carry today’s count rather than the count on each day.
• Use the note for the load, not the routine. “Second cutting, bought from Miller” is worth recording; “fed hay” is already in the entry.
• Check the per-head figure before you save. It is the fastest way to catch a quantity typed in the wrong unit.