FarmKeeper Manual

Transcription

FarmKeeper Manual

FarmKeeper Manual
© 2004-2009 FarmKeeper Pty Ltd
All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and
retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher.
HotSync, Palm, and Palm OS, are trademarks of PalmSource, Inc. or its affiliates.
GARMIN is a registered trademark, and Geko 201 is a trademarks of Garmin Ltd
Other products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the
author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of
information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may
accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other
commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document.
Printed: October 2009 in Hamilton, New Zealand
Contents
I
Table of Contents
Foreword
Part I Introduction
0
7
1 Introducing
...................................................................................................................................
FarmKeeper
7
2 Why should
...................................................................................................................................
I use FarmKeeper to keep farm records?
8
3 Using this...................................................................................................................................
manual
9
4 What's new
...................................................................................................................................
/ Version History
10
Part II Getting Started
12
1 Starting the
...................................................................................................................................
Setup wizard
12
2 Following...................................................................................................................................
the Setup wizard
13
Part III FarmKeeper concepts
22
1 General concepts
................................................................................................................................... 22
Datafiles ......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Save and .........................................................................................................................................................
Undo
22
Datafile size
.........................................................................................................................................................
and the Undo log
23
As-at date......................................................................................................................................................... 23
Records ......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Left and right
.........................................................................................................................................................
mouse buttons
25
2 Mapping ...................................................................................................................................
concepts
26
Mapping Layers
......................................................................................................................................................... 26
External layers
.................................................................................................................................................. 27
Fences, Fenced
.........................................................................................................................................................
Areas, and Paddocks
28
Part IV Step-by-step guides
30
1 Mapping ...................................................................................................................................
Guides
30
Creating a.........................................................................................................................................................
new map
30
Getting around
.........................................................................................................................................................
a map - Zooming and scrolling
30
Adding fences
.........................................................................................................................................................
to a map
32
Specifying
.........................................................................................................................................................
a ground surface symbol for a fenced area
34
Naming a.........................................................................................................................................................
fenced area as a paddock
36
Recording.........................................................................................................................................................
paddock events
38
Adding other
.........................................................................................................................................................
features to a map
39
Creating new
.........................................................................................................................................................
map features
41
Adding a .........................................................................................................................................................
new layer to a map
42
Moving features
.........................................................................................................................................................
on a map
43
Measuring
.........................................................................................................................................................
distances and areas on a map
44
Scaling a .........................................................................................................................................................
map
46
Georeferencing
.........................................................................................................................................................
a map
47
Selecting .........................................................................................................................................................
multiple features on a map
49
Creating a.........................................................................................................................................................
buffer around map features
52
Creating watering
.........................................................................................................................................................
circles
53
Moving entire
.........................................................................................................................................................
map layers
57
Adding photographs
.........................................................................................................................................................
to a map
57
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FarmKeeper Manual
Printing a.........................................................................................................................................................
map
59
Faxing a map
......................................................................................................................................................... 60
Emailing a
.........................................................................................................................................................
map
61
2 Animal guides
................................................................................................................................... 62
About animal
.........................................................................................................................................................
records
62
Creating animal
.........................................................................................................................................................
records
62
Moving animals
......................................................................................................................................................... 63
Deactivating
.........................................................................................................................................................
animals
64
Recording.........................................................................................................................................................
animal events
64
Recording.........................................................................................................................................................
animal health treatments
65
3 Feed Budgeting
...................................................................................................................................
guides
67
Creating a.........................................................................................................................................................
new feed budget
67
4 Report guides
................................................................................................................................... 67
Running a.........................................................................................................................................................
report
67
Emailing a
.........................................................................................................................................................
report
68
Faxing a report
......................................................................................................................................................... 68
5 C-Dax Guides
................................................................................................................................... 68
Bluetooth......................................................................................................................................................... 69
Bluetooth..................................................................................................................................................
Set-up
69
Bluetooth..................................................................................................................................................
Device Pairing Tips
69
Bluetooth..................................................................................................................................................
Troubleshooting Tips
70
C-Dax Tier
.........................................................................................................................................................
2 Pasture Meter
71
Using your
..................................................................................................................................................
Tier 2 Pasture Meter
71
C-Dax XP1
.........................................................................................................................................................
Pasture Meter
76
Getting started
..................................................................................................................................................
with your XP1 Pasture Meter
76
Using your
..................................................................................................................................................
XP1 Pasture Meter
84
Using your
..................................................................................................................................................
XP1 in Tier 2 Mode
88
Viewing Previous
..................................................................................................................................................
Ride Trails
93
Fence Buffer
......................................................................................................................................................... 96
6 General guides
................................................................................................................................... 96
Creating a.........................................................................................................................................................
new datafile
96
Opening a.........................................................................................................................................................
different datafile
97
Compacting
.........................................................................................................................................................
a datafile
97
Emailing a
.........................................................................................................................................................
datafile
98
Part V Window reference
100
1 Common
...................................................................................................................................
window parts
100
Done and
.........................................................................................................................................................
Cancel
100
Save
......................................................................................................................................................... 100
Undo ......................................................................................................................................................... 101
Editing buttons
.........................................................................................................................................................
(Add / remove records)
101
2 The Main
...................................................................................................................................
Window
102
Main window
.........................................................................................................................................................
- Overview
102
Main window
.........................................................................................................................................................
- Maps
104
Main window
.........................................................................................................................................................
- Calendar module
105
Main window
.........................................................................................................................................................
- Reports module
107
3 New Map
...................................................................................................................................
Wizard
108
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Welcome page
109
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Farm Record page
110
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Start With? page
111
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Map Picture page
112
Contents
III
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Map Scale / Resolution page
113
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Where is GPS track? page
114
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Choose Tracks page
115
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - External Map File page
116
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Google Earth page
117
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Map System page
118
New Map.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Finished page
119
4 Mapping...................................................................................................................................
window
121
Legend control
......................................................................................................................................................... 122
Layer Manager
.........................................................................................................................................................
window
123
Map Properties
.........................................................................................................................................................
window
132
Download
.........................................................................................................................................................
from GPS wizard
133
Upload to
.........................................................................................................................................................
GPS wizard
135
Page setup
.........................................................................................................................................................
window (printing your map)
136
Page setup
..................................................................................................................................................
window - Printer tab
138
Page setup
..................................................................................................................................................
window - Enlargement tab
139
Page setup
..................................................................................................................................................
window - Template tab
140
Page setup
..................................................................................................................................................
window - Legend tab
141
5 Import GIS
...................................................................................................................................
File Wizard
141
6 Export GIS
...................................................................................................................................
File Wizard
142
7 New Feed
...................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard
143
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Welcome page
144
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Name page
145
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Budget Period page
146
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Budget Interval page
147
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Budget basis page
148
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Pasture page
149
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Animal Classes page
150
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Animal mobs page
151
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Supplements page
152
New Feed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Budget Wizard - Finished page
152
8 Feed Budget
...................................................................................................................................
window
153
Feed Budget
.........................................................................................................................................................
window - Budget Grid tab
155
Feed Budget
.........................................................................................................................................................
window - Graph tab
157
Feed Budget
.........................................................................................................................................................
window - Supplements tab
158
Feed Budget
.........................................................................................................................................................
window - Animals tab
159
Feed Budget
.........................................................................................................................................................
window - N-Fert tab
160
9 Report windows
................................................................................................................................... 161
Report Windows
.........................................................................................................................................................
- Common Features
162
Last Grazed
.........................................................................................................................................................
Report
164
Feed Wedge
.........................................................................................................................................................
Report
165
Pasture .........................................................................................................................................................
Growth Rate Report
166
Pasture .........................................................................................................................................................
Growth Rate History Report
167
Pasture Cover
.........................................................................................................................................................
History Summary Report
169
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
Grazing Performance Report
171
Fertiliser.........................................................................................................................................................
Summary Report
173
Map Summary
.........................................................................................................................................................
Report
175
Layer Intersection
.........................................................................................................................................................
Report
176
Layer Attributes
.........................................................................................................................................................
Report
178
Diary Report
......................................................................................................................................................... 179
10 Properties
...................................................................................................................................
window
181
IV
FarmKeeper Manual
11 Paddock...................................................................................................................................
Event windows
182
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
Selector window
183
Pasture .........................................................................................................................................................
Cover Event window
184
Fertilise .........................................................................................................................................................
Paddock event window
184
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
Activity event window
185
12 Animal Mob
...................................................................................................................................
Event windows
185
Animal Mob
.........................................................................................................................................................
Selector window
186
Move Animals
.........................................................................................................................................................
window
187
Animal Mob
.........................................................................................................................................................
Activity event window
195
Animal Health
.........................................................................................................................................................
Treatment event window
195
13 Options...................................................................................................................................
window
196
14 Pasture...................................................................................................................................
Cover window
200
Download
.........................................................................................................................................................
C-Dax Pasture Cover Data
200
Enter Electronic
.........................................................................................................................................................
Plate Meter Readings
202
Enter Manual
.........................................................................................................................................................
Plate Meter Readings
204
15 Animal Health
...................................................................................................................................
Treatment window
205
16 Reference
...................................................................................................................................
Data windows
207
Fertiliser.........................................................................................................................................................
Product Category Editor Window
207
Fertiliser.........................................................................................................................................................
Product Editor window
208
Ground Surface
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
209
Special Time
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
210
Feed Category
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
210
Feed Supplement
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
211
Animal Species
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
212
Animal Class
.........................................................................................................................................................
Editor window
212
Animal Health
.........................................................................................................................................................
Product editor window
213
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
Activity Editor window
214
17 Picture Editor
...................................................................................................................................
window
215
18 Bug Report
...................................................................................................................................
window
216
19 Datafile ...................................................................................................................................
Backup Wizard
217
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Welcome page
218
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Choose Backup Type page
219
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Off-site Backup page
220
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - On-site Backup page
221
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Burn datafile to CD page
222
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Copy datafile to removable drive page
223
Datafile Backup
.........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard - Ready to backup
224
20 Open Datafile
...................................................................................................................................
window
224
Part VI FarmKeeper Mobile
227
1 Concepts
................................................................................................................................... 227
What is FarmKeeper
.........................................................................................................................................................
Mobile?
227
Getting started
.........................................................................................................................................................
with FarmKeeper Mobile
228
Your first
.........................................................................................................................................................
HotSync - the 'Change HotSync Action' window.
230
2 Window...................................................................................................................................
reference
232
First Window
......................................................................................................................................................... 233
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
List Window
235
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
Details Window
237
Paddock.........................................................................................................................................................
History Window
238
Contents
V
History Details
.........................................................................................................................................................
Window
239
Grazing .........................................................................................................................................................
Wizard
239
Move Mob
.........................................................................................................................................................
Window (Grazing wizard)
240
Grazing .........................................................................................................................................................
Date + Time Window (Grazing wizard)
241
Animals .........................................................................................................................................................
In Paddock Window (Grazing wizard)
242
Finish Move
.........................................................................................................................................................
Window (Grazing wizard)
243
Record Pasture
.........................................................................................................................................................
Cover Window
244
Record Fert
.........................................................................................................................................................
Application Window
245
Record Paddock
.........................................................................................................................................................
Activity Window
247
Pending.........................................................................................................................................................
Details Window
248
Part VII FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
251
1 How do ...................................................................................................................................
I start FarmKeeper?
251
2 Mapping...................................................................................................................................
FAQs
251
How do I.........................................................................................................................................................
use a GPS to map my farm?
251
How do I.........................................................................................................................................................
obtain an aerial photo of my farm?
252
How representative
.........................................................................................................................................................
is the sample aerial photo?
253
What format
.........................................................................................................................................................
should my aerial photo be in?
253
What is a
.........................................................................................................................................................
'World file'?
254
What is a.........................................................................................................................................................
'Map System'?
254
Which UTM
.........................................................................................................................................................
Zone am I in?
255
What is an
.........................................................................................................................................................
'External map file?'
257
How can.........................................................................................................................................................
I speed up loading and working with maps?
257
How can.........................................................................................................................................................
I 'de-clutter' my map?
258
3 FarmKeeper
...................................................................................................................................
Mobile FAQs
259
When I try
.........................................................................................................................................................
to use FarmKeeper Mobile, I get a message saying 'No Farms Found'
259
How can.........................................................................................................................................................
I reinstall FarmKeeper Mobile?
259
How can.........................................................................................................................................................
I create new farms / paddocks / fertilisers on FarmKeeper Mobile?
260
4 How do ...................................................................................................................................
I get support with FarmKeeper?
260
5 How accurate
...................................................................................................................................
is a FarmKeeper map?
261
6 Can I install
...................................................................................................................................
FarmKeeper on other computers?
261
7 How does
...................................................................................................................................
the Support and Upgrade Subscription work?
262
8 Faxing /...................................................................................................................................
the GPS interface / CD burning / printing doesn't work.
262
Part VIII Glossary
Part IX Appendices
264
266
1 Appendix
...................................................................................................................................
1: Print templates
266
Index
269
Part I
Introduction
Introduction
1
Introduction
1.1
Introducing FarmKeeper
7
FarmKeeper is a simple but powerful application, designed to help you keep important
farm records.
We have created FarmKeeper to be both easy to use and useful.
Easy to use
Make no mistake - FarmKeeper is a sophisticated program.
But we have worked hard to keep the sophistication tucked away under-the-hood - we
hope you'll find FarmKeeper to be one of the easiest things you ever use on your
computer.
An uncluttered, consistent layout means most things are simply intuitive.
If you ever do need some guidance, full context-sensitive help is only a click away.
The powerful Undo feature means that you should never be scared to try something
new - any mistakes can be immediately undone with a simple click.
Useful
Like most farmers, you'll probably only spend a dollar to make two.
FarmKeeper will start paying for itself almost from the moment you start using it.
FarmKeeper saves you time by putting your important information at your
fingertips.
· A contractor arrives to dig out a drain. Instantly print him a map showing the
location of the drain, how to get there, and where the water pipes are to watch out
for.
· While you're getting the cows, you see a leaking water pipe. Before you go back out
to fix it, find out what type of pipe it is and grab the right size tools and connectors.
· Enter in only the information you want to record, quickly and easily. Record grazing
movements and paddock activities directly on to your farm map.
· Use FarmKeeper Mobile on an inexpensive Palmä handheld, to access paddock
records literally 'in the field' - and enter new information while you're there.
FarmKeeper saves you money by helping you make better decisions.
· Your new sharemilker wants to fertilise some paddocks. The last sharemilker did
some last year, but which ones? Find out instantly where the money is best spent.
· You suspect some paddocks aren't performing as well as the others. Use
FarmKeeper to zero-in on the ones which were grazed least last year, and order soil
tests only on the stragglers.
· You spread Urea on various paddocks throughout the year. Your fertiliser company's
8
FarmKeeper Manual
records tell you the total amount spread - but how much did each paddock get? See
the answer overlaid directly onto your farm map, colour-coded by nutrient amount.
1.2
Why should I use FarmKeeper to keep farm records?
Sure, there are other products available with some of the features offered by
FarmKeeper.
We believe FarmKeeper is fantastic value, for the following reasons:
1. Ease of use.
The overriding design goal of FarmKeeper is that an average farmer, with limited or
no knowledge of computers, can pick up a working knowledge of the system in less
than one day.
Although a full manual and on-line help are included with FarmKeeper, most people
will find that they very quickly pick up the 'feel' of the system, and use it intuitively.
A very forgiving Undo feature encourages the user to 'have a go' at something new,
safe in the knowledge that they can always undo a mistake.
2. Central repository of farm information.
FarmKeeper helps you to keep important farm records in a single place, while making
it easy to find and distribute the information when required.
Over time, your FarmKeeper datafile will become a valuable asset - a central
repository of the important day-to-day farm management activities you undertake
throughout the years.
Imagine being able to provide a new sharemilker with a detailed farm map, and full
'diary' history of last year's grazing and fertiliser history. Even better, get them a copy
of FarmKeeper and email them your datafile - they'll have instant access to a wealth
of historical data. Better still - ask them to maintain the 'master' FarmKeeper datafile,
and email or fax you summary reports on a regular basis! If they move on, you can
simply provide the datafile to their replacement.
Is there one person on your property who knows where all the water pipes are?
Record this vital information directly onto your FarmKeeper map for everyone's
benefit. If you have a compatible GPS, you can even load the information back up to
the GPS - and let the GPS help you find the pipe out in the paddock.
And if you're considering selling your farm sometime in the future, might a buyer pay
a premium for a detailed map and full management history?
3. Industry-leading mapping technology
Farmers tend to be visual people. At the core of FarmKeeper is an advanced mapping
system, which shows the current state of an entire farm at a glance.
Introduction
9
Most record-keeping can be done directly from the on-screen map. Recording animal
movements, for example, is as simple as dragging a picture of a mob of animals from
one paddock to another.
FarmKeeper's fencing and paddock definition technology is arguably the most
advanced in the world. Starting with either an aerial photo, or GPS track, you then
draw in fencelines onto the map. FarmKeeper automatically figures out where the
paddocks are (and their size), based on the fences – even allowing for paddocks
within paddocks, incomplete fencelines, and paddock subdivisions.
If you're thinking about altering actual paddock boundaries, just pick up and move a
fence point on-screen - FarmKeeper will tell you the area of each adjacent paddock as
you're moving it.
4. Information at your fingertips
FarmKeeper comes with a companion product called FarmKeeper Mobile. Load
FarmKeeper Mobile onto your Palmä handheld, and you can take all of your paddock
records with you out onto the farm.
You can even enter pasture cover readings, animal movements, fertiliser applications
or general paddock activities straight into FarmKeeper Mobile as you walk the farm and then synchronise the information into your desktop computer seamlessly when
you get back to the office.
5. Astounding value
FarmKeeper is more affordable than most competing products. This is certainly not
because of any inferiority!
We want FarmKeeper to become the industry standard in farm recording. We believe
that a genuinely useful product, at a low cost, will make the decision to purchase
FarmKeeper a logical one for any farmer.
1.3
Using this manual
If you're keen, you can read the manual cover-to-cover.
If your time is more limited, we suggest you read the Getting Started 12 and
FarmKeeper concepts 22 sections at the beginning of the manual.
You can always come back to the Step-by-step guides 30 and Window reference 100 if
you need some specific help as you use FarmKeeper.
Check out the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 251 section for answers to some
common questions.
And don't forget, this manual is available from inside FarmKeeper. Just press the F1
key from any window.
10
1.4
FarmKeeper Manual
What's new / Version History
Version 3.2.4
· Changes to icons
· Changes and fixes to C-Dax integration
· SR1055728 CD01204 Layer Manager: Bug report generated if user doesn't confirm
edits to point glyph at the Layer Manager level.
· Remove dotNet installation logic from setup script into separate setup
· Change to setup script to avoid error "Could not call proc"
Version 3.2.2 (Released June 2009)
This is the first new public release of FarmKeeper since v3.0 in April 2007.
New features in 3.2.2
· FarmKeepers look has been refreshed to tie in with the LIC suite of products
creating a fresh, yet familiar look.
· Integration with C-Dax pasture meter allowing downloading of cover measurements
straight from the unit
· Improvement in pasture cover data entry:
· Paddocks can be saved in walking order and this can printed to take with you
· Readings can be entered straight from a manual platemeter (no calculations
needed!)
· Tabbing/entering between entries to assist quicker data entry
· Point features are now included in the Map Summary Report
Several bugs have been fixed including:
· A drawing style is automatically created when creating a new layer
· A newly created Ground Surface Cover will be displayed on the map as soon as
assigned
· The double save options when entering events ('Done' and 'green tick'), which did
not always work as expected have been removed.
Part II
Getting Started
12
2
FarmKeeper Manual
Getting Started
This section gives you step-by-step instructions on getting started with FarmKeeper.
First you'll need to Setup FarmKeeper.
"Setting up" means installing the program from the CD onto your computer
The steps in this process are:
Starting the Setup wizard 12
Following the Setup wizard 13
If you want to import pasture readings from your C-Dax pasture meter you will have
to install FarmKeeper (C-Dax Pasture Meter) Installer and setup the import.
Setting up the C-Dax Pasture Meter Import
2.1
Starting the Setup wizard
If you received FarmKeeper on a CD, put that CD into your computer.
Your computer may automatically run the install program when the CD is inserted.
If it does automatically run the setup program, you can skip to
Following the Setup wizard 13 .
If your computer does not automatically run the install program:
· Click on the Start button on the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
· Click 'Run'
· Type in 'd:\setup.exe' (without the quotes), and click OK
Note: most computers have their CD drives assigned to drive letter 'd:'
If yours is assigned to a different drive letter, then type that drive letter in place of
'd:'.
After you click OK, a window should appear saying 'Welcome to the FarmKeeper Setup
Wizard'
(This window may take a few seconds to appear).
Once you can see that window, proceed to Following the Setup wizard 13 .
Getting Started
2.2
13
Following the Setup wizard
Once the install program has been started, you will see a window like the following.
You can use the buttons at the bottom of the window to control the Setup wizard:
·
Click 'Next' to move on to the next page of the wizard
·
Click 'Back' to go back to the previous page
·
Click 'Cancel' to quit the wizard altogether. (FarmKeeper won't be installed if you
Cancel)
For now, click 'Next' to continue.
14
FarmKeeper Manual
Step 1: 'License Agreement'
This page contains important information about FarmKeeper's license and support
terms and conditions.
Read the terms and conditions, and if you agree to then, click on the 'I accept the
agreement' radio button. Then click 'Next >' to continue on to the next step.
Step 2: 'What's new / version history'
Getting Started
Step 3: 'Select Destination Directory'
15
16
FarmKeeper Manual
This page lets you specify where you would like FarmKeeper to be installed.
The default location is fine for most people. If you want to accept the default, click
'Next'.
If you want to install FarmKeeper somewhere else, type in the location or click on the
folder where you want to install, then click 'Next'.
Step 4: 'Select Datafile Directory'
This page lets you specify where you want to keep FarmKeeper datafiles.
Again, the default location is fine for most people. If you want to accept the default,
click 'Next'.
If you want to install FarmKeeper somewhere else, type in the location or click on the
folder where you want to install, then click 'Next'.
Getting Started
17
Step 5: 'Select Components'
This page lets you choose which parts of FarmKeeper you want to install.
By default, the setup wizard will install the FarmKeeper program, and its help files,
and the GPS interface.
If you wish to be able to import pasture cover data from a C-Dax pasture meter you
will need to tick the C-Dax Interface box.
Please Note: The C-Dax component requires your computer to have the
Microsoft.NET 2.0 Framework installed. If you are installing FarmKeeper from a CD,
FarmKeeper will try to install this for you as part of the installation process. If you
downloaded FarmKeeper from the FarmKeeper website you may need to download
and install the Microsoft.NET 2.0 Framework as well.
If the setup wizard detects that you have Palmä software already on your computer, it
will tick the box beside 'FarmKeeper Mobile 227 '.
To change which components are installed, click on the box beside each component.
If you don't want to use FarmKeeper Mobile, or the GPS Interface, you can save some
space by not installing those components. (You can re-run the Setup Wizard at a later
date to install any components you skip now.)
The last component, 'Support for MrSid and ECW image formats', allows FarmKeeper
to load picture files in these two special formats. If you do not expect to use picture
files in either of these formats, you can untick the box to save a small amount of
space on your computer's hard drive.
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Click 'Next' to go on to the next step.
Step 6: 'Additional Tasks'
This page lets you specify which additional tasks the setup wizard should perform.
·
·
'Create a desktop icon' means that a FarmKeeper icon will be added to the
desktop, so you can then run FarmKeeper by double-clicking on that icon.
'Associate .fk files with FarmKeeper' means that you can double-click on a
FarmKeeper datafile to run FarmKeeper and open that datafile.
Most people will want to do both of these. Click 'Next >' to continue.
Getting Started
Step 7: 'Ready to Install'
Click 'Install' to finish installing FarmKeeper.
The wizard will install FarmKeeper, and then bring up one final window.
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FarmKeeper Manual
Step 8: 'Completing the FarmKeeper Setup Wizard'
Click Finish to finish with the Setup wizard and run FarmKeeper.
If you don't want to run FarmKeeper now, you can click on the box next to 'Launch
FarmKeeper Program' to remove the check mark before clicking Finish.
Note that on some computers, FarmKeeper may be launched but may not come to the
'front' of the screen. If you do not see FarmKeeper after clicking 'Finish', you can hold
down the <alt> key and press the <tab> key repeatedly until FarmKeeper is selected,
then release the <alt> key. Or just click on FarmKeeper in the taskbar at the bottom
of your screen.
Congratulations! - You're now ready to use FarmKeeper.
Where to from here?
If you're feeling adventurous, just jump right in and start using FarmKeeper. It is very
intuitive, so just click on whatever looks interesting to explore your way around.
If you'd prefer some background first, take a look at some of the
FarmKeeper concepts 22
If you'd like to be taken step-by-step though a particular task, check out the Step-bystep guides 30
Part III
FarmKeeper
concepts
22
3
FarmKeeper Manual
FarmKeeper concepts
This section explains some of the concepts behind FarmKeeper.
If you're already familiar with computers, you may want to skip the general concepts
and go straight to Mapping concepts 26 .
3.1
General concepts
3.1.1
Datafiles
All the information you enter into FarmKeeper is stored in a 'datafile'.
A datafile is a file stored on your computer - just like a word processor file containing
a letter, or a spreadsheet file containing a spreadsheet - but it contains maps and
other farm records.
You can have as many datafiles as you like, but most people will only need one.
Inside a datafile, you can store as many farms, maps, paddock records, etc as you
need. The only limit is the size of your computer's hard drive.
When you first run FarmKeeper a datafile will be created for you. (You specified the
location of the file during the Setup process.)
This may be the only datafile you need to use - but you can create others if it suits
you.
Each time you start FarmKeeper it will automatically open the datafile you used last
time.
FarmKeeper has some advanced functions to help you manage datafiles. You can:
· Send your datafile by email 98 , with a single click.
· Compact a datafile 97 , to remove any unused space and make it smaller
3.1.2
Save and Undo
FarmKeeper is very forgiving. If you make a mistake, you can simply 'Undo' as many
actions as you like, until you get back to the way things were before the mistake.
Nothing is permanent, until you click the 'Save' button.
Once you click the 'Save' button, the changes are made permanent inside the datafile
- so you can't undo past a save.
Note:
It is important to click 'Save' regularly as you work. If something bad happens (like a
power cut), everything up to your last Save is safe - but you will lose work done since
the last Save.
Saving is so important that FarmKeeper will prompt you to save every 10 minutes. If
you don't like being prompted, you can turn the reminder message off in
'Tools', 'Options', 'General' 196
FarmKeeper concepts
3.1.3
23
Datafile size and the Undo log
As you use FarmKeeper, adding and editing maps and records, FarmKeeper
automatically keeps track of all your work in a temporary 'Undo Log'.
When you click 'Save', FarmKeeper goes through the Undo Log, and applies all of
these changes to your datafile. This makes the changes permanent, and clears out the
Undo log – so once you save, you cannot undo anything from before the save.
The Undo Log is actually kept inside your datafile. So as you use FarmKeeper, the
Undo Log naturally grows, and the datafile grows too.
To stop the datafile from getting too big, you should save your work regularly.
You can reclaim the space used by the Undo Log, and make your datafile smaller, by
compacting 97 the datafile.
3.1.4
As-at date
FarmKeeper stores a history of your farm information, so you can see how things
change with time, and how things were at any particular point in the past.
To accomplish this, FarmKeeper has the concept of an 'as-at date'. The 'as-at date' is
a bit like a time machine - when you change the as-at date, FarmKeeper instantly
changes to show you how things were at that date.
(Note that FarmKeeper does not store a history of map changes. If you add or remove
fencelines, or point or line features, the 'old' version of the map is not kept. But
historical information, such as animal locations, will still be displayed on the 'new'
map.)
Each time you start FarmKeeper, it sets the as-at date to be the current, actual date
(from your computer's internal clock).
But you can easily change the as-at date to go back to any point in the past. This is
useful for two reasons:
· You can see how things looked at a previous date
· You can enter information for a previous date. So if you don't want to use the
computer every day, you could sit down once a week and enter the week's
information (like grazing rotations) in a single sitting. Just change the as-at date,
enter the information for that day, and change to the next as-at date.
Changing the as-at date is simple: just use the forwards and backwards arrows on the
toolbar of the main window, or click on the drop-down arrow beside the as-at date to
change it directly.
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3.1.5
FarmKeeper Manual
Records
As well as graphical, map-based information, FarmKeeper stores text-based
information about your farms, paddocks, and animal mobs. These pieces of
information are organised into things called Records.
This section explains how records are organised and stored inside FarmKeeper. The
explanation might seem a little complex, but don't worry - it's much easier to use
than it is to explain! You don't need to read or understand this section to use
FarmKeeper, but if you're interested in how it works, then this is a good place to
start.
Types of records
You can keep different types of records in FarmKeeper:
· Farm records hold information about a farm as a whole, such as the name and
known effective area of the farm
· Paddock records hold information on a single paddock, such as which farm it
belongs to, and the last date it was grazed.
· Animal records hold information on a mob of animals, such as how many animals
are in the mob.
· Event records hold information about things that happen on the farm, like grazing
and fertilizer applications.
Attributes
Each record can be further broken down into single pieces of information called
'attributes'.
For example:
· The name of a farm is an attribute of a farm record
· The last grazed date of a paddock is an attribute of a paddock record
· The location of a mob animals is an attribute of an animal record.
· The type of fertiliser you applied to a paddock is an attribute of a fertiliser
application event record.
There are 4 different kinds of attributes in FarmKeeper: Date-based attributes, dateconstant attributes, calculated attributes, and event attributes.
Date-based attributes are the ones for which FarmKeeper keeps a full history of
changes.
When you change a date-based attribute, FarmKeeper records both the old and the
new value, and the date that the value changed.
If you use the as-at date to go forwards and backwards through time, you will see
date-based attributes changing with time.
A good example of a date-based attribute is the location of a mob of animals. When
you move a mob of animals, you can specify the number of animals in that mob, in
one or more paddocks. FarmKeeper can then tell you how many animals from that
mob were in each paddock, at any particular point in time.
Date-constant attributes are ones which don't change with time.
FarmKeeper only stores a single value for these attributes - if you change one of
these, the new value applies to every point in time.
FarmKeeper concepts
25
A good example of a time-based attribute is the name of a farm. If you change the
name of a farm, then use the as-at date to go forwards and backwards through time,
you will see that the farm always shows the new name.
Calculated attributes are ones which you can't enter directly, but FarmKeeper
figures out for you.
A good example of a calculated attribute is the Last Grazed Date of a paddock record.
You can't enter the Last Grazed Date of a paddock record directly - FarmKeeper
calculates the Last Grazed Date by looking through all of the grazing records, and
finding the most recent one for each paddock.
Calculated attributes have a light-grey background in the Records Explorer, to
indicate that you can't change them directly.
Event attributes are ones which apply to a single occurrence of an event.
A good example of an event attribute is the fertiliser product you used when applying
fertiliser.
So, in summary: FarmKeeper keeps records of your farm information, and each record
is made up of attributes. You can work with records and attributes directly, through
the Explorer Tree in the Main Window 102 , or by clicking on objects directly on your
farm map in the Mapping Window 121 .
3.1.6
Left and right mouse buttons
Like many other programs, FarmKeeper uses each of the buttons on your mouse in
different ways.
· The left mouse button is the 'Do' button.
· The right mouse button is the 'What can I do?' button.
The Left Mouse Button ('Do')
Use the left mouse button to tell FarmKeeper to 'do' something with the thing you
click on.
For example, click on an entry in the Records Explorer Tree with the left mouse
button. FarmKeeper will change the right-hand side of the window to show you
information relating to the thing you clicked on.
There are many other examples of using the left mouse button to 'do' things:
· Click on a menu item to tell FarmKeeper to 'do' the associated action
· When you're drawing on a map, use the left mouse button to 'do' the drawing action
You will use the left mouse button much more often than the right mouse button.
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FarmKeeper Manual
The Right Mouse Button ('What can I do?')
Click on something with the right mouse button to ask FarmKeeper 'What can I do
with this thing'?
Most of the time, FarmKeeper will answer the question by popping up a right-click
menu, giving you a menu of things you can do with the thing you clicked on.
For example, click on a paddock entry in the Records Explorer Tree with the right
mouse button. FarmKeeper will pop up a menu showing you the different things you
can do with that paddock, such as view its properties or move animals into it.
Other mouse button information
If you are left-handed, you can tell Windows to exchange the left and right mouse
buttons. If you have done this, your right mouse button will be the 'Do' button and
your left mouse button will be the 'What can I do?' button. To avoid confusion, we will
still refer here to the left mouse button as the 'do' button, and the right mouse button
as the 'What can I do?' button.
There is one place in FarmKeeper where both buttons are used as 'Do' buttons. In the
picture editor window 215 , each button has a colour attached to it, and you click on the
picture with either button to draw in that colour.
3.2
Mapping concepts
This section explains some of the concepts used in the Mapping module.
3.2.1
Mapping Layers
Each map in FarmKeeper is made up of 'layers', one on top of the other.
If you have an aerial photo of your farm, it goes into the Picture layer (which is
usually the bottom layer). Other layers are laid out on top, such as GPS tracks, fences
and paddocks, animals, line features and point features.
There are different types of layers on each map:
· Picture layers contain an aerial photo of the farm.
Each map can have zero, one, or multiple picture layers.
· The Fences layer contains the fences which you draw on the map.
Each map has only one fences layer.
· The Paddocks layer contains the fenced areas and paddocks, which are defined by
drawing fences on the Fences layer.
Each map has only one paddocks layer.
See fences, fenced areas and paddocks 28 for more information on the relationship
between the Fences and Paddocks layers.
· The animal layer contains the pictures representing your animal mobs, showing
which paddock(s) they were grazing on a particular date.
Each map has only one animal layer.
FarmKeeper concepts
27
· Line layers contain line features, such as water lines and power lines.
There are many line layers on each map, and you can add and remove them if you
want to.
(Note: the GPS Tracks layer is a special type of line layer)
· Point layers contain point features, such as water troughs, sheds and buildings.
There are many point layers on each map, and you can add and remove them if you
want to.
· Simple Area layers contains defined areas of land which are not paddocks. You
can use Simple Area layers to record things like weed infestations, native vegetation
areas, or hazard areas like dangerous slopes.
There are many simple area layers on each map, and you can add and remove them
if you want to.
· External layers display information from files stored outside of your datafile.
FarmKeeper can display a very wide range of file formats. See External layers
more information.
27
for
Each individual layer can be made 'Visible' or 'Invisible', depending on what you want
to see.
For example, an employee might need to see animal locations, but may not be
interested in water lines.
Or, a contractor might need to see fencelines, waterlines and hazards, but may not
need to know where animals are.
Layers can also be made 'Editable' or 'Not Editable'.
Normally, when you create your map, the layers are all 'Editable', so you can add and
change them as you draw in all of the infrastructure (fences, point and line features).
Once you're happy with the map, you can make them 'Not Editable', so that you don't
accidentally change them.
To work with the layers in a map, see the Legend control 122 on the Map Editor
window, and the Layer Manager window 123
3.2.1.1
External layers
External layers can be used to display a wide range of GIS 264 data on top of your
map.
Most other layers on your map are stored inside your FarmKeeper datafile. By
contrast, FarmKeeper stores just the filename of External layers inside the datafile.
When you open your map, FarmKeeper reads the actual information to be displayed
directly from the external file.
Note: FarmKeeper's backup wizard 217 only backs up your FarmKeeper datafile. It will
not backup external files. You should back up external files using your computer's
backup function, or by copying them manually to a backup media such as CD, DVD,
or memory stick.
External files can be either Picture (raster 264 ) files, or Drawing (vector 264 ) files.
A common type of External file is a Shapefile. Shapefiles are an industry standard for
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FarmKeeper Manual
storing vector data, such as points, lines, and areas. You may be able to obtain
shapefiles for your property from third party sources (councils, LandCare or Natural
Resource Management groups, or independant contractors) with information such as:
· Regional Ecosystem data (in Queensland, Australia)
· Precision GPS data from a GPS mapping service
· Contour information
· Soil type maps
Shapefiles contain shapes (points, lines and areas) along with custom data for those
shapes. Shapefiles do not actually contain information on how the shapes should be
displayed (colour, line width, area fill, or point symbols) - it is up to each program to
determine how to display the shapes.
FarmKeeper contains a very powerful (but fairly complex) system to allow you to
define how a shapefile is displayed. You can choose to display all shapes in a shapefile
the same way, or display them differently depending on the values of the custom data
for each shape. For example, if you have a shapefile containing vegetation
information, you can colour-code the different types of information. Detailed
information on this system is outside the scope of this manual - please contact the
FarmKeeper team for more help in colouring your external files.
3.2.2
Fences, Fenced Areas, and Paddocks
When you are creating the map, you draw in the fences which exist on the property.
Each time you draw a fence, FarmKeeper checks to see whether you have created a
new fenced area. A fenced area is piece of land which is completely surrounded by a
fence.
Some of the fenced areas on your map will be paddocks, and some will be other
things like races, roads, buildings and waterways.
If a fenced area is a paddock, you can name the fenced area as a paddock record. The
paddock record contains attribute information like the name and size of the paddock.
You can change these attributes at any point in time, as well as entering events
representing paddock management activities such as fertilising and grazing.
Paddock records can also be accessed through the Records Explorer. In fact, a
Paddock Record can exist without ever being linked to a Fenced Area on a map – but
by linking the paddock record to a fenced area, you can visually see and update its
attributes and events directly on the map.
If the fenced area is not a paddock (it could be a race, road, building, etc), you don't
need to link it to a paddock record. You can just specify a ground surface 34 for the
fenced area, to show visually what is inside that fenced area.
Part IV
Step-by-step
guides
30
4
FarmKeeper Manual
Step-by-step guides
This section will help you accomplish particular tasks, leading you through each task
step by step.
4.1
Mapping Guides
4.1.1
Creating a new map
Creating a new map is easy with FarmKeeper. Please refer to the 'New Map Wizard 108 '
topic for step-by-step instructions on creating a new map.
4.1.2
Getting around a map - Zooming and scrolling
When you open the mapping window 121 , FarmKeeper will show you the whole map at
once.
Sometimes, you need to zoom in to a particular portion of the map. For example,
when you're drawing fencelines, you'll want to zoom in to place the fencelines as
accurately as possible.
There are a few different ways to do this:
· Use the mouse scroll wheel.
If your mouse has a scroll wheel in between the left and right mouse buttons, you're
in luck. You can simply position the mouse pointer over a part of the map, and roll the
wheel forward to zoom into that area. Then, just roll the wheel backward to zoom
back out again.
This is the easiest way to zoom into and out of the map - it makes accurate
positioning of fencelines a snap.
· Use the 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' keyboard keys.
If your mouse doesn't have a scroll wheel, you can still zoom in and out on the mouse
pointer location. Move the mouse pointer over a part of the map, and press the 'Page
Up' key on your keyboard to zoom into that area. Then, just press 'Page Down' to
zoom back out again.
· Use the zoom tools.
If you want to zoom quickly into a particular area of the map, you can use the built-in
Zoom tool from the 'Viewing' tool group
Step-by-step guides
31
When you click on the Zoom tool, the mouse pointer changes into a magnifying glass:
To zoom in on an area:
1. Click and hold the left mouse button on the top-left corner of the area you want to
zoom in to.
2. Drag the mouse down to the bottom-right corner of the area you want to zoom in
to.
3. Release the left mouse button.
4. The map will zoom in to just the area you have selected
To zoom back out, do the opposite:
1. Click and hold the left mouse button on the bottom-right corner of an area of the
map.
2. Drag the mouse up to the top-left corner of an area of the map
3. Release the left mouse button
4. The map will zoom out so that the previous area is contained in the rectangle you
drew.
To zoom all the way back out (i.e. see the whole map at once):
1. Just click on the 'Whole Map' tool, underneath the Zoom tool in the Viewing tool
group.
You can also zoom in and out by clicking on the 'Zoom In' and 'Zoom Out' tools, just
below the Zoom tool.
Scrolling (or Dragging) the map.
When you have zoomed in on an area of the map, scroll bars appear around the edges
of the map. You can use these just like scroll bars in other applications, to scroll the
map left and right or up and down.
Alternatively, you can click on the 'Drag Map' tool, which is underneath the 'Whole
Map' tool in the Viewing tool group.
The mouse pointer changes into a hand:
Just click on the map and hold down the left mouse button, and move the mouse to
drag the entire map up and down or left and right.
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FarmKeeper Manual
If your mouse has a scroll wheel which can function as a third button, you can also
click-and-hold the scroll wheel to go straight into Drag mode. Then just move the
mouse to drag the entire map, and release the scroll wheel to finish.
4.1.3
Adding fences to a map
Before we begin adding fences to a map, make sure you have created a map
opened the map in the Mapping window 121 .
30
, and
Step 1. Click on the 'Draw' tool in the 'Drawing' tool group.
The tool groups on the left-hand side of the main window will disappear, and be
replaced by some more specific tool groups.
Step 2: Select the 'Fences' layer in 'Draw What?' tool group
Step-by-step guides
33
Normally the Fences layer will be already selected. If not, click on the drop-down
arrow and select the Fences layer from the list.
When you have selected a layer, the properties for shapes on that layer will be shown
underneath. You can change the properties for the shape which you're going to draw.
On the Fences layer, the only property you can change is the "Fence style" - if you
don't want to draw with the Normal fence style, click on the drop-down arrow to
select a different style.
(Note: you can define your own fence styles in the Layer Manager 123 window)
Once you have selected a layer, the mouse pointer will change from its normal arrow,
into a Pen pointer:
This means you are ready to begin drawing.
Step 3: Click on the map to draw the first point in the fence
Normally, you'll be drawing the fence lines over the top of a GPS track, or an aerial
photo, or both.
To get the positioning of your first point as accurate as possible, use one of the
Zoom options 30 to zoom in on your start point.
Step 4: Click on each of the other points in the fence.
When you move the mouse away from the first point, you will see a 'rubber band' line
between the first fence point, and the current mouse position. This shows you where
the next segment of fence would be created, if you clicked on that position.
When you click on the next fence point, the thick blue line turns into a thin blue line,
indicating that the fence segment has been created. A new thick blue line is created
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FarmKeeper Manual
from that point to the current mouse position, representing the next fence segment.
You can draw a fence line from any point to any other point. If you draw a fenceline
which crosses an existing fenceline, FarmKeeper will break the fencelines where they
cross.
TIP: If you have a wheel on your mouse, use it to Zoom in before clicking on each
fence point, and then zoom out again to move to the next fence point. If you don't
have a wheel on your mouse, click on the 'Zoom In' and 'Zoom Out' tools to zoom in
and out on the centre of the map.
Step 5: Finishing the fence.
You can finish a fence in one of three ways:
· Click on another fence, to join the current fence to that one.
· or, double-click (instead of single-clicking) when you draw the last fence point
· or, click on 'Finish This Fence' in the 'Draw What?' tool group.
What next?
If your new fence completely encloses a piece of the map, you have created a Fenced
Area. (Refer to Fences, Fenced Areas, and Paddocks 28 for more information).
When you create a fenced area, FarmKeeper puts a small label on the map, telling
you how big that area is. You can then tell FarmKeeper to fill in the inside of the
fenced area with a symbol (such as grass, trees, or water) to represent the ground
surface of that area.
(See Specifying a ground surface symbol for a fenced area 34 )
If the fenced area represents a paddock, you can
name the fenced area as a paddock 36 . This allows you to keep records against that
paddock - such as grazing, pasture cover, and fertiliser applications.
TIP If you were trying to create a fenced area, but FarmKeeper doesn't recognise it as
an area, then you may have 'missed' joining up the fences. Zoom in and follow the
fenceline around to see where the missing fence segment is, and then draw a fence
between the two 'open' points to complete the fenced area.
4.1.4
Specifying a ground surface symbol for a fenced area
You can tell FarmKeeper to fill in the inside of the fenced area with a symbol (such as
grass, trees, or water) to represent the ground surface of that area.
Then you can:
· See at a glance what the ground surface is like across the farm
· Use the Map Summary Report 175 to see how much of your farm is made up of each
specific ground surface.
To specify a ground surface:
1. If you are currently drawing a fence or other map feature, click 'Finish Drawing'
near the top-left of the window.
2. Click on a fenced area on the map.
3. If you want to change the ground surface symbol for other paddocks at the same
Step-by-step guides
4.
5.
35
time, hold down the <Ctrl> key on your keyboard while you click on the other
paddocks. Once you've finished clicking on the paddocks, release the <Ctrl> key.
The left-hand side of the mapping window will change to show the properties for
the selected fenced area(s).
Click the drop-down arrow for the Ground Surface property, and select a Ground
Surface from the list.
6. Click on the tick symbol at the bottom of the Properties editor, to accept the new
Ground Surface.
TIP: If you want to add a completely new ground surface, click on the ellipsis (...)
button next to the drop-down button in the Ground Surface property. This will open a
window where you can add a new ground surface, and draw the symbol used to
represent that surface.
TIP: If you have specified Ground Surfaces on your map, but still want to see through
to the image underneath, you have two options.
· Use the Layer Manager window for the Paddocks layer, and untick the box labelled
'Fill fenced areas with ground surface symbols'. This will make the ground surface
symbols invisible.
· Use the Layer Manager window for the Paddocks layer to make the Paddocks layer
partially transparent. This will leave the ground surface symbols in place, but you'll
be able to partially see through them.
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4.1.5
FarmKeeper Manual
Naming a fenced area as a paddock
When you add fences to a map, you create fenced areas
28
.
If the fenced area is actually a paddock, you can 'name' the paddock. The act of
'naming' a paddock creates a paddock record, and associates it with the fenced area.
Then, you can start keeping records for that paddock (such as grazing, pasture cover,
and fertilizer applications) - just by clicking on that area on the map!
To link a fenced area to a paddock record:
1. Click on the fenced area
The left-hand side of the mapping window changes to show you a menu of actions for
that area, and the properties of that area.
2. Click in the Named As Paddock box, and type in the name of the paddock.
Note: you can click the drop-down arrow to see a list of paddocks which have already
been mapped. You can select an existing name from the list to make this fenced area
also belong to the same paddock. Or, you can simply type in the name of a new
paddock.
Step-by-step guides
37
TIP: If your paddocks are numbered rather than named, it can be a good idea to start
with names of 01, 02,... (rather than just 1, 2,...) , so that the paddocks appear in
order on the Paddock List window when sorted by name.
3. Click on the Tick symbol at the bottom of the Properties box to accept the new
paddock name.
Once you have named the fenced area as a paddock, the left-hand side of the window
changes to show you the properties for the fenced area (as before), along with the
properties for the paddock.
TIP: To change the paddock which a fenced area is linked to, simply re-type a
different paddock name in the 'Named as paddock' property.
TIP: To unlink a fenced area from a paddock, simply clear the 'Named as paddock'
property (e.g. click to highlight the paddock name, and press the Delete button on the
keyboard)
Note that you can link more than one Fenced Area to the same paddock. If you draw
in a Temporary fenceline on the map, both sides of the fenceline can still be linked to
the same paddock.
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4.1.6
FarmKeeper Manual
Recording paddock events
Once you have named some paddocks 36 on your map, you can start to keep records
of your day-to-day paddock management activities, directly from the map!
Just click on a paddock, and the left-hand side of the mapping window will change to
show you a menu of actions for that paddock.
Click on Record pasture cover 184 , Fertilise paddock 184 , or
Record paddock activity 214 to open a Paddock Event window 182 and enter
information relating to that event.
What if you want to record activities against two or more paddocks at once? No
problem. Just click on the first paddock, then hold down the <Ctrl> key on your
keyboard and click on the other paddocks.
The left-hand side of the mapping window will change to indicate that more than one
paddock is selected, and you can click the same menu options as before to record an
event for all of the selected paddocks.
Step-by-step guides
4.1.7
39
Adding other features to a map
As well as drawing fences on your map, you might like to add other features such as
water pipes, troughs, gates, or underground cables.
This is a very simple process:
Step 1. Click on the 'Draw' tool in the 'Drawing' tool group.
replaced by some more specific tool groups.
Step 2: Select the layer you want to draw on, from the Layer drop-down box.
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By default, the Layer drop-down box will show the last layer you drew on, or the layer
currently selected in the Legend control 122 .
When you have selected a layer to draw on, the Properties box underneath will
change to show the properties you can set for the shape you're going to draw. For
most internal FarmKeeper layers, you can specify a Style to be drawn, and optionally
the Name of the shape.
After you have specified the properties for the shape to be drawn, move the mouse
over the map. The mouse pointer will change from its normal arrow into a Pen
pointer. This means you are ready to begin drawing.
If you have selected a point feature (like a gate or trough), just click on the map to
draw that feature. When you have finished, click on 'Finish Drawing'
If you have selected a line feature (like a water pipe or underground cable), just click
to start drawing, then click on other points until the whole line is drawn. When you
have finished, click on 'Finish this drawing'.
If you have selected a simple area feature (like a weed area), just click to start
drawing, then click on other points until the whole area is drawn. When you have
finished, click on 'Finish this drawing'.
Each different type of feature you draw on the map is actually stored in a separate
mapping layer 26 .
This makes it easy to show or hide each type of feature, depending on what you want
to see on the map at any particular time.
You can use the Legend control 122 or Layer Manager window 123 to show and hide
layers.
One more thing: the Map Summary Report 175 has a section which adds up the
Step-by-step guides
41
lengths of each type of line feature. Run the Map Summary report to instantly get an
idea how much water pipe you have on your farm - you might be surprised!
4.1.8
Creating new map features
FarmKeeper comes with a number of built-in map features which you can draw onto
your map. These can be broadly classified into:
· Point features, which exist at a single point on the map, such as sheds and houses.
When you draw these onto the map, they appear as little 'pictures' on the map.
· Line features, which are drawn as lines on the map, such as rivers and tracks. These
appear as different sized/coloured lines.
· Simple Area features, which are areas defined by drawing the boundary around
each area. These appear as areas with different boundary lines and internal fill
colours.
As well as using the built-in map features, FarmKeeper allows to you create your own
features. This is done through the Layer Manager 123 window. The process of creating
new features is simple:
1. Open the Mapping 121 window with the map that you want to create the feature
for.
2. From the Mapping window, click on 'Manage Layers' in the 'Viewing' group to open
the Layer Manager window.
TIP: you can also double-click a layer in the Legend control 122 to open the Layer
Manager window directly for that layer.
3. In the Layer Manager window, look through the Layer list on the left-hand side to
find the one most suitable for your new feature.
4. Click on that Layer.
(If there is no suitable layer, you can add a new one by right-clicking on an
existing layer and choosing 'New Layer')
5. The right-hand side of the Layer Manager window shows you the features which
are available in that layer. The first tab, 'Common', contains properties which
apply to all layers. Click on the second tab to see properties which are specific to
that layer type, which includes a list of different styles which you can draw on that
layer.
6. Click on the [+] button at the bottom of the list of style. Fill in the details for the
new style.
· If the layer is a Point Feature layer, type in a name for the new feature, then
click into the Symbol column. Click on the '...' (ellipsis) button in the Symbol
column to open the Picture Editor 215 window. You can then use the Picture
Editor window to draw the new point feature.
· If the layer is a Line Feature layer, you can enter the name, style, width, and
color of your new line feature.
· If the layer is a Simple Area layer, you can enter the name, outline parameters
and fill parameters for your new area feature.
7. When you have finished adding features, click on the Done button at the top of
the Layer Manager window to return to the Mapping window. You can now draw
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your new feature onto the map as described in the topic
'Adding other features to a map 39 '.
4.1.9
Adding a new layer to a map
In addition to the built-in layers on your map, you can also add an unlimited number
of additional layers.
To add a new layer to a map:
1. Open the Mapping 121 window with the map that you want to add the new layer
to.
2. From the Mapping window, click on 'Manage Layers' in the 'Viewing' group to open
the Layer Manager window.
TIP: you can also double-click a layer in the Legend control 122 to open the Layer
Manager window directly for that layer.
3. In the Layer Manager window, click on 'Add layer...' button near the bottom-left
corner of the window. The Add layer window will open:
4. Type in the name of the layer, and select the type of the layer from the dropdown list. Click OK.
5. The layer will be added to the Layer Manager window. The right-hand side of the
Layer Manager window shows you the features which are available in that layer.
The first tab, 'Common', contains properties which apply to all layers. Click on the
second tab to see properties which are specific to that layer type, which includes a
list of different styles which you can draw on that layer.
Step-by-step guides
43
6. If the new layer is a Point, Line, or Simple Area layer: click on the second tab
(e.g. "Simple Area" above) and define some styles for features on that layer. See
Creating new map features 41 for more information.
7. When you have finished adding features, click on the Done button at the top of
the Layer Manager window to return to the Mapping window.
8. You can now draw your new feature onto the map as described in the topic
'Adding other features to a map 39 '.
4.1.10 Moving features on a map
Once you've added features to a map, you may want to move them around.
FarmKeeper allows you to move fences, fenced area and paddock labels, simple area
features, line features, point features, animals, and even entire layers.
To move features on your map:
· In the Mapping window 121 , click on the Move tool in the Drawing tool group on the
left-hand side of the window. The mouse changes into an outstretched hand shape.
· Move the mouse over the object you want to move. Objects which can be moved
will appear to 'jump up' as the mouse moves over them.
· Click and hold the mouse button. The mouse changes to a closed hand shape,
signifying that you have 'gripped' the object.
· Move the mouse to the new location for the object
· Release the mouse button.
· Click Finished Moving in the Moving tool group on the left-hand side of the
window.
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Note that when moving a fenced area and paddock label, the new position must still
be inside the fenced area or paddock.
Note also that when moving animals, the new position must be inside a paddock.
4.1.11 Measuring distances and areas on a map
FarmKeeper has built-in tools to help you measure distances and areas on your map.
To measure a distance:
· In the mapping window 121 , click on the 'Measure Distance' tool.
replaced by some measuring-specific tool groups.
· Click on the map at the point you want to begin measuring from, and then click on
each of the next points you want to measure to.
Each time you click, a yellow line and yellow hatched area will be shown on the map,
representing the area you're measuring. The measurements will be updated as you
move the mouse and click measurement points:
Step-by-step guides
45
The Stretch Length measures the length of the 'stretch', which is the portion of
yellow line between the last point you clicked on and the current mouse position.
The Segment Length measures the length between the last point you clicked on,
and the point before that.
The Total Length measures the total length between all of the points you have
clicked on
The Perimeter is like the Total Length, but also includes the distance between the
last point and the first point - as if you had clicked back on the starting point.
The Area is the area of the distance encompassed by the points you have clicked.
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Note that you can change the unit for your measurements by clicking on the dropdown box beside the Length Unit or Area Unit, and choosing a new unit.
To begin a new measurement, click on 'Reset Measure'. This will remove any existing
yellow measurement shape, and prepare to measure again.
When you have finished measuring, click on 'Finish Measuring'.
TIP: The yellow measurement shape will stay temporarily on the map when you click
'Finish Measuring'.
This is useful if you want to draw a feature of a known size on a map - for example, if
you know that irrigation bays are 30 metres wide, you can draw a measure line which
is 30 metres long (using the Stretch measurement), then Finish Measuring and draw
a fenceline over top of the yellow measurement line.
The next time you refresh the map by clicking the refresh button (or by drawing new
objects onto the map), then measurement line will be removed. Or, you can remove it
by clicking on 'Measure Distance', 'Reset Measure' and 'Finish Measuring'.
4.1.12 Scaling a map
If you originally created your map from a GPS track, or from an aerial picture file
which had geographic position information, FarmKeeper will already know the scale
and position of the map.
If you originally created your map from an aerial picture file which did not have
geographic position information (like a printed picture which you scanned onto the
computer), FarmKeeper will not know the scale of the map.
You then have two options to scale the map correctly:
1) Use the measuring tools 44 described in the previous section to enter a known
distance, and FarmKeeper will then scale the map accordingly (see below) OR
2) Use the Georeferencing 47 function to reference the map to two known points, and
FarmKeeper will position and scale the map accordingly (see the next section 47 ).
· First, find a flat, straight area on the farm. Go out and measure the actual physical
distance between two known points, which will be recognisable on the map.
· Then, using FarmKeeper, measure out the distance between those two points on the
map (using the measuring tools 44 described in the previous section)
· Click on the Rescale Map tool in the 'Measuring' tool group. The Rescale Map
window will appear:
Step-by-step guides
47
· Type in your actual, physical measurement, then click OK.
FarmKeeper will ask you to confirm the action with a confirmation window:
Click 'Yes', and all of the distances on the map will be scaled to match the
measurement you entered.
TIP: If you scanned in a printed map which already had a scale bar on it, just
'measure' over the scale bar and enter the distance shown on the scale bar.
4.1.13 Georeferencing a map
If you originally created your map from a GPS track, or from an aerial picture file
which had geographic position information, FarmKeeper will already know the scale of
the map.
If you originally created your map from an aerial picture file which did not have
geographic position information (like a printed picture which you scanned onto the
computer), FarmKeeper will not know the scale of the map.
You then have two options to scale the map correctly:
1) Use the measuring tools 44 described in the previous section to enter a known
distance, and FarmKeeper will then scale 46 the map accordingly (see
previous section 46 )
2) Use the Georeferencing function (see below) to reference the map to two known
points, and FarmKeeper will position and scale the map accordingly.
To georeference a map:
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· First, find the coordinates of two known points on your map. You could get the
coordinates either from a GPS, or by reading off another map of the same area, or
even from Google Earth.
NOTE: you cannot type in the coordinates as latitudes and longitudes - FarmKeeper
requires that these coordinates be projected, i.e. Northings and Eastings. Information
and online calculators can be found on government websites dealing with mapping.
E.g. in New Zealand they can be found on www.linz.govt.nz. Search on the Internet
for 'map projection' and the name of your country or 'geodetic datum' and the name
of your country. You will quite likely find an online conversion calculator on the
(government) website you find. If you are in doubt or cannot find it, contact support
for assistance. Be aware; projected coordinates are in Northings and Eastings;
depending on the calculator West and North coordinates might have to be entered as
negative.
· Translate the GPS coordinates to projected map coordinates.
· Click on the 'Georeference' tool in the 'Other Tools' tool group. The Rescale Map
window will appear:
· Choose the layers which you want to have georeferenced. By default all layers are
selected.
If you've just started your map, you would normally leave all layers selected.
If you have just added a layer which is already georeferenced (e.g. an external file
Step-by-step guides
49
containing a georeferenced image, or a shapefile) you may want to select all layers
apart from the georeferenced layer.
· Click on the 'Place Point 1' button, then click on the first point on the map for which
you know the coordinates. (Note: you can use the scroll wheel on your mouse to
zoom in and place the point as accurately as possible).
A green cross will be shown on the location you clicked.
· Type in the known Northing and Easting coordinates in the 'Point 1 Northing' and
'Point 1 Easting'
· Click on the 'Place Point 2' button, click on the map to place that point, then type in
the known Northing and Eastings for the second point.
· Click the 'Georeference Now' button. FarmKeeper will adjust the coordinates of the
selected layers to match the two known coordinates.
Next step - specify a Map System 254 for your map.
The coordinates you specified while georeferencing the map were in Northings and
Eastings.
If you wish to read latitudes/longitudes off your map, or upload/download from a GPS
unit, FarmKeeper will need be able to translate the Northings and Eastings into
latitudes and longitudes.
The translation is defined by telling FarmKeeper which Map System the Northings and
Eastings relate to.
If your map does not already have a map system defined, you can click on Tools ->
Map Properties 132 and select the Map System tab to define the map system which
FarmKeeper should use for this map.
4.1.14 Selecting multiple features on a map
Sometimes you may need to perform an operation on a number of features at once.
For example, you may wish to change a group of fencelines to be a different style, or
delete a group of point features. Or, you may wish to upload 135 only certain points
and lines on from layer to your GPS.
FarmKeeper has an advanced multiple-selection system which works similarly to
many other Windows programs.
There are two main ways to select multiple features:
· Control-clicking: click on the first feature, then hold down the [ctrl] key on your
keyboard while clicking other features
· Selection rectangle (see below)
To select multiple features on your map using the selection rectangle:
In the Mapping window 121 , click on the Select Advanced tool in the Drawing tool
group on the left-hand side of the window.
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The mouse changes into an selection box, and the left-hand side of the window
changes to show you options for the advanced select operation:
In the Select Options tool group, you can choose how the new selection will affect
the existing selection:
· Replace selection (all previously-selected features will be deselected before the
new selection is applied), or
· Add to selection (all previously-selected features will remain selected), or
· Remove from selection (all previously-selected features will remain selected,
apart from ones which are selected in this operation)
You can also choose which objects/features will be selected:
· Partially enclosed objects (any objects which are touched by the selection
rectangle)
· Fully enclosed objects (only those objects which are entirely within the selection
rectangle)
Step-by-step guides
51
In the Select from tool group, you can choose which layers features can be selected
from. By default, all layers are selected. You can select multiple layers by [ctrl]clicking the layers, or click select all / none.
Once you have checked that the options are correct, you can begin selecting:
1. Move the mouse onto the map, to the top-left corner of the area containing the
features you wish to select.
2. Click and hold the left-mouse button
3. Drag the mouse down to the bottom-right corner of the area containing the
features you wish to select. As you drag the mouse, you will see a selection
rectangle drawn on the map
4. When the selection rectangle includes all of the features you wish to select,
release the mouse button.
If you have selected one or more features, the left-hand side of the window will
change to show you the actions and properties for the selected features.
If all selected features are on the same layer, you can change a property in the
Properties box, and that property will be changed for all selected shapes at once. This
is a great way to quickly and easily change the style for many fencelines at once:
If selected features are on different layers, the only operation which you can perform
on all of the selected features is to delete them:
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Another use for multi-selecting objects is to select all watering points (troughs) on a
property, so that you can use the buffer 52 function to create watering circles showing
the distance stock have to walk to find water.
To unselect the selected features, just click on a different feature or click the 'Refresh'
button in the toolbar near the top of the window.
4.1.15 Creating a buffer around map features
FarmKeeper contains a Buffer tool which you can use to create a buffer at a specified
distance around certain objects.
You can use the buffer tool in many different ways:
· Create a buffer around your watering points, to highlight areas where stock will and
won't graze
· Create a buffer around a centre-pivot irrigator to show the area which will be
irrigated
· Create a buffer around a waterway or wetland area for riparian fencing
· Create a buffer around a stock track to save time drawing a fence on each sides of
the track
To create a buffer around a map feature:
1. Click on the feature you want to create the buffer around. You can use
multiple selection 49 to select more than one feature.
2. Click on 'Finish with <feature>' at the top of the left-hand side of the window if
necessary, to get back to the normal select mode with the features still selected.
3. Click on Advanced Buffer in the Other Tools group at the bottom of the left-hand
side of the window.
The left-hand side of the window will change to show options for the buffering
operation:
Step-by-step guides
53
In the Draw What? group, you can specify the layer on which the buffer will be
drawn, and any other attributes of the buffer such as style.
In the Buffer options group, you can specify:
· Buffer Distance - the distance away from the selected feature at which the buffer
should be drawn
· Accuracy - select 'Simplified' to create fewer points or 'Accurate' to create more
points and therefore a more accurate buffer.
· Once you're happy with the settings and the buffer looks correct on the map, click
on Finish Buffer link at the top of the left-hand side of the window to actually
create the buffer.
Note that once the buffer has been created, FarmKeeper cannot remember that it was
created through a buffer operation - i.e. you cannot then go back and adjust the
buffer options to modify the buffer.
4.1.16 Creating watering circles
"Watering circles" can be used to show how far stock have to travel to access water
on a farm.
In some areas, such as large-scale dryland areas, this can be a primary factor in
determining the grazing pressure on a property.
This section will show you how to use FarmKeeper to create watering circles, and then
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report on how far stock have to travel to find water in each paddock. You should
speak to an agronomist or other local expert to determine the distances which apply
to your property, and the applicability of this concept in your area.
Step 1: Create a watering circles layer
· Ensure your map is open in the Mapping Window.
· Click on 'Manage Layers'
· In the Layer Manager 123 window, click on the 'Add Layer' button
· Type in a layer name of 'Watering circles', and select layer type of 'Simple Area',
and click OK to create the layer.
· Click on the 'Simple Area' tab for the new layer
· Click the [+] button at the bottom of the 'Area Styles' grid, and add in a style to
represent the area between 0 and 1km from a watering point. You can use
whichever colours, styles and patterns you like, but make sure you name the style
appropriately e.g. '1km'
· Click the [+] button at the bottom of the 'Area Styles' grid to continue to add in
styles for other distances from water, e.g. '2km', '3km'
· You should end up with a layer manager looking somewhat similar to this:
· When you have finished creating the area styles, click 'Done' to close the Layer
Manager window and return to the map.
Step 2: Select watering points.
· Ensure your map is open in the Mapping Window.
· Click on one watering point (trough) on the map. It will turn blue to indicate that it
is selected.
· Holding down the <ctrl> key on your keyboard, click on each of the other watering
points on your property. Each will turn blue as it is selected.
· When you have selected all the watering points, click 'Finish with __ objects' on the
left-hand side of the window
Note: you can also use the multiple selection 49 feature to select multiple watering
points with a selection rectangle
Step-by-step guides
55
Step 3: Create watering circles
· With all the watering points selected (from the previous step), click on the
'Advanced Buffer' option in the 'Other Tools' group on the left-hand side of the
window.
· Choose your new 'Watering Circles' layer in the 'Draw What' drop-down box
· Choose '1km' in the 'Area style' drop down box
· In the 'Buffer Options' group, change the 'Outer buffer' to '1000.00 m' (i.e. 1km)
· FarmKeeper will draw a buffer 1km around the selected watering points
· Click 'Finish buffer' to create the buffer
· Repeat the above points for each other distance, e.g. 2km, 3km. The only difference
is that you will select the corresponding Area Style for each distance, and you will
also need to set the Inner Buffer to 1km for the 2km circle (and 2km for the 3km
circle), so that the circles do not overlap but rather appear as 'doughnuts' (circles
with a hole in the middle).
· When you have created all three buffers, your map should look something like this:
Step 4: run Layer Intersection report
· Click on Reports -> Layer Intersection Report
· Set the parameters for the report:
- Map = <your map>
- Row layer = Paddocks (or Areas if you began with an earlier version of
FarmKeeper)
- Row attribute = ba_pad_name (this represents the name of the paddock)
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- Column layer = 'Watering circles' (or whatever you named your watering circle
layer)
- Column attribute = 'lst_name' (this represents the area style name)
- Calculate = Dominant (to show how far stock have to travel to get water over most
of the paddock), or Max (to show the maximum distance that stock have to travel to
get water for any part of the paddock)
· Click the 'Generate Report' button. The report should look something like the
example below:
Paddock names are listed down the left-hand side of the report.
Distances are listed along the top of the report - these are actually the area styles we
created in step 1.
The 'Not intersected' column shows area which is not within 3km of a watering point i.e. is not within any of the watering circles.
The areas in each cell show the area of each paddock which is within the specified
distance to water.
In the example above, paddock 01 is a total of 59.18ha. Of that area, 24.70ha is
within 1km of a watering point, and 24.61ha is within 2km of a watering point. The
maximum distance that stock have to travel to find water is between 1km and 2km.
You can use the data in this report to determine paddocks that may need to have
additional watering points (or moved watering points) to improve the number of stock
that the paddock can carry.
Step-by-step guides
57
4.1.17 Moving entire map layers
To move an entire layer of a FarmKeeper map:
· Click Move Layer in the Other Tools tool group on the left-hand side of the
window
· Click on one or more layers in the Move which layer? tool group.
To select more than one layer, hold down the [Ctrl] key on the keyboard as you
click on the layers.
· Type the distance (in metres) that the layer should move, into the Move by [x]
metres box in the Move which way? tool group.
· Click on one or more of the direction buttons in the Move which way? tool group.
The selected layers will be moved in the specified direction.
· When you have finished, click on Finished moving layer in the Moving Layer tool
group.
4.1.18 Adding photographs to a map
FarmKeeper has the ability to link digital photographs to a point on your map. This is
useful if you want a visual record showing how a particular point on the property
changes through time, or visual records of a native vegetation area or weed
infestation.
To link a digital photo to a point on a map:
1. Ensure that the digital photo has been downloaded from your camera to the
computer.
2. Run FarmKeeper, and open the map where the photo was taken.
3.
Add a point feature 39 to the map, at the point where the photo was taken.
It doesn't matter what type of point feature you add - photo's can be added to
any point feature. A good choice is the 'Point photo' feature under the Land layer
group: in the 'Draw What?' box, click Land -> Point Features -> Point photos ->
Point photo.
4. Right-click on the point feature you have just added to the map, and choose 'Add
photo...' from the pop-up menu:
5. On the "New point photo" window, click on the Filename field and then click on
the '...' (Ellipsis) button at the end of that field.
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Browse to find the digital photo file on your computer, and click Open.
FarmKeeper will display a 'thumbnail' image of the digital photo.
6. Enter any notes about the photo, and click 'Done'.
FarmKeeper has now stored a link to that digital photo file, associated with the point
feature you clicked on.
NOTE: FarmKeeper does NOT actually store the digital photo file inside your
FarmKeeper data file; it just stores a link to the file. This means that your digital
photo file will not be backed up automatically when you backup your FarmKeeper
datafile. You should ensure that your digital photo files are backed up separately, as
part of your general computer backup routine.
To view the digital photo in the future, just right-click on the point feature and choose
'Point Properties', then click on the History tab to see all of the point photos
associated with that point.
Step-by-step guides
59
To view the digital photo in your computer's default image viewer, just right-click on
the thumbnail image and choose 'View photo in default viewer'
Your computer's default photo viewer will open to display the photo. To return to
FarmKeeper, close or minimise the photo viewer.
4.1.19 Printing a map
Printing a map is easy in FarmKeeper. Just click on the File menu, then click on Print
(or click on the printer icon in the toolbar).
FarmKeeper prints the map the way it is shown on the screen. Turn off the layers you
do not want to print via Legend control 122 (top right hand of the screen with open
map) by unticking the box in front of the layer. To turn off the Ground Surface
Symbols (so they no longer show, but FarmKeeper will remember the choosen Ground
Surface) open the 'Paddock' layer, go to the 'Paddock' tab and untick the box.
Note also that only those layers currently visible in the mapping window will be
printed. If you have layers which are only visible below a certain scale (see
'How can I 'de-clutter' my map? 258 ), you can tell FarmKeeper to temporarily ignore
that setting by clicking on the "Ignore 'only visible below scale'" option on the
Mapping tab of the Options window 196 .
Note that you if you don't have a printer installed on your computer, you won't be
able to open the Page setup window. If you don't have a printer installed, but want to
open this window anyway (e.g. to create a PDF file), you should install a printer driver
on your computer, even if you don't actually have a printer attached to the computer.
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This opens the Page setup window 136 , which gives you basically two ways to get a
printout of your FarmKeeper map:
1. Print the map on your own printer. You can print to a single page, or enlarge
across multiple pages which you can then tape or pin together to make a larger
map
2. Print the map to a PDF file, and have the PDF file printed at a print shop.
For detailed instructions on both approaches, refer to the Page setup window 136 .
4.1.20 Faxing a map
Faxing a map couldn't be easier.
Just click on the Fax icon in the toolbar of the Mapping window 121
The Send Fax window will appear.
Type in the number of the destination fax, exactly as you would dial it on an ordinary
fax machine.
If you want to include a cover page before the map, tick the "Include Cover Page"
box, and type in the cover page message.
Step-by-step guides
61
If you want to see how the fax will look when received, click on the Preview button.
To send the fax, click on the Send button.
(Note: Sending a fax requires that your computer has a fax modem installed.).
You can configure advanced Fax options, such as the fax header, in the Options
window
4.1.21 Emailing a map
Emailing someone a picture of your map is even easier than faxing
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it.
Just click on the Email icon in the toolbar of the Mapping window 121 .
FarmKeeper will take a picture of the map you're working with, and create a new
email with the map picture as an attachment.
You just need to type in the email address of the recipient, optionally add a subject
line and message, and click Send.
How does this work?
FarmKeeper creates the email in cooperation with your computer's email software.
If your computer does not have any email software, FarmKeeper will be unable to
email your map.
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FarmKeeper knows how to work with all of the common email programs (such as
Outlookä, Outlook Expressä, and Eudoraä). FarmKeeper simply takes a picture of
your map, then asks your email program to create a new, blank email with the picture
attached. Your email program does the rest - displaying the new, blank email (with
the map picture attachment), so you can enter in the recipient's email address (and
optionally a subject line and message).
Note that most email programs won't actually send the email immediately when you
click Send. Instead, they store the outgoing email until you connect to the internet,
and then send all outgoing emails and download any incoming ones.
Refer to the documentation of your email program for more information.
4.2
Animal guides
4.2.1
About animal records
FarmKeeper maintains records for groups of animals, such as a mob of cows or sheep.
FarmKeeper does not maintain records of individual animals.
You can use FarmKeeper to quickly and easily keep track of where your animals are
grazing, and for how long. At the end of the year, you can summarise these records
using FarmKeeper's Map Reports and see whether some paddocks were grazed more
than others.
You can also record Activities against a group of animals.
4.2.2
Creating animal records
To create a record for a group of animals:
1. In the main window, click on the Animals item in the Explorer Tree
2. The right-hand side of the window changes to show any existing animal records.
If you haven't yet created any animal records, the area will be blank.
3. Click on the '+' editing button 101 at the bottom of the window.
4. A new row will appear in the animals grid. Type in the name of the group of
animals into the Name cell.
5. Click on the Symbol cell, and click on the drop-down arrow to display a list of
symbols. You can choose one of the existing symbols, or click the ellipsis ('...')
button to edit the list of symbols and add or modify your own symbols.
6. Click on the Location cell, then click on the ellipsis ('...') button which appears in
that cell.
Step-by-step guides
63
7. The 'Move Animals 187 ' window appears. You can use this window to specify the
paddock(s) that the animals are in, and the number of animals in that paddock (in
the '# animals after' cell)
When you close the Move Animals window, the Location cell will be updated to
contain the paddock(s) and count(s) you specified.
8.
4.2.3
The Total Count cell is also updated with the total count of animals from the Move
Animals window.
Moving animals
Recording the movement of mobs of animals between paddocks is very easy with
FarmKeeper.
And, because FarmKeeper lets you keep records for all of your properties and/or
grazing blocks in the same datafile, you can move mobs between farms just as easily
as moving them between paddocks.
There are a couple of different ways to move animal mobs directly on a map.
The quick way
· Right-click on the paddock which the mob are moving into.
(You can do this either by right-clicking on a paddock from the Mapping window, or
right-clicking on a map record in the Records Explorer. If you're doing it from the
Mapping window, remember: you have to name a fenced area as a paddock 36 ,
before you can move animals into it.)
A popup menu appears, showing you all of the things you can do with that paddock.
· Click on the 'Move animals here...' option.
· The Move Animals window 187 opens, with information already entered to record the
movement of the animals into the new paddock.
· You may need to select the animals to move, if you have created more than one
animals record in FarmKeeper.
· Change the date and time of the move if necessary, then when the details are
correct, click OK.
· If you want to record a more complex move (with animals added or removed from
the mob, or animals split across multiple paddocks), just enter those details before
clicking OK.
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The quicker way
If you're working in the Mapping window, and the mob you want to move are already
on that map, there's an even quicker way to record the movement.
Simply click on the mob, hold down the mouse button and 'drag' the mob over the
destination paddock.
When you release the mouse button, the 'Move Mob' window will appear, just as
described above - but this time, the Mob will be already selected.
4.2.4
Deactivating animals
Sometimes a mob of animals ceases to exist, such as when a mob of heifer cows is
added into a milking herd.
It may be tempting to just delete the empty animal record, but this is not usually a
good idea: deleting the animal record will also delete that record's grazing history.
The best way to 'deactivate' an animal record is to move the animals into the
<Unspecified> paddock, with a count of 0. That way the history of the animal record
is preserved, but the animals will not appear on any map.
Note that you can easily 're-activate' an animal record: simply move the mob from
the <Unspecified> paddock back into a 'real' paddock, and specify the new count. In
this way, you can re-use 'seasonal' animal mobs from year to year.
4.2.5
Recording animal events
You can record basic event information against a group of animals, in a similar way to
recording a paddock activity against a paddock.
1. Right-click on an animal mob to display the list of actions for that animal mob.
Note that you can right-click on the animal mob icon on a map, or from the
Animals module in the main FarmKeeper window.
2. Select 'Record activity...' from the menu.
Step-by-step guides
65
3. Fill in the details for the activity.
- If the activity relates to more than one mob, click on the ellipsis ('...') button in
the Animal Mobs field and select other mobs.
- If the activity you want to record isn't in the predefined list of activities, click the
ellipsis button for the Activity field and define a new activity.
4. Click 'Done' to record the activity.
Once you have entered a mob activity, you can refer back to that information in
several ways:
·
·
·
4.2.6
For an individual mob: Right-click on the mob and choose Animals properties.
Click on the History tab to see all of the activities, grazing events and health
treatments for that mob.
On a calendar: Click on the Calendar module 105 in the main FarmKeeper window.
Animal activities appear as aqua-coloured entries in the calendar.
On a report: Run the Diary report 179 from the reports module in the main
FarmKeeper window. By default, all activities for the past year are shown, but you
can limit the report to show just animal activities, or just activities for a certain
mob, or just activities containing certain keywords.
Recording animal health treatments
You can use FarmKeeper to record basic information about health treatments which
are given to a whole mob of animals.
NOTE: FarmKeeper will not (currently) alert you when animals are in a
withholding period. This information is for your records only, do not rely on
FarmKeeper to tell you whether it is safe to sell or consume produce from
your animals!
You can either:
· record a single animal health treatment (of a whole mob), with the New Animal
Health Treatment window (see below), OR
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· lookup and record many animal health treatments records at once, with the
Bulk Data Entry - Animal Health Treatments 205 window.
To record a single animal health treatment (of a whole mob):
1. Right-click on an animal mob to display the list of actions for that animal mob.
Note that you can right-click on the animal mob icon on a map, or from the
Animals module in the main FarmKeeper window.
2.
Select 'Record health treatment...' from the menu.
3. Fill in the details for the activity.
- Select the mob which received the treatment
- Select the date on which the treatment occurred
- Select the product which was used, or click on the ellipsis ('...') button to define
products. (FarmKeeper does not have any products pre-defined. For each product
you define, you can specify a name, withholding period in days, and notes).
- Enter the dosage of the product - how much was given to each animal in the
mob.
- Check and/or adjust the Safe Date. The Safe Date is automatically calculated as
Treatment Date PLUS Product Withholding Period, but you can override the Safe
Date if required.
- Enter any notes for the treatment.
4. Click 'Done' to record the activity.
Once you have entered a mob activity, you can refer back to that information in
several ways:
Step-by-step guides
·
·
·
67
For an individual mob: Right-click on the mob and choose Animals properties.
Click on the History tab to see all of the activities, grazing events and health
treatments for that mob.
On a calendar: Click on the Calendar module 105 in the main FarmKeeper window.
Animal health treatment activities appear as pinkish-coloured entries in the
calendar.
On a report: Run the Diary report 179 from the reports module in the main
FarmKeeper window. By default, all activities for the past year are shown, but you
can limit the report to show just health treatments, or just treatments for a
certain mob, or just treatments containing certain keywords.
4.3
Feed Budgeting guides
4.3.1
Creating a new feed budget
Creating a new feed budget is easy with FarmKeeper. Please refer to the
'New Feed Budget Wizard 143 ' topic for step-by-step instructions on creating a new
feed budget.
4.4
Report guides
4.4.1
Running a report
There are a few different ways to run a report in FarmKeeper. This section takes you
through each of the different ways.
Running a report from the main window
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
From the main window 102 , click on the Reports entry in the Records Explorer tree.
The Reports module will appear on the right hand side of the Records Explorer.
Click on the report you want to run.
The report you clicked on opens up in a Report window.
Enter the parameters for the report in the top section of the window, then click
the 'Generate report' button
The report is run, and the results appear in the bottom section of the window.
Click on the Report, Graph, or Map tab to see the report presented in that style.
(Note that a particular report might not have all of these tabs, depending on
whether each of the styles makes sense for that particular report)
Running a report from the Mapping window
Some reports can be run directly from the Mapping window 121 :
1. Click on the Reports menu, and click on the report you want to run from the list.
2. The report you clicked on opens up in a Report window.
3. FarmKeeper automatically enters in the map you're working with (or the farm
associated with the map), and runs the report.
4. If you want to change any of the parameters, change them and then click the
'Generate report' button to see a fresh copy of the report with the new
parameters.
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4.4.2
FarmKeeper Manual
Emailing a report
Emailing a report uses exactly the same process as emailing a map
section for further information on emailing a report.
4.4.3
. Refer to that
Faxing a report
Faxing a report uses exactly the same process as faxing a map
section for further information on faxing a report.
4.5
61
60
. Refer to that
C-Dax Guides
C-Dax Installer
In order to import data from your C-Dax Pasture Meter in to FarmKeeper you need to
run the FarmKeeper (C-Dax Pasture Meter) Installer.
The installer for the C-Dax Pasture Meter can be found on either the FarmKeeper CD
you purchased or by downloading it from the FarmKeeper website:
www.farmkeeper.com
Setting-up FarmKeeper and C-Dax
Before you can start importing pasture cover data from your C-Dax Pasture Meter console
you must ensure that you have:
·
·
·
Created a map and/or farm with named paddocks in FarmKeeper.
Collected data on your C-Dax console while doing a farm ride.
For information on how to use your C-Dax Pasture Meter please refer to your C-Dax
user guide or contact C-Dax directly.
Establised a Bluetooth connection between your computer and the C-Dax console.
For more information on the Bluetooth connection refer to your C-Dax manual or our
FAQ's:
· Bluetooth Connection Information,
· Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or
· Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips.
Step-by-step guides
4.5.1
Bluetooth
4.5.1.1
Bluetooth Set-up
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Bluetooth™ Installation (C-Dax Tier 2 /XP1 only) - Reproduced from the CDax Manual with thanks!
The C-Dax Tier 2 and XP1 Pasture Meters use a Bluetooth™ wireless link to transfer
data to the PC.
[Note: Bluetooth™ is not the same as 802.11a/b/g - otherwise known as WiFi].
Note: The process for installing and enabling Bluetooth™ drivers differs between
various models of computer. This is therefore a guide only to provide some general
tips.
Bluetooth-equipped Notebook Installation Tips
Some notebook computers already come with a built-in Bluetooth™ transmitter. If
you have such a Bluetooth™ equipped notebook, then follow the instructions that
came with the computer to enable the Bluetooth™ functionality.
Start installation of Bluetooth drivers
In some cases installation of the Bluetooth driver software is commenced by double
clicking (or right clicking) the Bluetooth icon
in the System Tray (at the bottom
right hand corner of the screen).
Step 2 - Turn on Bluetooth radio
· Normally part way through the installation of the Bluetooth™ drivers you will be
asked to turn on or enable the Bluetooth™ radio. Depending on the model of
notebook computer, this could be either an external switch or button, or it may be
accessed by a function key combination such as Fn + F2. (Consult your notebook
computer manual for more details).
External Bluetooth Adapter Installation Tips
For most desktop computers an external Bluetooth™ to USB adapter (sometimes
called a dongle) will be required.
For more information see Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or Bluetooth Device
Pairing Tips
4.5.1.2
Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips
Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips- Reproduced from the C-Dax Manual with
thanks!
If the Bluetooth fails to connect and you see either a prompt at the bottom of the
screen like this
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FarmKeeper Manual
(or this dialog),
then the Pasture Meter Bluetooth device needs to be paired with the computer by
entering the code 0000 (that's four zeros).
Click on the yellow box and you should see the following dialog appear.
· Enter 0000 and click OK
· You may have to disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth connection again.
For more information see Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or Bluetooth
Connection Information
4.5.1.3
Bluetooth Troubleshooting Tips
Bluetooth Troubleshooting Tips - Reproduced from the C-Dax Manual with
thanks!
Icon Status
To start, look for the Bluetooth icon in the System Tray (at the bottom right and
corner of the desktop).
The Bluetooth icon in the tray shows the status of the Bluetooth link as follows:
· When the Bluetooth icon is red
not connected or not turned on.
· When the Bluetooth icon is white
hardware is on.
it means the Bluetooth hardware is either
it means the (computers local) Bluetooth
· When the Bluetooth icon is green
it means an end-to-end connection has
been established (e.g. a virtual serial port).
Step-by-step guides
71
Red Icon Tips
If the Bluetooth icon is red
try these steps:
· If your notebook computer is equipped with built-in Bluetooth™, turn on the
Bluetooth radio transmitter e.g. Fn+F2
· If your computer needs an external Bluetooth™ adapter (dongle), check that
the Bluetooth adapter is properly plugged into a USB port.
· Double click on the Bluetooth icon to bring up the Bluetooth manager to see if
any extra information is available.
White Icon Tips
Use this procedure if the FarmKeeper and the C-Dax console could not connect the
Bluetooth link, or if an error came up during a connection attempt.
If the Bluetooth icon is white
try these steps:
· Check that the Pasture Meter indicator console has power (e.g. power pack is
plugged in) and is turned on.
· Check that the Pasture Meter indicator console is less than 10 meters away.
· Double click on the Bluetooth icon to bring up the Bluetooth manager.
· Try searching for discoverable devices.
· Check that the Pasture Meter can be found.
Green Icon Tips
If the Bluetooth icon is green
try these steps:
· This could occur for instance if FarmKeeper had connected the Bluetooth link,
but records could not be retrieved from the Pasture Meter.
· Bring the Pasture Meter indicator console closer – sometimes intermittent
connections occur when operating at the limits of the 10 meter range.
· Turn the Pasture Meter indicator console off and on.
· Also: Note the Pasture Meter will not communicate over the Bluetooth link while
it is recording (or recording is paused).
For more information see Bluetooth Connection Information or Bluetooth Device
Pairing Tips
4.5.2
C-Dax Tier 2 Pasture Meter
4.5.2.1
Using your Tier 2 Pasture Meter
Before you can start importing pasture cover data from your C-Dax Pasture Meter console
you must ensure that you have:
· Created a map and/or farm with named paddocks in FarmKeeper.
· Collected data on your C-Dax console while doing a farm ride.
For information on how to use your C-Dax Pasture Meter please refer to your C-Dax
user guide or contact C-Dax directly.
· Establised a Bluetooth connection between your computer and the C-Dax console.
For more information on the Bluetooth connection refer to your C-Dax manual or our
FAQ's:
· Bluetooth Connection Information,
· Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or
· Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips.
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Importing C-Dax Tier 2 Pasture Cover Data
Step 1: Open FarmKeeper and click on the 'Pasture Cover' option in the Tools
menu
This will open the Pasture Cover screen.
Step 2: Select the 'Download C-Dax Pasture Cover Data' option and click on the
'Import C-Dax Pasture Cover Data' button
Step 3: Select the port your C-Dax console is connected to.
To find the COM-port your meter is linked to please see, either 'Details' or 'Properties' in
your Bluetooth Manager.
Please make it a habit to download any recorded data before making additional recordings,
this will prevent data being overwritten.
Step-by-step guides
73
Once you have clicked on 'Next' a message should appear saying 'Downloading from
console. Please wait...'
Your C-Dax console will say 'Send' and the Bluetooth icon in the right hand bottom
corner of your screen will turn green
.
Step 4: Review C-Dax Data screen
This screen displays all the data that is currently on your C-Dax console. From this
screen you can discard any data that you do not want to bring into FarmKeeper.
An example of data that you might want to exclude could be where you forgot to stop
recording data on leaving one paddock and entering another. In this case the solution
would be to re-record the 2 paddocks separately. Then on importing the data you
would simply untick the record which had the data for both paddocks. To identify
which record to untick you could look at the Number of Measurements column and
also the Session Number column.
Data is ordered by farm and paddock.
NOTE. The data for unticked paddocks is discarded and cannot be retrieved!
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Click on 'Next' to proceed.
Step 5: Match Farms and Paddocks
Where the paddock numbers on your C-Dax console are exactly the same as the
paddock names you have created in FarmKeeper, paddock matching will be
automatic.
To match paddocks that have not been matched automatically by FarmKeeper, click
on the arrow and pick the correct farm and paddock from the dropdown list. You
cannot proceed to the next screen until all paddocks are matched.
If you realise at this point that you have not created a paddock in FarmKeeper to
match the C-Dax data too, click on 'Cancel'. You will need to create and/or name the
paddock in FarmKeeper and then re-start the C-Dax import.
For paddocks you do not want to match, choose <Skip>, BUT beware, you will lose
this data.
Step-by-step guides
75
NOTE. The data for skipped paddocks is discarded and cannot be retrieved!
Step 6: Review Pasture Cover Readings
In this screen you will see the measurements converted into pasture cover readings
for each paddock.
By default the C-Dax console stores the regression equation used to calculate pasture
covers. If you have forgotten to update this equation on your console you can change
the equation by clicking the on the 'Edit regression equation' box and editing the
numbers. If you have any questions about the regression equations, please contact CDax directly.
When importing data from a Tier 2 console, by default, 'today's' date is inserted as
the date of the measurement.
If this is incorrect it can be changed by clicking on the 'Edit date' box, selecting the
correct date and 'Ok'.
NOTE: This will change the date for all readings. If you take readings for half the
farm on one day and the other half the next day both will get the same date. To avoid
this, ensure you download the readings between farm rides.
It is also possible to discard any readings here that look unreliable (eg have very few
readings or belong to paddocks you did not go into) by unticking the box in front.
Again these readings will then be discarded and cannot be retrieved!
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Click on 'Next' to finish and have the pasture cover records saved into FarmKeeper.
4.5.3
C-Dax XP1 Pasture Meter
4.5.3.1
Getting started with your XP1 Pasture Meter
Getting started with your XP1 Pasture Meter
The XP1 Pasture Meter works by matching the GPS location of each grass
measurement to your georeferenced map in FarmKeeper.
Because of the way in which maps are georeferenced (by the mapping companies) it
is possible that the GPS co-ordinates of your grass measurements and your map
may not align immediately. If they do not align correctly, it is possible that the
grass measurements could be recorded against the wrong paddock on your farm.
As such we recommend that before you start using the XP1 to take your pasture
covers you follow the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Do a Set-up Ride to create a Ride Trail
Create a Back-up of your FarmKeeper Datafile
Import the Ride Trail only into FarmKeeper
View the Ride Trail on your Map
Align the Map and Ride Trail (if necessary) using the Georeference
tools in the Maps Module
For more detail, please see below.
Step 1: Do a Set-up Ride to create a Ride Trail
Step-by-step guides
77
Follow your instructions from C-Dax and connect the sled and console to your
vehicle of choice. Turn the console on and start your farm ride.
We recommend that for your set-up ride you drive to paddocks at the opposite
corners of your farm (eg North-West and South-East). At each of these points drive
around the corners of the paddock. In this way, when you import the ride trail into
FarmKeeper you will be able to identify whether your C-Dax GPS co-ordinates are
aligned with your map.
Note: We recommend that you stay a distance of 4 meters from the fence when
doing your set-up ride.
Step 2: Create a Backup of your Farmkeeper datafile
Open FarmKeeper and make a back-up of your datafile using the FarmKeeper Backup function.
For further instructions on how to backup your datafile, refer to the
Datafile Backup Wizard 217 .
Step 3: Import the Ride Trail only into FarmKeeper
To do this you will need to import the ride trail from the console following the steps
in the import wizard.
NOTE: At this stage we are bringing in only the ride trail. Two of the import wizard
screens will display pasture cover data but at this stage you should choose 'Next'
(see step d). The content of these screens is explained in
Using your XP1 Pasture Meter 84 .
a. Click on the 'Pasture Cover' option in the Tools menu
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b. Select the 'Download C-Dax Pasture Cover Data' option and click on the
This will open the Import Wizard.
c. Select the correct COM port
Step-by-step guides
d. For the purpose of set-up please just select 'Next' on the following
screens
(i) Choose C-Dax Console Type and Mode / XP1 - using GPS paddock
matching
(ii) Review Pasture Cover Readings
e. Select the Set-up C-Dax and FarmKeeper Option
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FarmKeeper Manual
f. Click on Finish to complete the Ride Trail import
g. Click on Done to close the Pasture Cover module
Step 4: View the Ride Trail on your Map
Open your map and and open the map legend. The map legend is turned on by
'hovering' your mouse over the 'Legend' button at the top right corner of your map.
Ensure that the C-Dax Ride Trail Layer is turned on (ticked) in your map legend.
View the ride trail on your map. If the ride trail sits within the boundary of the
paddocks on your farm then you will not need to georeference your map and ride
trail and you can move onto the next chapter Using your XP1.
If, like in the picture below, the ride trail does not sit on you map within the
boundary of your paddocks you will need to move it so that it does.
Step-by-step guides
81
Step 5: Align the Map and Ride Trail (if necessary) using the Georeference
tool in the Maps module.
A map in FarmKeeper is made up of a number of different layers. Each layer
contains different information. In this step of our set-up we want to keep the C-Dax
Ride Trail layer where it is but shift the remaining layers in our map so that they are
in alignment with that layer by using the georeference tool.
In effect, we point to a 'dot' of the ride trail and then point to where the actual CDax sled was driven around that paddock. This is done for the 2 paddocks driven
around on the set-up ride. FarmKeeper then shifts the layers to line up.
How to Georeference your Ride Trail:
Step 1: While in your map, click on Georeference in the 'Other tools' menu on the
left hand side of your screen.
This will open the Georeferencing menu and show all the layers in your
map.
Step 2: In the Georeference layers menu hold down the 'Ctlr' key and click on 'CDax Ride Trail'.
This will unselect 'C-Dax Ride Trail', while all other layers remain selected
(highlighted in blue).
This means all other layers of the map are going to be moved relative to
the 'C-Dax Ride Trail' layer.
Step 3: Click on the 'Place Point 1' button and click on the map where the NorthWest corner of the ride trail should be (see below).
Step 4: Point your mouse at the equivalent point on the Ride Trail and leave it
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FarmKeeper Manual
there while you hold down the 'Alt' key and '1' key, which will enter the
Northing and Easting of this point for you in the boxes for Point 1.
Step 5: Click on the 'Place Point 2' button and click on the map where the SouthWest corner of the ride trail should be.
Step 6: Point your mouse at the equivalent point on the Ride Trail and leave it
there while you hold down the 'Alt' key and '2' key, which will enter the
Northing and Easting of this point for you in the boxes for Point 2.
Step 7: Click 'Georeference Now' at the bottom once you are satisfied with the
placement of your two points and the corresponding point on the 'C-Dax
Ride Trail'.
Step-by-step guides
83
Before Georeferencing
After Georeferencing
The ride trail doesn't sit within the
paddock outline.
The ride trail now sits mainly within the
paddock outline.
What if it doesn't work first time?
If when you have completed the georeferencing process you find that your map and
ride trail are not as well aligned as you think they could be, click on the Undo
button on your map toolbar BEFORE you save your changes. FarmKeeper will ask
you if you wish to undo the georeferencing - select 'Yes'.
When the map has been restored, start the georeferencing process again.
Note: It may take several attempts before you are comfortable with the alignment.
Step 6: Save your datafile. You are now ready to start using your C-Dax XP1
Pasture Meter.
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4.5.3.2
FarmKeeper Manual
Using your XP1 Pasture Meter
Importing C-Dax XP1 Pasture Cover Data
Once you have completed the XP1 set-up process you can import your pasture cover
data following the steps listed below:
a. Ensure FarmKeeper is open and Click on the 'Pasture Cover' option in the
Tools menu
Step-by-step guides
85
Once you have clicked 'Next' you will see a message saying 'Downloading from
Your console will say 'Send' and the Bluetooth icon in the right hand bottom corner
of your screen will turn green
.
d. Choose C-Dax Console Type and Mode
The C-Dax Pasture Meter can be used to record data by using either
· GPS paddock matching functionality or
· using manual paddock matching functionailty
In this screen you need to select the mode you collect data in. In most cases you
will choose the first option. If you use the manual matching functionality please
refer to Using your XP1 in Tier 2 Mode 88 .
Note: If you have both GPS and non-GPS data on your console at one time, you will
only be able to import one data type. The other will be lost. It is important to
download one type of data before you collect more data.
Note: Check your Computer date and time setting as these affect the recorded date
of you pasture cover.
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e. Review Pasture Cover Readings
for each paddock.
By default the C-Dax console stores the regression equation used to calculate
pasture covers. If you have forgotten to update this equation on your console you
can change the equation by clicking on the 'Edit regression equation' box and
editing the numbers. If you have any questions about the regression equations,
please contact C-Dax directly.
If the date is incorrect it can be changed by clicking on the 'Edit date' box,
selecting the correct date and 'Ok'.
farm on one day and the other half the next day both will get the same date. To
avoid this, ensure you download the readings between farm rides.
It is also possible to discard any readings here that look unreliable (eg have very
few readings or belong to paddocks you did not go into) by unticking the box in
front. Again these readings will then be discarded and cannot be retrieved!
Step-by-step guides
87
f. Complete C-Dax Import
Select Import data to complete the final part of this process and enter the data
into FarmKeeper.
You must select 'Import Pasture Cover Measurements' to have the pasture
cover readings entered into FarmKeeper.
Each time you import pasture cover readings from your C-Dax XP1 console you
have the choice to also 'Import Ride Trail onto Map' and view it as a visual
layer on your map. This can be useful for viewing where in the paddock the data
was actually collected from.
If you do choose to import it, you can view the ride trail in the C-Dax Ride Trail
layer of your map. This layer of your map always shows the most recently imported
ride trail. Older ride trails will be overwritten - but not lost, and it is still possible to
view these ride trails, please see Viewing Previous Ride Trails 93 .
Note: The files for this layer are saved in a folder under Documents\FarmKeeper
called C-Dax Trail Rides.
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g. Click on Finish to complete the import.
4.5.3.3
Using your XP1 in Tier 2 Mode
Importing C-Dax Tier 2 Pasture Cover Data from your XP1
console
The C-Dax XP1 Pasture Meter can be used in Tier 2 mode - that is - it is possible to
take pasture cover readings using the manual paddock matching functionality on the
console. This may be useful if you have a non-georeferenced map which you still
wish to keep pasture cover records for. Please refer to your C-Dax User Guide for
information on how to use your XP1 in Tier 2 mode.
Below are the steps to follow to import Tier 2 data from your XP1 console:
a. Ensure FarmKeeper is open and click on the 'Pasture Cover' option in the
Tools menu
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Once you have clicked 'Next' you will see a message saying 'Downloading from
Your console will say 'Send' and the Bluetooth icon in the right hand bottom corner
of your screen will turn green
.
d. Choose C-Dax Console Type and Mode
The C-Dax Pasture Meter can be used to record data by using either
· GPS paddock matching functionality or
· using manual paddock matching functionailty
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In this screen you need to select the mode you collected data in. In this case choose
"XP1 - using manual paddock matching".
Note: If you have both GPS and non-GPS data on your console at one time, you will
only be able to import one data type. The other will be lost. It is important to
download one type of data before you collect more data.
e. Review C-Dax Data screen
This screen displays all the data that is currently on your C-Dax console. From this
screen you can discard any data that you do not want to bring into FarmKeeper.
An example of data that you might want to exclude could be where you forgot to
stop recording data on leaving one paddock and entering another. In this case the
solution would be to re-record the 2 paddocks separately. Then on importing the
data you would simply untick the record which had the data for both paddocks. To
identify which record to untick you could look at the Number of Measurements
column and also the Session Number column.
Data is ordered by farm and paddock.
NOTE. The data for unticked paddocks is discarded and cannot be retrieved!
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f. Match Farms and Paddocks
Where the paddock numbers on your C-Dax console are exactly the same as the
paddock names you have created in FarmKeeper, paddock matching will be
automatic.
To match paddocks that have not been matched automatically by FarmKeeper, click
on the arrow and pick the correct farm and paddock from the dropdown list. You
cannot proceed to the next screen until all paddocks are matched.
If you realise at this point that you have not created a paddock in FarmKeeper to
match the C-Dax data too, click on 'Cancel'. You will need to create and/or name
the paddock in FarmKeeper and then re-start the C-Dax import.
For paddocks you do not want to match, choose <Skip>, BUT beware, you will lose
this data.
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g. Review Pasture Cover Readings
for each paddock.
By default the C-Dax console stores the regression equation used to calculate
pasture covers. If you have forgotten to update this equation on your console you
can change the equation by clicking on the 'Edit regression equation' box and
editing the numbers. If you have any questions about the regression equations,
please contact C-Dax directly.
When importing data from a Tier 2 console, by default, 'today's' date is inserted as
the date of the measurement.
If this is incorrect it can be changed by clicking on the 'Edit date' box, selecting the
correct date and 'Ok'.
farm on one day and the other half the next day both will get the same date. To
avoid this, ensure you download the readings between farm rides.
It is also possible to discard any readings here that look unreliable (eg have very
few readings or belong to paddocks you did not go into) by unticking the box in
front. Again these readings will then be discarded and cannot be retrieved!
Step-by-step guides
93
Click on 'Next' to finish and have the pasture cover records saved into FarmKeeper.
4.5.3.4
Viewing Previous Ride Trails
Each time you import pasture cover readings from your C-Dax XP1 console you have
the choice to also import the ride trail and view it as a visual layer on your map. This
can be useful for viewing where in the paddock the data was actually collected from.
If you do choose to import this data, you can view the ride trail in the C-Dax Ride
Trail layer of your map. As such, this layer of your map always shows the most
recently imported ride trail. Older ride trails are overwritten - but not lost.
By default, the files which make up your ride trail are stored in the "C-Dax Ride Trails"
sub-folder of your FarmKeeper folder and it is still possible to display these on your
map.
Note: You will only have ride trail files in this directory if at the time you imported
the data from the C-Dax console you opted to bring in the ride trail.
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Creating a Layer on your map to view a Ride Trail
Step 1 : Open your map and click on 'Manage Layers'
This will open the Layer Manager
Step 2: Click on 'Add Layer' to open the 'Add Layer' dialogue box
Give the layer a name and choose Layer type 'External'. Then Click on 'OK'.
This will create a new 'empty' layer on your map.
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Step 3: Add the Ride Trail to the empty layer
Ensure you are on the 'External' tab.
Click on the 'Browse' button and navigate to the C-Dax Ride Trail folder (by default
this is a sub-folder of your FarmKeeper folder) and locate the file that you wish to
load. The name of each ride includes a date and time to help you identify the
correct ride.
When you selected the correct file, click on 'Open' and you will see the ride trail
outline populate the screen.
Click on Done to close the Layer manager
See also: Layer Manager Window 123 .
Step 4: View the layer on your map
Ensure your map is open. You will be able to see the layer you have just created in
the map legend and view the ride trail on the map.
Housekeeping!!
You may want to delete these layers from time to time so that you do not have too
many layers on your map. Deleting the layer will not delete the ride trail files.
To delete a layer, from 'Layer Manager', just right click on the layer name and
choose delete layer.
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Fence Buffer
In order to reduce the risk of random GPS errors putting grass measurements into a
neighbouring and therefore incorrect paddock, a fence buffer has been created. The
fence buffer will exclude any grass measurements from pasture cover calculations
which fall within a specified distance of a fence. By default this has been set to 4
metres.
To change this fence buffer distance:
Step 1: Ensure FarmKeeper is open and select 'Options' from the 'Tools'
Menu
Step 2: Select the C-Dax Tab and edit the distance
Click 'Done' to complete.
4.6
General guides
4.6.1
Creating a new datafile
Most of the time, you will only need to use one datafile in FarmKeeper.
Each datafile can hold as many farms as you like, as many maps and animal mobs as
you like, and can hold records for any number of years.
There are still reasons why you might want to create a new datafile, including:
· To keep a separate set of records for a different entity
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97
· To create a map for a friend's farm, without keeping the map in your own datafile
Whatever the reason, the process is simple: just click on the 'File' menu, then click on
'New datafile'.
If you have some unsaved changes in your current datafile, a window will appear
asking you whether you want to save those changes.
Click Yes to save the changes, No to discard them, or Cancel to cancel creating a new
datafile.
After the confirmation window, a New Datafile window will open. Enter in the name of
the new datafile, and the location where it should be stored, then click 'Save'.
The datafile will be created, and FarmKeeper will open it up - ready for use.
4.6.2
Opening a different datafile
FarmKeeper remembers the last datafile you worked with, and automatically reopens
that datafile the next time you use FarmKeeper.
If you want to change to a different datafile, simply click the 'File' menu, then 'Open
datafile', and select the datafile you want to open.
4.6.3
Compacting a datafile
Sometimes, a datafile can contain wasted space. This wasted space makes the
datafile bigger than necessary.
(See 'Datafile size and the Undo log 23 ' for an explanation of how this can occur).
Normally, some wasted space is not a problem - your computer's hard disk probably
has plenty of room to spare.
Sometimes though, you may want to make the datafile as small as possible. A good
example is when you email the datafile: the bigger the datafile, the longer it takes to
email.
FarmKeeper has a built-in way of compacting the datafile, to remove any wasted
space. The process is simple: just click on the 'File' menu, then 'Compact this
datafile'.
If you have some unsaved changes in your current datafile, window will appear asking
you whether you want to save those changes.
Click 'Yes' to save the changes, or 'No' or 'Cancel' to cancel compacting the datafile.
If you click Yes, a progress window will appear as FarmKeeper compacts the datafile.
When the compaction has finished, you can continue using FarmKeeper as usual.
Note that if you are compacting a datafile to send it via email, there's an even easier
way: Emailing a datafile 98 explains how to compact the datafile and attach it to an
email from inside FarmKeeper.
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Emailing a datafile
If you want to send a copy of your datafile to someone else via email, FarmKeeper
can help.
Just click on the 'File' menu, then 'Email this datafile'.
If you have some unsaved changes in your current datafile, a window will appear
asking you whether you want to save those changes.
Click 'Yes' to save the changes, or 'No' or 'Cancel' to cancel emailing the datafile.
Then, a second window will appear, asking if you would like FarmKeeper to reduce the
size of the datafile, before emailing it:
If you click 'Yes', then FarmKeeper will automatically compact the datafile 97 , then zip
the datafile, then create a new email and attach the compacted, zipped datafile to the
email.
If you click 'No', FarmKeeper will create a new email and attach the current datafile to
the email.
Note that if you choose 'Yes', the recipient must have software to unzip the datafile,
before they can use it. Many computers already have this software.
Part V
Window
reference
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Window reference
This section contains detailed information on how to use particular windows, and what
all their parts are for.
5.1
Common window parts
5.1.1
Done and Cancel
Some windows (like the Mapping window 121 ) have 'Done' and 'Cancel' buttons in their
toolbar.
These buttons are used to close the window, and tell FarmKeeper what you want to
do with your changes.
· Click 'Done' to close the window, and keep everything you've done since opening
the window.
· Click 'Cancel' to close the window, and discard everything you've done since
opening the window.
5.1.2
Save
The Save button is used to make your recent changes permanent.
If your computer ever crashes while you are using FarmKeeper, you will lose any
changes you had made since the last save.
For this reason, we recommend you click Save fairly regularly - say every 15 minutes.
By default, FarmKeeper will prompt you to save every 15 minutes, but you can turn
this reminder off in the Options 196 window.
Clicking Save regularly also helps to keep down the size of your datafile. (See
Save and Undo 22 to see why).
When you click Save, the Undo list is cleared. This means that you won't be able to
Undo any of the changes you made prior to clicking Save.
As a rule of thumb, click Save whenever you think "I'm happy with what I've just
done, and I would be annoyed to lose it".
Window reference
5.1.3
101
Undo
Most windows have an 'Undo' button in their toolbar:
Click the Undo button to reverse your most recent change.
For example, if you've just drawn a new fence onto a map, and you want to go back
and draw it differently, just click Undo.
5.1.4
Editing buttons (Add / remove records)
Many of FarmKeeper's windows display lists of records.
For example, when you click on the 'Farm' entry in the Main Window, the window
changes to show you a list of your farm records.
You can add, change and remove records by using the editing buttons below the list:
Click on the "+" button to add a new record.
Click on the "-" button to delete the selected record.
To edit an existing record, simply click on the part you want to change and type in the
new value (or select it from the drop-down list, if applicable).
As soon as you start editing, the "Tick" and "Cross" buttons become active:
Click on the "Tick" button to keep your change, or the "Cross" button to abandon it.
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5.2
The Main Window
5.2.1
Main window - Overview
The Main window is the first window you see when you start FarmKeeper.
The Main window is like a launchpad. From here, you can jump off into any of the
many parts of FarmKeeper.
The important parts of the main window are described below.
· Menu bar
Like in most other Windows programs, the Menu contains lists of commands which
you use to interact with FarmKeeper.
For example, the File menu contains commands for working with datafiles, and the
Help menu contains different ways you can get help from inside FarmKeeper.
· Toolbar
The toolbar contains some of the most commonly-used menu items, for easy access.
· Explorer Tree
The Explorer Tree is the heart of FarmKeeper. It provides access to all of the different
parts of FarmKeeper, in a logical and easy to understand way.
The Explorer Tree is called a 'Tree' because it organises the parts of FarmKeeper into
a hierarchy starting with 'bigger parts' and leading down to 'smaller parts' - just like a
tree in a forest is made up of a big trunk, which leads to branches, then smaller
Window reference
103
branches, then finally stems and leaves.
At the top level, the Explorer Tree has entries called 'modules', such as:
· The Maps module 104 , which lets you work with graphical maps of your farms
· The Farms module, which lets you work with text-based records of your farms
· The Paddocks module, which lets you work with text-based records of your
individual paddocks
· The Animals module, which lets you work with text-based records of your animal
mobs
· The Calendar module 105 , which displays your information in a date-based form,
like a wall calendar
· The Feed Budgets module, which lets you create and work with feed budgets to
plan supply vs demand for feed
· The Reports module 107 , which you can use to run reports to summarise your
FarmKeeper information.
Click on one of the Explorer Tree entries to see information for that entry in the
Explorer View (see below).
Or, click on the '+' sign next to an entry, to open it up and see the next level down in
the tree.
· Explorer View
The Explorer View shows you information relevant to a particular entry in the Explorer
Tree.
When you click on an entry in the Explorer Tree, the Explorer View (on the right hand
side of the window) changes to show you information for that entry. For example,
clicking on the Maps module will make the Explorer View display small pictures of
each of your maps, and you can then click on one to open it up in the Mapping
window.
Or, you can click on the '+' sign next to an entry in the Explorer Tree. That entry will
open up and show you all of the entries underneath it - i.e., the entries at the next
level of the tree. For example, clicking on the '+' sign next to the Farms entry opens
up the Explorer Tree to shows you each of the individual farms as a separate entry.
· 'Where am I?' bar
The 'Where am I?' bar shows you where you are on the Explorer Tree.
Each time you click on a new entry in the Explorer Tree (and the Explorer View
updates to show you that entry), the 'Where am I?' bar updates to show you all of the
Explorer Tree entries between the top level of the tree, and the entry you clicked on.
If you want to go back to an intermediate entry, just click on that entry in the 'Where
am I?' bar.
If you ever get lost, or want to go back to the top of the Explorer tree, just click on
the 'Home' entry - it is always the left-most entry on the 'Where am I?' bar.
You will be taken back to the top of the tree, and the first tree entry ('Maps') will be
selected.
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Main window - Maps
When you click on the Maps entry in the Explorer Tree, the Explorer View changes to
show you all of the maps you have already created.
· Click on a map to open it in the Mapping window 121
· Click on the 'Create New Map' placeholder to create a new map.
(See 'Creating a new map 30 ' for step-by-step instructions)
Window reference
5.2.3
105
Main window - Calendar module
When you click on the Calendar entry in the Explorer Tree, the Explorer View changes
to show you a calendar, with day-by-day entries of all the information you have
entered in to FarmKeeper.
The different types of information are colour-coded on the calendar, so you can
quickly look back to find an event.
You can change between a monthly view (as in the example above) and a weekly
view (below) by clicking on the Month or Week tabs at the top of the calendar.
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You can print the calendar for the displayed month (or week) by clicking on the File
menu, then Print.
To see the details of a particular entry, just click on the entry. The information box at
the bottom of the window will change to show all entries of that type on that day. For
example, clicking on the 'Fertiliser applications' entry above causes one fertiliser
application event (the only one for that day) to be shown in the information box at
the bottom of the window:
You can click right-click on the blue underlined event to see the options for that
event. The usual options are to open the event (to allow you to edit the details of the
event) or to delete the event.
You can also right-click on a day and choose 'New Diary Entry' to create a simple
Window reference
107
diary entry for that day. A window will open up to allow you to enter a simple diary
entry:
These diary entries are not associated with any particular farm, paddock, or animals
record - you can use them to create general date-based reminders, such as staff days
off or future planned events.
5.2.4
Main window - Reports module
When you click on the Reports entry in the Explorer Tree, the Explorer View changes
to show you all of the reports which you can run to summarise FarmKeeper
information.
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Simply click on the report you want to run, and a Report window 161 will open.
5.3
New Map Wizard
The New Map Wizard takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a new
map.
To run the New Map Wizard, make sure that FarmKeeper is started 251 , and that the
main window 102 is displayed, then click on the Maps item in the explorer tree.
A list of maps will be displayed on the right hand side of the main window.
Unless you've already created some maps, the only entry will be the 'Create new map'
placeholder.
Click on the 'Create new map' placeholder to start the New Map Wizard. The first page
is the Welcome Page 109 .
Window reference
5.3.1
109
New Map Wizard - Welcome page
This page simply lets you know that you have run the New Map Wizard.
Click Next> to move on to the Farm Record 110 page, or Cancel to close the wizard.
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New Map Wizard - Farm Record page
Each map in FarmKeeper is linked to a farm record 24
If you have already created a farm record, you can click on 'Link to an existing farm
record', and select your farm record from the list.
If you haven't yet created a farm record (which is most likely), just type the name of
the farm in the box provided.
FarmKeeper will create a new farm record, and link this map to it.
Click Next> to move on to the Start With? 111 page.
Window reference
5.3.3
111
New Map Wizard - Start With? page
Here you can choose how you want to start the map.
· If you have a aerial picture of your farm, click on the Start with a picture of the
map option.
The picture will need to be in a file on your computer, before FarmKeeper can use it.
(See 'How can I get an aerial photo of my farm 252 ' for ideas on how to get one.)
If you choose this option, click Next> to move on to the Map Picture 112 page.
· If you have used a GPS to map out your farm, click on the Start with a GPS track
option.
If an aerial photo is not available, a GPS is a great way to create your map.
With a GPS, you can travel around the borders and fencelines of your farm, and GPS
will keep track of were you've been.
Then, you can load the track directly into FarmKeeper.
See 'How can I use a GPS to map my farm? 251 ' for more information.
If you choose this option, click Next> to move on to the Where is GPS track? 114
page.
· If you have an 'external' mapping file, click on the Start with an external file
option.
An 'external' mapping file is a file containing spatial information, such as might be
provided by a surveyor. See What is an 'External map file?' 257 for more information.
If you choose this option, click Next> to move on to the External map file 116 page.
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If an aerial photo is not available, a GPS is a great way to create your map.
· If you don't have any of the above sources of information to start your map, you
can choose the Start with a blank map option and then draw the map 'freehand'.
This is a quick and easy way to create a rough sketch map of leased grazing blocks
or agistment properties.
If you choose this option, click Next> to move on to the Finished 119 page.
· If you have Google Earthä installed on your computer, you can click the Start with
an image from Google Earth (experimental) option. This will capture an image
from Google Earth, which you may then be able to use as the basis for your map.
You should ensure that your use of the image complies with the license of the
Google Earth software. You should also note that the "(experimental)" tag on this
feature means that we cannot guarantee that the feature will work for you, cannot
support the feature, and reserve the right to remove this feature in future versions
of FarmKeeper.
If you choose this option, click Next> to move on to the Google Earth 117 page.
5.3.4
New Map Wizard - Map Picture page
If you chose 'Start with a picture of the map' on the Start With? 111 page, this is the
next page to appear.
If you know the path and name of the picture file you wish to base the map on, type it
into the box.
Otherwise, click on the Browse... button to look for the file.
Window reference
113
When the box contains the path and name of the picture file, click Next> to move on
to the next page.
If your map has a world file 254 , the next page is the Map System 118 page
If your map doesn't have a world file, the next page is the Map Scale / Resolution 113
page.
5.3.5
New Map Wizard - Map Scale / Resolution page
If you know what scale your map picture is, and what resolution is was scanned at,
enter the details here. FarmKeeper can then use that information to automatically
calculate distances and areas on the map.
If you don't know the scale and resolution, select the 'No' options. When you click
'Next', an information message will be displayed, explaining that areas and distances
will not be accurate until you calibrate the map.
(Note: if your map picture came from an aerial imaging company, it may already have
geographic positioning information. If so, FarmKeeper will use that information, and
you won't see this step on the wizard. Refer to
What format should my aerial photo be in? 253 for more details).
Click 'Next' to move on to the Map System 118 page.
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New Map Wizard - Where is GPS track? page
If you chose 'Start with GPS track' on the Start With? 111 page, this is the next page
to appear.
On this page, you can specify where you'd like to load the GPS file from.
· If you have already downloaded the file from the GPS onto your computer, choose
'In a file on the computer'.
Type in the path and filename to the track file, or click on the Ellipsis button at the
end of the box to look for it.
· If you want to download the file directly from the GPS, choose 'In a GPS unit'.
· If you know how your GPS is connected to the computer, you can click the 'Serial
connection' option (and specify the com port) or click the 'USB connection' option
· If you aren't sure how your GPS is connected to the computer, click the 'I'm not
sure' option and FarmKeeper will search for the GPS for you.
When you have selected one of the options, Click 'Next'.
· If you chose 'In a file on the computer', FarmKeeper will read the GPS tracks from
the file you specified.
· If you chose 'In a GPS unit', FarmKeeper will prompt you to ensure that the GPS
unit is connected to the computer, and switched on. Then, it will download the
tracks and waypoints directly from the GPS unit.
Either way, a Progress window will appear, showing you the progress as FarmKeeper
reads in the tracks and waypoints.
Window reference
5.3.7
115
New Map Wizard - Choose Tracks page
When FarmKeeper has finished reading in the GPS tracks, it will show this page.
A track file (or a GPS unit) can contain many individual tracks. A new track is started
whenever you turn the GPS off and on, or whenever you tell the GPS to start a new
track.
This page shows a list of all the tracks FarmKeeper has found, and how many
trackpoints are in each.
Tick the box next to each track which you want to be included in your new map.
(Tip: very short tracks, with only a few trackpoints, are probably not very useful on
your map.)
A track file may also contain waypoints. A waypoint is created when you press the
appropriate button on your GPS, normally to mark the location of an important
feature (such as a fence corner, or water trough). If your track file contains
waypoints, the 'Load waypoints into the map' box will be enabled. Leave the box
ticked to load these onto your map - they will appear as little flags.
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When you have selected the tracks you want to include, click Next> to move on to
the Map System 118 page.
5.3.8
New Map Wizard - External Map File page
If you chose 'Start with an external map file' on the Start With? 111 page, this is the
next page to appear.
If you know the path and name of the external map file 257 you wish to base the map
on, type it into the box.
Otherwise, click on the Browse... button to look for the file.
When the box contains the path and name of the external file(s), click Next> to move
on to the Map System 118 page.
Window reference
5.3.9
117
New Map Wizard - Google Earth page
If you chose 'Start with an image from Google Earth (experimental)' on the Start
With? page, this is the next page to appear.
FarmKeeper will supply a default name for the file into which the Google Earthä
image will be saved. You can change the file name if you wish.
· Ensure that the Google Earth program is running on your computer. (If you don't
already have Google Earth installed, you will need to download and install it from
the Google website).
· Navigate to your property in Google Earth, and try to have as much of your property
visible on the screen as possible.
· Switch back to FarmKeeper, and click the Capture Image button.
· FarmKeeper will attempt to adjust your Google Earth settings to make the image as
accurate as possible (by ensuring that North is upwards on the screen, and the
viewpoint is looking directly down onto the Earth's surface). Once these
adjustments have been made, FarmKeeper asks Google Earth to save a copy of the
current screen image to the specified file.
NOTE: You should ensure that your use of the image complies with the
license of the Google Earth software. You should also note that the
"(experimental)" tag on this feature means that we cannot guarantee that the feature
will work for you, we cannot support the feature, we cannot vouch for the accuracy or
precision of the image, and we reserve the right to remove this feature in future
versions of FarmKeeper.
When the image has been successfully captured, click Next> to move on to the
Map System 118 page.
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5.3.10 New Map Wizard - Map System page
Different countries have different map systems 254 . This page allows you to tell
FarmKeeper which map system you want to use on this map.
To select a map system for your map:
1. Choose your country from the drop-down list.
FarmKeeper will try to pre-set the country from your computer's regional settings,
so this might be done for you automatically. If you are in a country other than
Australia or New Zealand, choose 'Other country' from the drop-down list.
2. Choose a pre-defined map system from the list.
FarmKeeper knows about the common map systems in Australia and New
Zealand, so if you are in one of those countries you can simply select the map
system name from the list.
If you are in a different country, select 'Other' from the drop-down list.
3. Enter additional map system parameters.
Some map systems require additional parameters. If required, a box will appear
on the Map System page asking for the required parameters.
·
·
·
Australian map systems all require you to specify the 'UTM Zone 255 ' and
'Hemisphere' (which will always be South) for the map.
New Zealand map systems don't require any additional parameters.
If you choose 'Other country' or 'Other' map system, you can set up the entire
map system starting with the projection and then specifying any other
parameters required by that projection. If you are unsure about which
settings to use, contact FarmKeeper support 260 .
Window reference
119
Click 'Next' when you have selected your map system, to move on to the Finished 119
page.
5.3.11 New Map Wizard - Finished page
Click on the Finish button to create your map.
If your map is based on a GPS track, a progress window will appear, while the map is
being created.
When the new map has been created, you will be returned to the main window.
Your new map should now appear in the map list, on the right-hand side of the
window.
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Congratulations, you've just created a map!
To open your map, simply click on it. The Mapping window will open, allowing you to
view, edit and print your new map.
For more information, see 'Mapping Window 121 '
Window reference
5.4
121
Mapping window
The Mapping window lets you view, edit, print, and otherwise work with maps.
This is one of the most powerful windows in the FarmKeeper program, but don't worry
- it is also very easy to use!
The main parts of the window are:
· Drawing Tools - click one of these items draw on the map.
(To get started straight away, just click 'Draw', then click 'Fence', then click on the
map to start drawing fencelines.)
· Viewing Tools - click on one of these items to control how the map is displayed.
'Select' is the normal tool, where you can click on items on the map, and view and
create records for them.
'Zoom' is a tool to help you zoom 30 into, or out of, the map - to see it in more or
less detail.
'Whole map' instantly zooms you back out, so you can see the whole map.
'Manage Layers' opens the Layer Manager window 123 .
· Other Tools - quick access to some other commonly-performed tasks.
'Move Layer' allows you to move one or more entire map layers 57 .
'Advanced Buffer' allows you to create a buffer around objects on the map 52
'Measure Distance' opens the Measure 44 toolbar, so you can measure distances on
your map.
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'Georeference' allows you to add the geographic location
allow the use of GPS-coordinates.
47
(and scale) to a map to
· Map - this is where the map itself is displayed.
· For more information on how to use the mapping window, refer to the Step-bystep guides 30 , such as:
· Creating a new map 30
· Adding fences to a map 32
5.4.1
Legend control
The Legend control provides a quick and easy way to work with layers
26
.
To conserve space on your computer screen, the Legend control is not normally
shown. To make the Legend control visible, just move your mouse over the Legend
button on the right-hand side of the mapping window. The legend control will slide
out from the right-hand side of the mapping window. When you have finished with
the Legend control, just move the mouse off the legend control, and it will slide back
into the right-hand side of the mapping window.
The legend control shows all of the layers which make up the current map. Each layer
has a [+] or [-] button and a check box beside the name of the layer.
· Click the [+] button to show the features which may be present on that layer. In
the example above, the Point Features (Land) layer can contain Bridge, Dam,
Culvert, or Gate point features.
· Click the [-] button to hide the features present on a layer, and just show the layer
name.
Window reference
123
· Click the check box next to a layer name to make that layer visible or invisible on
the map.
The Legend control shows the layers in the same order in which they appear on the
map (or the reverse order, depending how you think of it!).
· The first (top) layer in the legend control is drawn first on the map, so it appears as
the bottom layer on the map. The Picture layer is often the bottom layer on the
map.
· The second layer in the legend control is drawn second on the map, so it appears as
the second-to-bottom layer on the map.
· The last (bottom) layer on the legend control is drawn last on the map, so it
appears as the top layer on the map.
You can use the Legend control to quickly change the order of layers on the map. Just
click on a layer, hold down the mouse button, and move the layer to a new position in
the list. The map will be re-drawn to reflect the new order of layers.
You can also use the Legend control as a shortcut to open the
Layer Manager window 123 for a particular layer. Simply double-click on a layer in the
Legend control, and the Layer Manager window will open with the properties for that
particular layer already displayed.
5.4.2
Layer Manager window
The Layer manager window lets you configure advanced properties for each of the
layers 26 which make up a FarmKeeper map.
To open the layer manager window, click on 'Manage Layers' in the 'Viewing' group,
on the left-hand side of the Mapping 121 window.
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The Layer Tree on the left of the window shows different layers which make up the
current map.
When you click on a layer in the Layer Tree, the right-hand side of the window
changes to show you options for that layer.
You can add and remove layers by right-clicking on the layer tree and choosing an
option from the popup menu.
Regardless of the type of layer, all layers have two properties in common: whether
the layer is visible, and whether the layer is editable.
This is dictated by the Visible indicator (eye symbol) and Editable indicator (pencil
symbol) in the picture above.
To make a layer visible or invisible, simply click on the Visible indicator for that layer.
The eye symbol has a yellow outline when the layer is visible; and no yellow outline
when the layer is invisible.
All layers are visible by default. If you create your map from an aerial photo, you
might want to make the Picture layer invisible once you have used it to draw in fence
lines. This will also make the map open more quickly, since it does not have to load
up the picture file when you open the map.
To make a layer editable or not editable, simply click on the Editable indicator for that
layer. The pencil symbol has a yellow outline when the layer is editable; and no
yellow outline when the layer is not editable.
All layers (except for External layers) are editable by default. You might like to make
a layer not editable when you have finished drawing on the layer and don't want to
accidentally change it.
The options on the right-hand side of the window are organised into tab pages - every
layer has the 'Common' page, plus one or more other tab pages specific to that layer
type. The layer type tab pages are described below.
1. Common layer options
As in the example above, the Common layer options allow you to specify:
· The name of the layer
· The order in which the layer is displayed on the mapping window. Layers with
lower order numbers are displayed behind layers with higher order numbers. Picture
layers will tend to have low order numbers, so that they are displayed behind the
other layers. (note that you can also change the order of a layer by dragging it up
or down in the legend control 122 )
· The transparency of the layer. Drag the slider to the left to make the layer solid
(i.e. non-transparent), or drag to the right to make the layer semi-transparent. This
can be used to good effect on the Paddocks layer, so that
ground surface symbols 34 don't obscure important details on an aerial photograph.
· Whether the layer is visible (note that you can also change this setting by clicking
on the eye symbol in the Layer Tree on the left-hand side of the window).
You can also specify that the layer is only visible below a certain scale, by typing a
scale (e.g. 1:10000) into the Only below [x] scale box. Refer to the FAQ entry
Window reference
125
'How can I de-clutter my map? 258 for more information.
· Whether the layer is editable (note that you can also change this setting by clicking
on the pencil symbol in the Layer Tree on the left-hand side of the window).
2. Picture layer options
For picture layers, you can specify:
· The filename of the picture file
· The extent of the picture. This is simply the coordinates of the top-left and bottomright corners of the map. The coordinates relate to the map system 254 used by that
map.
Note that you won't normally need to change the extent:
· If you start a map based on an aerial photo, and the photo has an associated
world file 254 , FarmKeeper will figure out the extent automatically.
· If the aerial photo doesn't have a world file, FarmKeeper will assume a scale of 1
metre per pixel, and you will need to scale the map 46 to the correct scale.
· If you create a map based on a GPS track, and later add a picture layer,
FarmKeeper will set the extent so that the picture file covers the existing map. In
this case, you will probably need to edit the extent to line the picture layer up
with the existing map.
· You can click the Set extent from world file button to read the extent
information from the world file 254 that accompanies the picture file. If there is no
world file for the specified picture file, the button will be disabled.
3. Fences layer options
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For the Fences layer, you can specify:
· What information to label the fences with (<Nothing>, Length or Style Name)
· What styles of fence can be drawn on this layer. To add a new style or delete a
style, click on the '+' or '-' buttons at the bottom of the Fence styles grid.
4. Paddocks layer options
Window reference
127
For the Paddocks layers, you can specify:
· What information to label fenced areas with (<Nothing> or Area)
· What information to label paddocks with. (<Nothing>, Paddock name, Paddock
Total Area, Individual Fenced Area, Known area, Last Grazed Date, Last Cover, Last
Cover Date, or Last Fertilised Date).
(For more information on paddocks and fenced areas, see
Fences, Fenced Areas, and Paddocks 28 )
· Whether to fill fenced areas with ground surface symbols. When this option is
ticked, fenced areas will be 'coloured in' with a background picture corresponding to
the ground surface symbol 34 of that area. Note that this can look great when made
partially transparent over top of an aerial photo.
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5. Line layer options
For line layers, you can specify:
· What information to label the lines with (<Nothing>, Style, or Length)
· What styles of line can be drawn on this layer. To add a new style or delete a style,
click on the '+' or '-' buttons at the bottom of the Line styles grid.
Window reference
129
6. Point layer options
For Point layers, you can specify:
· What information to label the points with (<Nothing>, Point style, or Point label)
· What styles of point can be drawn on this layer. To add a new style or delete a
style, click on the '+' or '-' buttons at the bottom of the Point styles grid.
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7. Simple Area layer options
For Simple Area layers, you can specify:
· What information to label the areas with (<Nothing>, Area name, Area style, or
Area)
What styles of area can be drawn on this layer. To add a new style or delete a style,
click on the '+' or '-' buttons at the bottom of the Area styles grid.
Window reference
131
8. External layer options
For External layers, you can specify:
1. The filename of the external file
2. The Advanced properties of the external file layer. Clicking this button opens a
window where you can specify many options affecting the presentation of the
external file layer. Contact FarmKeeper support 260 for help with these advanced
properties.
The preview box shows a picture of how the external layer will look with the current
advanced properties.
Note: the advanced properties settings are not stored in your FarmKeeper datafile.
They are stored in a .ini file alongside the external file. This means that changes to
advanced properties cannot be undone with FarmKeeper's Undo function. It also
means that you when you have finished changing the advanced properties of external
layers, you may need to click on the Refresh button on the Mapping window to see
the changes.
See also:
Legend control 122
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5.4.3
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Map Properties window
The Map Properties window lets you configure options for the whole map.
The Main tab contains the map name, and rotation in degrees.
To rotate the map, just enter the number of degrees to rotate (e.g. 180 to rotate the
map 'upside down'), then click OK.
The Map System tab contains the details of the map system in use by this map.
FarmKeeper uses the Map System to translate from the '2-d' coordinates (Northings
and Eastings) of your map, back to '3-d' coordinates (Latitude and Longitude). This
translation is required when uploading or downloading from a GPS, or reading GPS
coordinates off your map as the cursor moves over the map. For more information,
see the What is a 'Map System'? 254 topic.
The details shown will vary depending on the map system which you selected when
you created the map.
Window reference
133
If your map is not georeferenced, the 'Georeferenced' check box will be ticked, and
the options below it will be read-only.
If your map is georeferenced, you can change the projection, datum, and any other
details required for that system )such as UTM Zone 255 ).
The main times you're likely to need to change the details in this tab are:
· after you georeference 47 a map, or
· if you create a map and specify the incorrect map system (e.g incorrect UTM zone).
Otherwise, you should not normally need to change the details in this tab contact FarmKeeper support 260 for more information or help with the Map System
tab.
5.4.4
Download from GPS wizard
The Download from GPS wizard helps you through the process of taking tracks and
waypoints from your GPS, and adding them onto your FarmKeeper map.
To open the Download from GPS wizard, click on the Tools menu in the
Mapping window 121 and click on Download from GPS onto map.
After you click on the Next > button on the first Welcome page of the wizard, you'll
be asked where the GPS track is:
If you're downloading directly from the GPS unit, click the In a GPS unit option. You
can then either the connection details, or click on the 'I'm not sure' option to let
FarmKeeper find the connected GPS unit..
If you have already downloaded the information from the GPS unit (e.g. with a third-
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party program like GPSTrackMaker), click on the In a file on the computer option,
then click Browse to find the file.
Click Next to move on to the Choose tracks page:
When FarmKeeper has finished reading in the GPS tracks, it will show this page.
A track file (or a GPS unit) can contain many individual tracks. A new track is started
whenever you turn the GPS off and on, or whenever you tell the GPS to start a new
track.
This page shows a list of all the tracks FarmKeeper has found, and how many
trackpoints are in each.
Tick the box next to each track which you want to be included in your new map.
(Tip: very short tracks, with only a few trackpoints, are probably not very useful on
your map.)
A track file may also contain waypoints. A waypoint is created when you press the
appropriate button on your GPS, normally to mark the location of an important
feature (such as a fence corner, or water trough). If your track file contains
waypoints, the 'Load waypoints into the map' box will be enabled. Leave the box
ticked to load these onto your map - they will appear as little flags.
When you have selected the tracks you want to include, click Next> to move on to
the Finished page. Then click Finish to load the tracks and/or waypoints on the map.
Window reference
5.4.5
135
Upload to GPS wizard
The Upload to GPS wizard helps you through the process of taking lines and points
from your FarmKeeper map, and loading them up onto a GPS unit as tracks and
waypoints.
Note that not all GPS units are capable of uploading tracks and waypoints - check the
documentation for your unit to see whether it supports this function, and what the
capacity of its memory is. If you try to upload more tracks or waypoints than the GPS
device allows, the upload process will fail.
To open the Upload to GPS wizard, click on the Tools menu in the
Mapping window 121 and click on Upload to GPS.
After you click on the Next > button on the first Welcome page of the wizard, you'll
be asked where you would like to upload to:
If you're uploading directly to the GPS unit, click the Upload directly to GPS option.
You can then either specify the connection details, or choose 'I'm not sure' to let
FarmKeeper find the connected GPS unit.
If you want to upload to a file (and then transfer to the GPS unit later, e.g. with a
third-party program like GPSTrackMaker), click on the Upload to a file on your
computer option, then click Browse to specify the file.
Click Next to move on to the Choose layers to upload page:
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This window shows all of the layers on the map which could contain shapes that could
be uploaded to the GPS.
· The Selected column shows how many shapes on that layer are currently
selected 49
· The Total column shows the total number of shapes on that layer
· The Waypoint Name column allows you to select an attribute which will be used to
name any points from the layer which will be uploaded to the GPS as waypoints. For
example, you can choose the "lst_name" attribute to name waypoints with the layer
style name (e.g. 'Bridge') from the map.
· If you tick the Upload only selected shapes from layers check box, FarmKeeper
will upload only the shapes which were already selected 49 in the Mapping window,
before the Upload to GPS wizard was run.
Click on a layer to select that layer, or [Ctrl]-click to select multiple layers.
When you have selected all the layers you want to upload to the GPS, click on the
Next button to move on to the Finished page. Then click Finish to load the lines and
points from the selected layers into the GPS unit or file.
5.4.6
Page setup window (printing your map)
The Page Setup window lets you configure how you want the map to look when
printed, and how you want to print it.
If you haven't yet purchased FarmKeeper and are using an evaluation version, you
will not be able to print your map. When you purchase FarmKeeper, we'll send you a
License Code which you can use to activate the program and allow maps to be
printed.
Window reference
137
You can open the Page setup window by clicking on the File -> Print menu from the
Mapping window 121 .
FarmKeeper prints the map the way it is shown on the screen. Turn off the layers you
do not want to print via Legend control 122 by unticking the box in front of the layer.
To turn off the Ground Surface Symbols (so they no longer show, but FarmKeeper will
remember the choosen Ground Surface) open the 'Paddock' layer, go to the 'Paddock'
tab and untick the box.
Note that you if you don't have a printer installed on your computer, you won't be
able to open the Page setup window. If you don't have a printer installed, but want to
open this window anyway (e.g. to create a PDF file), you should install a printer driver
on your computer, even if you don't actually have a printer attached to the computer.
Note also that only those layers currently visible in the mapping window will be
printed. If you have layers which are only visible below a certain scale (see
'How can I 'de-clutter' my map? 258 ), you can tell FarmKeeper to temporarily ignore
that setting by clicking on the "Ignore 'only visible below scale'" option on the
The Page setup window has 4 tab pages of options (Printer 138 , Enlargement 139 ,
Template 140 , Legend 141 ); each is explained in the following topics.
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FarmKeeper Manual
Page setup window - Printer tab
The Printer tab page lets you specify:
· which printer you would like to print to, if you have more than one attached to your
computer
· or, a PDF file to print the map to. You can then burn the PDF file onto a CD and take
it to a printing shop to have printed in a large format
· whether you want to print:
· just the area of the map that was visible on the screen when you opened the Page
setup window, or
· the whole map, or
· the map at a specific scale
· what size paper to print to, if your printer supports multiple sizes
· what resolution (in DPI, dots-per-inch). A higher resolution means a more detailed
image, with a larger file size - and a longer time to print. If printing is unacceptably
slow, try reducing the resolution to e.g. 150 d.p.i
· how many copies you want to print.
· orientation (portrait or landscape)
The Advanced printer settings... button opens up a window with settings which are
specific to your printer. You can use that window to access any advanced features
Window reference
139
that your printer may have.
5.4.6.2
Page setup window - Enlargement tab
The Enlargement tab page lets you print the map across multiple sheets of paper.
There are two stages or methods of printing a map across multiple sheets of paper:
· Stage 1: Tiling.
When you tile across pages, FarmKeeper will generate an image which just as
detailed as if you had printed to a single page. Lines, labels and text will be the
same size on paper as they would be for a single page print. You can join the
separate pages together to get a large, detailed map.
Note that this operation could be quite slow if you're tiling across a large number of
pages, especially at higher resolutions.
· Stage 2: Enlargement.
When you enlarge across pages, you will again end up with multiple pages which
you can join together for a larger map. The big difference between Enlargement and
Tiling (above) is that Enlargement will make lines, text, labels etc physically bigger
on the page. You can think of Stage 2 Enlargement as being like enlarging on a
photocopier - e.g you put an A4 sheet on top, and the photo copier 'blows up' the
image to A3 size.
NOTE: If you print with a Stage 2 Enlargement, any scale which is printed on the
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map (e.g. 1:50000) will be incorrect, due to the 'mechanical' nature of the
enlargement. You will get a warning message to that effect if you print with a Stage
2 Enlargement.
TIP: The Enlargement tab will be shown in Bold if you select one of these enlargement
options.
5.4.6.3
Page setup window - Template tab
The Template page lets you choose the layout of the map, including the location of
the map itself, the legend control, scale bar, boxes, and text items.
The Template name drop-down box at the top of this tab has a list of all of the
available templates. There should be at least two templates in the Template name
drop-down box: "FarmKeeper basic" and "Just map". See
'Appendix 1: Print Templates 266 ' for more information, including creating your own
custom template.
You can change the text for any of the text items in the current template. Choose an
item from the Template Item drop-down box, and type in the replacement text in
the Template Value box. You can either type in plain text, or click on the Add
Field... button to add in a placeholder for a field. FarmKeeper will replace the
placeholder with the actual value for that field when the map is printed.
Note that changes to text items are not saved, and are lost when the Page Setup
window closes (e.g. after you have printed your map). If you want to make a
permanent change to a text item, you can create your own template (see
Window reference
141
'Appendix 1: Print Templates 266 ')
5.4.6.4
Page setup window - Legend tab
The Legend tab allows to control the display of the Legend on the printed page (if the
print template includes a legend box).
Click the [+] button next to any layer which should be expanded in the printout.
Layers which are expanded will have a representation and name of the different styles
which can be drawn on that layer.
The user of the printed map can refer to the legend to help make sense of the
features which are drawn on the map.
5.5
Import GIS File Wizard
The Import GIS 264 File Wizard helps you to bring in information from a GIS
(Geographic Information System) file onto your map.
This is useful if you have access to a map of your farm produced with other GIS
software, and you want to use that map to define fences and paddocks in
FarmKeeper.
There are two ways to view GIS data from other GIS software in FarmKeeper:
1. As an 'external layer'. You can
create a FarmKeeper map based on the external GIS file 116 , or
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add an External layer 123 to an existing FarmKeeper map. This will allow you to
view the information in the external GIS file, but not create fences and paddocks
from the file.
2. You can use this Import GIS File Wizard to load the external GIS file directly into
the Areas layer, which contains fences and fenced areas / paddocks.
If you want to use this Import GIS File Wizard to load the external GIS file directly
into the Areas layer:
· Open an existing map. If you don't already have a map to load the data into, you
can create a new map 30 based on the external GIS file (choose "Start with an
external file" on the Start With? 111 page)
· In the Mapping window 121 , click on File -> Import / Export -> Import Paddock
Layer
· Click Next on the start page of the wizard
· Click the Browse button to find the name of the external GIS file, and click on Next.
· If the external GIS file has data fields associated with it, select the name of the field
to use to name any new paddocks which are created.
· Click on the Finish button.
FarmKeeper will import the specified external GIS file into the internal Areas layer.
New fenced areas will be created where fencelines (either existing, or from the
external GIS file) create a fenced-off area of land.
5.6
Export GIS File Wizard
FarmKeeper stores many of the important map layers in a special internal format.
This format allows FarmKeeper to provide the advanced editing abilities such as
automatic fenced area detection.
Sometimes you may find it useful to take map layers from FarmKeeper and use them
in other GIS applications. The Export GIS File Wizard can be used for this task.
To export a layer from a FarmKeeper map to an external data file:
Open the map containing the layer to be exported
Click on File -> Import / Export -> Export layer to GIS file
Click Next on the start page of the wizard
Select a layer to export from the list of layers. To export the layer containing fences
and paddocks, click on the System -> Areas layer. Click Next.
· Click Browse or enter the name of the file to export the information to. The file
should Click Next.
· Click Finish. The information in the selected layer will be exported to a shapefile
·
·
·
·
Note: if you want to export fence lines to a GIS file, you have two options:
· You can export the Fences layer. The exported file will contain many short two-point
lines, each representing a segment of fence. The fence segments will NOT be joined,
and the areas (polygons) which represent the fences areas and paddocks will NOT
be present in the file.
· OR, you can export the Paddocks layer. The exported file will contain areas
(polygons) representing the fenced areas and paddocks.
Window reference
5.7
143
New Feed Budget Wizard
The New Feed Budget Wizard takes you step-by-step through the process of creating
a new feed budget.
To run the New Feed Budget Wizard, make sure that FarmKeeper is started 251 , and
that the main window 102 is displayed, then click on the Feed Budgets item in the
explorer tree.
A list of feed budgets will be displayed on the right hand side of the main window.
Unless you've already created some, the only entry will be the 'Create new feed
budget' placeholder.
Click on the 'Create new map' placeholder to start the New Map Wizard. The first page
is the Welcome Page 109 .
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5.7.1
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New Feed Budget Wizard - Welcome page
This page simply lets you know that you have run the New Feed Budget Wizard.
Click Next> to move on to the Name 145 page, or Cancel to close the wizard.
Window reference
5.7.2
New Feed Budget Wizard - Name page
Enter the name of the new Feed Budget, and Click Next> to move on to the
Budget Period 146 page.
145
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5.7.3
FarmKeeper Manual
New Feed Budget Wizard - Budget Period page
Enter the From date and To date to define the dates that the feed budget should
cover.
The From date will default to the start of the current month, and the To date will
default to 12 months later, but you can change these to whatever dates your budget
should cover.
Click Next> to move on to the Budget Interval 147 page
Window reference
5.7.4
147
New Feed Budget Wizard - Budget Interval page
The interval is the number of days in each time slice of the budget.
You can choose a longer interval (such as one month) for a simple budget, which will
have only 12 intervals for a 12-month budget.
Or you can choose a shorter interval (15 days or 10 days) for a more detailed budget,
to more closely match the actual changes on the farm throughout the budget period.
A 12-month budget with 15 day intervals would have a total of 24 intervals, and a 12month budget with 10 day intervals would have a total of 36 intervals.
FarmKeeper will shorten or lengthen the last interval of a month to keep the interval
dates readable. For example, if you choose 10 day intervals, the month of January
would be broken up into 3 intervals:
· 1st January to 9th January inclusive (10 days)
· 10th January to 19th January inclusive (10 days)
· 20th January to 31st January inclusive (11 days)
... and then the next interval would begin on 1st February.
Click Next> to move on to the Budget Basis 148 page
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5.7.5
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New Feed Budget Wizard - Budget basis page
FarmKeeper can budget on either a Dry Matter basis (kgDM) or Energy basis (MJME).
A Dry Matter budget works on the amount of feed left after all moisture has been
removed. This is a simple measure, and is in common use.
An Energy budget is similar to a Dry Matter budget, but takes into account that not all
feeds have the same value, even if they have the same Dry Matter content. An Energy
budget is slightly more complicated than a Dry Matter budget, but arguably provides
more accurate information.
Select the basis for the feed budget, and click Next> to move on to the
Budget Basis 148 page
Window reference
5.7.6
149
New Feed Budget Wizard - Pasture page
The Pasture page holds values relating to feed supplied by pasture.
The initial pasture area is the area of land on the farm which is dedicated to
growing grass.
You can change this area later for different intervals of the feed budget, if paddocks
are to be removed from the grazing rotation (e.g. for a crop, or preservation hay or
silage) for a period of time.
The initial pasture cover is the average pasture cover (in kgDM/ha) for the farm at
the start of the budget. FarmKeeper uses this number as a base to predict the
changes in average pasture cover throughout the year.
Utilisation percentage is the percentage of grass grown that is actually consumed
by grazing animals. It allows for wastage from trampling and defecation etc.
Average pasture quality is the energy available from each kg of pasture dry matter.
You can change this value later for individual intervals in the feed budget. Note that
this is only applicable for Energy budgets - if you chose 'Dry Matter' in the Basis 148
page, Average pasture quality will not appear.
Enter values for each of these fields, then click Next> to move on to the
Animal Classes 150 page
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New Feed Budget Wizard - Animal Classes page
The Animals page holds a list of different classes of animals. Place a tick in the box
beside any animal classes that you wish to include in the feed budget.
If you need to budget for more than one mob in a particular class, simply enter the
number of mobs in the column on the right-hand side. In the example above, one
mob of dry cows and two mobs of milking cows will be included in the budget.
If you need to budget for an animal class which is not in the list, don't tick any boxes
here, and then set up your new animal class later in the Animal Class Editor 212
window.
Select the animal classes to be included in the feed budget, then click Next> to move
on to the Animal Mobs 151 page
Window reference
5.7.8
151
New Feed Budget Wizard - Animal mobs page
This page contains a list of the animal mobs to be included in the budget. There is one
entry per animal class ticked in the previous page 150 , or more than one if the
Number of mobs was increased.
You can overwrite the default names for each mob to be more meaningful, or accept
the default names. Click Next> to move on to the Supplements 152 page
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New Feed Budget Wizard - Supplements page
This page holds a list of feed supplements. Place a tick in the box next to any
supplements that you wish to include in the feed budget.
If you need to budget for a supplement which is not in the list, don't tick any boxes
here, and then set up your new supplement later in the Feed Supplement Editor 211
window.
Select the supplements to be included in the feed budget, then click Next> to move
on to the Finished 152 page
5.7.10 New Feed Budget Wizard - Finished page
Click on the Finish button to create your feed budget. If there is a tick in the box in
front of 'Open new feed budget' your new budget will open as soon as you click
'Finish', allowing you to add more detailed information for each interval of the budget,
and view the results.
Window reference
153
For more information, see Feed Budget window 153 .
5.8
Feed Budget window
The Feed Budget window lets you view, edit, print, and otherwise work with feed
budgets.
It may look complicated at first, but don't worry - it has been designed to help you
easily work with a lot of numbers without getting lost!
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The feed budget window is split into 5 tabs. Each is explained separately below.
The Budget Grid 155 tab is where you enter the numbers that make up the budget.
The Graph tab 157 shows you the results of the budget in graphical form
The Animals tab 159 lets you add and remove mobs of animals from the budget.
The Supplements tab 158 lets you add and remove feed supplements from the budget.
The N-Fert tab 160 lets you record applications of Nitrogen-based fertiliser during the
budget.
Window reference
5.8.1
155
Feed Budget window - Budget Grid tab
The Budget Grid tab is the heart of a FarmKeeper feed budget.
The Budget Grid tab is divided up into three sections:
· Column headings (Budget interval dates) run along the top of the grid from left
to right. Each date represents an interval in the budget, i.e. the days between the
date shown and the date of the next interval.
· Row headings (Feed supply or demand categories) run down the left-hand
side of the grid. Each heading describes the data that appears immediately to the
right of it in the grid. For example, the 'Feed Outcome' row heading (at the top of
the grid) means that the top row of values in the grid show the total feed surplus
(or deficit) for the corresponding budget interval.
Note that the row headings are hierarchical - you can click on the [+] or [-] symbol
next to a row heading to show or hide the other rows which are 'underneath' a
particular row. By using the [+] and [-] symbols, you can show only the information
you need to see at a particular time, so that you don't get overwhelmed staring at a
screen full of numbers!
· Cells (Budget data) are the actual numbers showing what the value is for a
particular row heading in a certain budget interval.
Values you can enter are shown in normal type, and values you cannot enter (e.g.
calculation results) are shown in bold type.
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To enter or change a value, simply click on a cell and type in the value. FarmKeeper
recalculates the budget whenever a value changes.
The basic idea of the budget grid is simple: you just type in a value for each cell in
the budget grid (actually, each cell which is not bold). In practice, this can become
quite tedious when you are entering in the same number lots of times. Here are some
tips to help make data entry as easy as possible:
TIP: Enter multiple values at once.
This can be used when you want to set the same value across a range of dates for a
single row. For example, you might want to reduce the Pasture Area for a few
intervals because paddocks will be taken out of rotation for haymaking.
1. Click on the first cell you want to change (e.g. Pasture Area for 01 Nov)
2. Hold down the [shift] key on the keyboard
3. Click on the last cell you want to change (e.g. Pasture Area for 01 Dec)
4. All cells between the first and last should now be highlighted
5. Type in the new value for these cells, and press [Enter]. The new value is applied
to all of the selected cells.
TIP: Changing head counts for animal mobs
Animals commonly move between mobs throughout the year. To help you keep track
of the movements, there's a special row called 'Change in head count' underneath the
Head count row for each animal mob.
The 'Change in head count' row simply shows the difference between the head count
for the previous interval and the current interval. You can enter the net number of
animals entering and leaving the mob for an interval directly into the 'Change in head
count' row, and FarmKeeper will change the head count for that interval and all
following intervals.
For example, at calving time you might have expect to have 50 animals moving from
the Dries mob into the Milkers mob in a certain interval. You can simply enter '50' into
the 'Change in head count' row for that interval for the Milkers mob, and '-50' into the
Change in head count' row for the Dries mob. FarmKeeper will add 50 animals to the
Milkers mob (and remove 50 animals from the Dries mob) for that interval and all
following intervals.
Window reference
5.8.2
157
Feed Budget window - Graph tab
The Graph tab shows you the results of your feed budget in graphical form.
There are actually two different sets of data overlaid on the graph:
Data set 1: Feed Supply vs Feed demand
· The stacked bars show the supply of feed from pasture, N-Fertiliser, and
supplements
· The red solid line shows the total feed demand
· The deficit or surplus is shown as a cross-hatched area between the feed demand
line and feed supply bars.
The units of supply and demand are shown on the right-hand vertical axis, and will be
different depending on whether the feed budget was created on an Energy basis or
Dry Matter basis.
Data set 2: Pasture Cover levels
· Budgeted cover (i.e. resulting from the calculations of the feed budget) is shown as
a green broken line with circles at each interval date.
· Desired cover (entered directly onto the budget grid) is shown as a blue dotted line
with stars at each interval date.
· Actual cover (entered directly onto the budget grid) is shown as a solid black line
with squares at each interval date.
The units of Pasture Cover are shown on the left-hand vertical axis, and are always
kgDM/Ha.
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Note that you can show and hide the lines and bars by ticking (or clearing) the tick
boxes at the bottom of the window.
How to read the graph
In basic terms, your aim is to manage the supply of feed and demand for feed
throughout the year.
A feed budget can help by identifying periods of surplus and deficit; the actions you
take to manage those periods are entirely up to you. You may consider discussing
your feed budget results with a qualified farm adviser - the actions suggested below
are illustrative only.
In periods of surplus (where supply exceeds demand), the average pasture cover
levels will rise as more grass is grown than eaten. In the example above, the first two
intervals are in surplus, and the Budgeted Cover line rises over these two intervals.
You may consider conserving some of the surplus as hay or silage, or bringing
animals back onto the farm from off-farm grazing; or you may simply allow average
pasture cover levels to rise in anticipation of an upcoming deficit period.
In periods of deficit (where demand exceeds supply), the average pasture cover levels
will fall as more grass is eaten than grown.
In the example above, there is a deficit from the 1st July to 16th September.
You may consider applying more nitrogen fertiliser, feeding more supplement, or
moving animals off the farm onto alternative grazing; or you may simply allow
average pasture cover levels to fall over the deficit period.
5.8.3
Feed Budget window - Supplements tab
The Supplements tab allows you to choose the supplements which are included in the
feed budget.
Window reference
159
Supplements are listed in categories; click on the [+] button next to a category to
open that category and show the supplements inside it.
When you first create the feed budget, the New Feed Budget wizard 152 gives you a
chance to pre-select supplements to be included in the budget. The Supplements tab
gives you the opportunity to change that selection as you work on the feed budget, to
add or remove supplements from the budget.
To include a supplement in the feed budget, just click on the check box to beside the
supplement name.
To remove a supplement from the feed budget, just click on the check box again to
remove the check mark.
When you add a supplement to the feed budget, the budget grid 155 is updated to
show one row for this supplement underneath each animal mob in the Supplements
section. That means that you can specify how much of the supplement each animal
mob is to receive for each budget interval.
You can edit the list of supplements (and supplement categories) from the
Feed Supplement editor window 211 (and Feed Category editor window 210 )
5.8.4
Feed Budget window - Animals tab
The Animals tab allows you to choose the animal mobs which are included in the feed
budget.
When you first create the feed budget, the New Feed Budget wizard 150 gives you a
chance to pre-select animal mobs to be included in the budget. The Animals tab gives
you the opportunity to change that selection as you work on the feed budget, to add
or remove animal mobs from the budget.
To add an animal mob to the feed budget, click on the [+] button at the bottom of the
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grid, type in a name for the mob, and select the animal class from the drop-down list.
To remove an animal mob from the feed budget, click on the mob to remove and click
on the [-] button at the bottom of the grid.
When you add an animal mob to the feed budget, the budget grid 155 is updated to
show the animal mob in the Demand section at the top, and the Supply ->
Supplement section near the bottom. You can then specify how much the animals will
consume for each budget interval (demand), and how much of each supplement they
will be fed per interval (supply).
5.8.5
Feed Budget window - N-Fert tab
The N-Fert tab allows you to enter in details of fertiliser applications during the
budget.
To add a new fertiliser application, click on the [+] button at the bottom of the grid,
and enter a value for each of the following:
· Application date: the start of the budget interval during which the fertiliser will be
applied. The dates in the drop-down are the start dates of the intervals in the
budget.
· Fertiliser product: choose a fertiliser product from the drop-down list. Note that
only fertilisers containing nitrogen (N) will be shown in the list.
· Area applied (ha): the area of the farm over which the fertiliser will be spread
· Rate applied (kg Fert / ha): the rate at which the fertiliser will be applied over
that area
· Total fert applied (kg): the total mass of fertiliser applied. (This will be calculated
once the Area and Rate have been entered, or you can enter the Total Fert Applied
Window reference
161
and FarmKeeper will calculate the Rate Applied)
· Total N applied (kg): the total mass of nitrogen (N) applied. (This will be
calculated once the Fertiliser Product and Total Fert Applied have been entered, or
you can enter Total N Applied and FarmKeeper will calculate the Total Fert Applied
and Rate Applied)
· Response rate (kgDM / kgN): The estimated number of extra kilograms of Dry
Matter that will be grown as a result of the application of 1 kg of N.
· Feed quality (MJME/kgDM): If the feed budget is an Energy budget, this number
represents the amount of energy present in each kilogram of dry matter, i.e. the
quality of the grass resulting from N application.
· Response end date: the date on which the response to N application will finish.
The dates in the drop-down are the start dates of the intervals in the budget.
Once you have entered all the details for a fertiliser application, click on the 'tick'
symbol at the bottom of the grid to record that application. The application will
appear on a separate line in the Budget Grid 155 , under the Feed Supply -> N-Fert
heading. These rows are coloured in yellow.
5.9
Report windows
FarmKeeper wouldn't be much use if all you could do was to put information in - the
real value is in getting information out.
You can always find individual pieces of information through the FarmKeeper Explorer
on the main window 102 , but Reports draw together different information into one
easily-usable and relevant form.
You can access reports in a number of ways:
· By clicking on the report in the Reports 107 module.
· From the Reports menu in the Mapping window 121
· By right-clicking on a farm in the Main window 102 , and selecting the report from the
popup menu.
The following sections show you how to use each of FarmKeeper's report windows.
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Report Windows - Common Features
Each report window has some common features. The Feed Wedge report is used
below as an example, but the same applies to each of the other reports.
The Report Parameters box is where you enter parameters necessary for that
report.
In the Feed Wedge Report example, you only need to specify a farm (and even that is
defaulted if you open the Report window from inside a map).
When you have entered all of the required parameters, click 'Generate Report' to run
the report.
The Report Style Tabs let you choose how you wish to see the results of the report.
Each report window has one or more of the three Report Style Tabs:
· The Report tab shows the information in a standard text-based report, formatted to
be printed out onto one or more sheets of paper.
(As shown in the Feed Wedge example above).
· The Graph tab shows the information in a graph format, such as the Feed Wedge
graph below:
Window reference
163
· The Map tab shows the information overlaid on the farm map. Each paddock is
colored according to the corresponding value for that report.
In the Feed Wedge example below, a dark shading indicates a lot of pasture cover on
that paddock; a light shading indicates less pasture cover on that paddock.
You can therefore get an overall 'feel' for how the grass is distributed on your farm in only a few simple clicks.
Printing, faxing, and emailing.
You can print, email, or fax the report simply by clicking on the print, email, or fax
items in the toolbar.
Whichever report style you are currently looking at (Report, Graph, or Map) will be
printed (or faxed, or emailed).
The format in which the report is attached to the email varies depending on the report
style:
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· Reports are attached to the email as a PDF file. (The recipient's computer needs to
have the free PDF viewer installed, to view the report).
· Graphs are attached to the email as a picture file. (The recipient's computer needs
a picture file viewer to view the report. Almost all computers have some kind of
picture file viewer installed)
· Maps are similarly attached to the email as a picture file.
5.9.2
Last Grazed Report
The Last Grazed Report shows you when each paddock on a farm was last grazed, and
for how long.
This is useful as a pointer when determining where a mob of animals should next go
on their paddock rotation.
The fields on the Report are:
· The 'Paddock' column shows the name of each paddock.
· 'Last grazed' shows the date on which a mob of animals last grazed that paddock.
(The report is sorted in 'Last grazed' order, so the paddocks which have had the
longest time since their last grazing appear at the top of the report).
· 'Days ago' is simply the number of days between the last grazed date, and the
current date.
· 'For hours' shows how many hours the last animal mob spent grazing the paddock
· 'Stock count' shows how many animals were in the mob, the last time they were in
that paddock.
· 'Stock days' is simply the number of days that animals were in the paddock,
multiplied by the number of animals in the mob. This gives a rough indication of
how 'hard' the paddock was last grazed.
This report has two Report Style Tabs: Report (above) and Map (below).
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On the Map tab, a darker shade indicates a longer time since the paddock was last
grazed. A lighter shade indicates that the paddock was grazed more recently.
5.9.3
Feed Wedge Report
The Feed Wedge report was used as an example in a previous section Report Windows - Common Features 162 . Refer to that section for a sample of the Feed
Wedge report.
The report has the following parameters:
· Farm
· Exclude measurements older than n days: when ticked, this will only include
measurements taken in the last n days in the report.
· Arrange by cover (kgDM/ha): when ticked, the report will be sorted by the Cover
column. The graph and map will also show the values from the Cover column.
· Arrange by Dry Matter (kgDM): when ticked, the report will be sorted by the Dry
Matter column - i.e. the total amount of dry matter present in each paddock. The
graph and map will also show the values from the Dry Matter column.
· Show paddock areas on graph: when ticked, a red line representing the area of each
paddock will be shown on the graph.
· Show target line: when ticked, a blue line will be drawn from the pre-grazing value
specified (on the left-hand side of the graph) down to the post-grazing value
specified (on the right-hand side of the graph). This gives a quick visual indication
of possible upcoming periods of oversupply or undersupply of feed.
Note that the bottom of the Feed Wedge report contains a summary with Average
cover figures which you may find helpful for pasture budgeting.
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Pasture Growth Rate Report
The Pasture Growth Rate Report is used to calculate growth rates by paddock. Growth
rates are calculated by taking the difference in pasture cover measurements over time
- so you need to enter pasture cover measurements before this report will contain
meaningful values.
The parameters for this report are:
Farm: the farm on which growth rates should be calculated
From / To date: the range of dates to consider when calculating growth rates.
Exclude readings more than ___ days apart: if there are more than this many
days between two consecutive pasture cover measurements for a paddock,
FarmKeeper will exclude that period of time from the calculation.
The columns on the report are:
Paddock: the name of each paddock on the farm
Area (ha): the area of the paddock
# days in calc: the number of days which were able to have a growth rate calculated
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for them. There are a number of reasons why FarmKeeper needs to exclude some
days from the calculation:
- the paddock may have been grazed between pasture cover measurements
- the end pasture cover measurement may have been lower than the start pasture
cover measurement (usually due to grazing or conservation as hay/silage)
- there may not have been any pasture cover measurements during the period, or
they were too far apart.
Growth rate: the average growth rate for each paddock over the specified period.
At the bottom of the report are some summary statistics:
Total area: the combined area of all paddocks on the farm
Average growth: the average growth in kgDM per hectare for each day in the
specified period. Note that this number will normally not be the same as a simple
average of the numbers in the Growth Rate column of the report, since FarmKeeper
will weight the numbers according to the area of the paddock.
Confidence %: an indication of how much data FarmKeeper was able to use in
creating the report, to give you some idea of how much to 'trust' the report. The
confidence % would only be 100% if you took regular pasture cover measurements of
every paddock, and measured cover before and after each paddock was grazed. If the
confidence % was 50%, this would mean that on average FarmKeeper was able to
calculate a cover for each paddock on half of the number of days in the period. If the
number drops much below 30% - 40%, you may need to enter more pasture cover
measurements to give FarmKeeper more data to work with.
This report can also be presented as a graph (bar chart showing average growth for
each paddock), colour-coded map, or in grid format.
5.9.5
Pasture Growth Rate History Report
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The Pasture Growth Rate History Report is used to show pasture growth rates through
time.
You can report on either a whole farm, or one particular paddock - and you can also
compare up to 3 different values (farms or paddocks) side-by-side.
This report uses the same calculations as the Pasture Growth Rate report 166 , so the
same comments about requiring regular pasture cover measurements apply to this
report.
The parameters for this report are:
From / To date: the range of dates to consider when calculating growth rates.
Exclude readings more than ___ days apart: if there are more than this many
days between two consecutive pasture cover measurements for a paddock,
FarmKeeper will exclude that period of time from the calculation.
Farm / Paddock: choose up to three farms or paddocks to calculate and compare
growth rates for.
The columns on the report are:
Date: a day in the specified interval on which FarmKeeper has calculated pasture
growth rates.
Growth rate: the growth rate the FarmKeeper has calculated for the specified day,
and specified farm or paddock
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This report can also be presented as a graph, which can be useful to identify trends
through time:
5.9.6
Pasture Cover History Summary Report
The Pasture Cover History Summary Report shows you how the average pasture cover
on a farm is changing through time. You can use this report to get an idea of whether
your average cover is increasing or decreasing.
The parameters on this report are:
· Farm
· From date - the earliest date to run the report from
· To date - the latest date to run the report to.
· Cover validity
· Choose 'Cover is valid only on day measured' if you tend to measure the whole
farm at once, and fairly regularly. Each measurement is only counted on the day
it was actually made.
· Choose 'Cover is valid for x days after measurement' if you tend to measure parts
of the farm on different days, and want to 'smooth' the results together. Each
measurement is counter on the day it way actually made, and for the next x days.
· Break line when no measurement - whether the green Average Cover line on the
graph should disappear when there is no measurement, or just join up to the next
measurement.
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The fields on the report are:
· Date
· Total area - the total area on which pasture cover was measured on that day (or x
days prior, see cover validity above)
· Total DM - the total mass of dry matter measured on that day (or x days prior)
· Average cover - the total mass measured divided by the total area measured.
Gives the average pasture cover over those paddocks measured on that day (or x
days prior)
The report also has a graph style:
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The green line shows the Average cover values vs time. The left graph axis relates
to this line.
The brown bars show the Total Area measured to arrive at the average cover. The
right graph axis relates to this line. This is useful to avoid any misinterpretation of
measurements taken over small areas - you can mentally assign less 'weight' to
average cover measurements taken over small areas of the farm, and more 'weight'
to measurements over the whole farm (or a large part of it).
5.9.7
Paddock Grazing Performance Report
The Paddock Grazing Performance Report shows you how much grazing each paddock
has had, over a specified period.
This is useful as a pointer to highlight paddocks which may be under performing, and
perhaps need some additional pasture management to bring them to full potential.
The parameters on the Paddock Grazing Performance Report are:
· Farm
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· Paddock - the name of each paddock.
· Area - the area of each paddock
· Stock days - the total number of days which animal mobs have grazed that
paddock over the period, multiplied by the number of animals in the mob each time.
This gives a rough indication of how well the paddock has performed over the period.
A high number means that many animals spent lots of time grazing the paddock; a
low number means that few animals spent less time grazing the paddock.
· Days / area - stock days divided by paddock area. A further refinement of the
paddock's performance, this takes into account the size of each paddock. Large
paddocks need to be grazed more often than small paddocks to achieve the same
Days per area score.
This report also has a Graph style:
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The graph shows you how evenly the performance of paddocks is distributed.
Paddocks on the left-hand side of the graph (with higher bars) have performed better
than paddocks on the right-hand side of the graph (with lower bars).
Finally, the report also has a Map style:
Paddocks which are dark-green have performed best over the period; paddocks which
are light-green have performed worst.
With this map, you can see at a glance if particular regions of the farm are underperforming or over-performing.
5.9.8
Fertiliser Summary Report
The Fertiliser Summary Report shows you how much nutrients have been applied to
your paddocks over a time period.
You could use this report to:
· show compliance with regulatory requirements on fertiliser application
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· see whether some paddocks have had more or less of a particular nutrient than
others.
· compare against some of the other paddock reports, to see whether paddocks with
the most (say) Nitrogen have performed better than others with less Nitrogen.
The parameters on the Fertiliser Summary Report are:
· Farm
· Fertiliser Category - Choose the fertiliser category; the default is all categories
combined, then you have have them split out per category on one report or you can
just choose one category.
· Paddock - the name of each paddock.
· Total Nutrient Application Rate - the total rate (kg/ha) at which of each of the 6
main nutrients which has been applied to each of the paddocks, over the specified
time period.
· Total Nutrients Applied - the total mass (kg) of each nutrient which has been
applied to each paddock, over the specified time period.
Note that a summary appears at the end of the last page of the report, showing the
total nutrient application rate across the whole farm, and the total nutrients applied
Window reference
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for the whole farm.
The report also has a Map style:
Paddocks which are dark-red have had the most of the selected nutrient applied;
paddocks which are light-pink have had the least. White paddocks have had none of
the selected nutrient applied.
You can select which nutrient should be displayed on the map by clicking the dropdown arrow in the 'Show element' field, on the left-hand side of the window.
You can also specify how you would like the numbers for each paddock to be shown:
· Show as labels means label each paddock with the rate of application for the
selected nutrient
· Show as popups means only label the paddock when the cursor is over the
paddock
· Don't show numbers means that the rate of application is not shown on the map.
5.9.9
Map Summary Report
The Map Summary report provides useful information on your map, before you have
even started keeping paddock records.
When you have drawn the fencelines onto the map, you can run the Map Summary
report to see:
How long all the fences are, in total
What total area the fences encompass
How long any line features (such as water pipes) are, in total
What area of the farm is made up of each different ground surface (grass, trees,
water, tracks etc).
· How many troughs, gates, sheds, etc are marked on the map
·
·
·
·
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5.9.10 Layer Intersection Report
The Layer Intersection report allows you to investigate the relationship between two
area layers on your map.
FarmKeeper will look at where objects on the two layers are overlapping, and give you
a summary of the overlapping areas. For example, you can use this report to see:
· For each paddock, what is the breakdown of soil types or vegetation types in that
paddock
· How much area of each paddock is within a certain distance of a watering point (you
can use the Buffering tool to create watering circles before running this report.
Window reference
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The parameters to this report are:
Map: select the map containing the layers to be intersected
Row layer: select the first layer to be intersected. Objects from this layer will be
shown down the left-hand side of the report. Often you would choose the Paddocks
layer (previously called the Areas layer)
Row attribute: select an attribute of the objects on this layer which should be
reported on. Usually you would choose a 'naming' attribute. In the current version of
FarmKeeper, the attribute names are not very descriptive, so you may need to
experiment to best attribute to report on. For a Paddocks layer, you would usually
choose 'ba_pad_name', which represents the name of the paddocks.
Column layer: select the second layer to be intersected. Objects from this layer will
be shown across the top of the report. In this example, a Vegetation layer is selected.
Column attribute: select an attribute of the objects on the Column layer to be
reported on. In this example, the 'VM_POLY' attribute is selected, which represents a
summary of the vegetation status of objects on the vegetation layer.
Calculate: select a summary calculation to be performed on each row in the report.
Options are:
- None: no summary calculation
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- Dominant: show the column attribute which represents the largest area on each
row(e.g. the vegetation status which occupies most of the area of each paddock)
- Max: show the numerical maximum of all the column attributes for each row. This
option only makes sense when the column attributes are themselves numerical
values. One example could be a grading system, where areas of land are graded 1-9
depending on their carrying capacity. If a paddock was graded mostly '4', but had
some area which was graded '5', then the Max calculation would show '5' for that
column.
- Min: as for Max (above), but showing the minimum numerical value which is
present for each row.
Totals: when this check box is ticked, the report will show totals for each column at
the bottom of the window.
5.9.11 Layer Attributes Report
The Layer Attributes report allows you list all of the objects on a layer, and see all of
their attributes.
The parameters to this report are:
Map: select the map containing the layers to be intersected
Window reference
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Layer: select the layer whose objects and attributes should be displayed.
Each object on the layer will be represented with a single row. The attributes for that
shape will be shown as columns along the report.
5.9.12 Diary Report
The Diary Report is a quick way to list all of the information you've been keeping in
FarmKeeper over a set period of time.
It lists all (or selected) events over the timeframe you enter, with one line per event.
The timeframe defaults to the last 12 months, up to the current date.
The report has a number of different parameters which you can use to limit the
results which are shown on the report.
· Dates - lets you set a date range for events
· Events - lets you limit the events by type (e.g. Paddock activities, Mob activities,
etc)
· Paddocks - lets you limit the events to those for a particular paddock (or multiple
paddocks)
· Animal mobs - lets you limit the events to those for a particular animal mob (or
multiple mobs)
· Word filter - like a 'free-text' search, only events with the specified word or words
will appear on the report
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Click 'Generate Report' to rerun the report with the parameters you have specified..
The 'Map' tab allows you to select a map, and highlight only those paddocks which do
(or do not) appear on the report.
Window reference
5.10
181
Properties window
The Properties window holds information (and sometimes history) on a particular
FarmKeeper record.
It is a general-purpose window, that adapts to display different information depending
on the type of record in the window.
The Properties window normally has two tabs:
· The 'Attributes' tab shows information about the record, as-at 23 the current date.
You can change the information on this tab, simply by clicking on an attribute and
changing it.
If an attribute has a grey background, you cannot change that attribute directly. For
example, the Last Fertilised Date attribute on a Paddock record is updated
automatically, when you record a fertiliser event for the paddock.
· The 'History' tab shows historical information about events which have been
entered against the record, through time.
The Properties window can be opened from many different places in FarmKeeper:
1. When you create a new paddock record by right-clicking on the Paddocks items in
the explorer tree on the main window 102 , and choosing 'New Paddock'. (The same
applies for Farm and Animals records.)
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2. When you open an existing paddock record by right-clicking on the record in the
explorer, and choosing 'Paddocks Details'
3. When you click on an object on a map (such as a paddock, fenced area, animals
icon or point feature) and choose 'Properties' from the menu on the left-hand side
of the mapping window.
4. When you record a paddock event 38 . In this case, a special version of the
Properties window will open, allowing you to enter the information required for
that event. The History tab is not relevant for a Paddock Event, and will not be
shown.
To close the Properties window, simply click Done to record any changes and close
the window, or click Cancel to close the window without recording any changes.
5.11
Paddock Event windows
Paddock Event windows are special versions of the Properties window 181 , which you
can use to enter and change information relevant to a certain type of paddock event.
There are three types of Paddock Event window:
· Pasture Cover event window 184
· Fertilise Paddock event window 184
· Paddock Activity event window 185
Each window is very similar - you simply type in the information relating to the event,
and click Done to record the event (or Cancel to close the window without recording
the event). All event windows have two things in common:
1. A Date field, showing the date on which the event took place
2. A Paddocks field, showing the paddocks to which the event relates. You can click
on the Ellipsis (...) button in this field to open the Paddock Selector window 183 , to
choose the paddocks in which the event took place.
There are a few different ways to record, edit and delete Paddock Event windows.
To record new events:
1. From the mapping window 121 , click on a paddock (or paddocks) and
select the event 38 from the menu on the left-hand side of the window
2. From the main window, click on the Paddocks module, then right-click on a
paddock and select the event from the popup menu
To edit existing events:
1. From the main window, click on the Paddocks module, click on the '+' next to a
paddock, click on one of the events types under that paddock, and edit on the
specific event in the grid on the right-hand side of the window. Do not forget to
click on the green tick at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
Window reference
183
2. From the main window, click on the Paddocks module, click on a paddock, click on
the 'History' tab on the right-hand side of the window, right-click a specific event
and choose 'Open <event name>' from the popup menu.
3. From the Calendar module 105 on the Main window, by clicking on an item, then
clicking on the hyperlink in the details box in the bottom of the window, then
clicking 'Open <event name>' from the popup menu.
To delete events, use one of the methods above but choose 'Delete <event name>'
from the popup menu, or click the '-' sign in a grid after highlighting the event to
delete.
5.11.1 Paddock Selector window
The Paddock Selector window lets you quickly choose the paddocks in which a
particular event occurred.
You can open the Paddock Selector window by clicking the Ellipsis (...) button in the
Paddocks field of a paddock event.
Paddocks are shown grouped into Farms. Selected paddocks appear in bold, and have
a tick in the Selected box.
To select a paddock, either click in the Selected box for that paddock, or use the
cursor keys to move the highlight over a paddock and press the space bar to select it.
The number of paddocks currently selected is shown in the status bar at the bottom of
the paddock list.
When you have selected the correct paddocks for the event, click the OK button to
return to the paddock event. Or, click Cancel to cancel any changes to the list of
selected paddocks.
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5.11.2 Pasture Cover Event window
The Pasture Cover Event window lets you enter the cover which you observed or
measured on a particular paddock (or paddocks) on a particular date.
Simply type in the pasture cover, in kgDM/Ha, and click Done to record the event.
To change the paddocks in which the measurement was recorded, click in the
Paddocks field then click the ellipsis (...) button to open the
Paddock Selector window 183 .
Note: you can quickly enter many pasture cover measurements at once by using the
Bulk Data Entry - Pasture Cover window 200 .
5.11.3 Fertilise Paddock event window
The Fertilise Paddock event window lets you enter the fertiliser product and rate at
which you applied the fertiliser, to a particular paddock (or paddocks) on a particular
date.
To change the paddocks in which the fertiliser was applied, click in the Paddocks field
then click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Paddock Selector window 183 .
For the product field, click on the drop-down button to select the fertiliser product
from the drop-down list. Or click the ellipsis (...) button to open the
Window reference
185
Fertiliser Product Editor 208 window, to create a new fertiliser product.
For the Rate field, type in the rate at which the product was applied (in kg/Ha)
For the Notes field, optionally type in any notes associated with the event. Or click on
the ellipsis (...) button to open a Notes Editor window, with more space to type in
larger notes.
5.11.4 Paddock Activity event window
The Paddock Activity event window lets you enter notes relating to a general paddock
event, which took place for a particular paddock (or paddocks) on a particular date.
To change the paddocks in which the activity took place, click in the Paddocks field
then click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Paddock Selector window 183 .
For the Activity field, click on the drop-down button to select the activity from the
drop-down list. Or click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Paddock Activity Editor 214
window, to create a new activity.
larger notes.
5.12
Animal Mob Event windows
Animal Mob Event windows are similar to Paddock Event windows, except that you
use them to enter information about events for a mob of animals.
There are two types of Animal Mob Event windows:
· Move Animals window 187
· Animal Mob Activity event window 195
· Animal Health Treatment event window 195
There are a few different ways to record, edit and delete with the Animal Mob Event
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windows.
To record new events:
1. From the mapping window 121 , click on an animal symbol and select the event
from the menu on the left-hand side of the window
2. From the main window, click on the Animals module, then right-click on an
animal mob and select the event from the popup menu
To edit existing events:
1. From the main window, click on the Animals module, click on an animal mob, click
on the 'History' tab on the right-hand side of the window, right-click a specific
event and choose 'Open <event name>' from the popup menu
2. From the Calendar module 105 on the Main window, by clicking on an item, then
clicking on the hyperlink in the details box in the bottom of the window, then
clicking 'Open <event name>' from the popup menu
To delete events, use one of the methods above but choose 'Delete <event name>'
from the popup menu, or click the '-' sign in a grid after highlighting the event to
delete.
5.12.1 Animal Mob Selector window
The Animal Mob Selector window lets you quickly choose the mob of animals for which
a particular event occurred.
You can open the Paddock Selector window by clicking the Ellipsis (...) button in the
Animal Mobs field of the Animal Mob Activity window.
Window reference
187
To select a mob of animals, either click in the Selected box for that mob, or use the
cursor keys to move the highlight over a mob and press the space bar to select it.
The number of mobs currently selected is shown in the status bar at the bottom of the
list.
When you have selected the correct mobs for the event, click the OK button to return
to the event. Or, click Cancel to cancel any changes to the list of selected mobs.
5.12.2 Move Animals window
The Move Animals window lets you tell FarmKeeper:
· where a mob of animals are at a particular time, and
· how many animals are in each place (and therefore, how many are in the mob in
total)
Note that you can use the Move Animals window even if the animals haven't actually
moved - to record when animals are added to a mob, or removed from a mob.
You can open the Move Animals window from a few different places:
· From the Mapping window, by dragging a mob of animals to a different paddock
· From Animals module on the Main window, by clicking the ellipsis (...) button in the
Location field
· By right-clicking on a paddock, and selecting 'Move animals here' from the popup
menu.
In the top half of the window, you can specify:
· Which mob of animals is being moved
· The date that the move takes place
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· The time that the move takes place.
Some notes on the Time field:
· if you don't want to record a time, just leave the time at 8:00am
· if you tend to move animals at set times of day (e.g. milking times), you can click
on the drop-down arrow on the box beside the Time field, and select a
Special Time 210 from the list
When you enter (or change) the Animals, Date, or Time, FarmKeeper changes the
bottom half of the window to show you where those animals were, at that date and
time.
· The 'Farm / Paddock' column shows the paddock(s) that the animals were in.
· The '# animals before' column shows how many animals were in that paddock,
before the move
· The '# animals after' column is where you enter the number of animals in each
paddock, after the move
Note: You can use the '+' button at the bottom of the window, to add in new rows if
the animals are going into more than one paddock.
In the example above, the window is telling us that on 3/4/2004, the 'Milkers' mob
had 200 animals in the Front paddock on the Home farm. Here are some sample
moves we could record:
Window reference
189
1. Specify an initial location
When you first add a new animals record, you can click on the ellipsis (...) button in
the Location field, to open the Move Animals window and tell FarmKeeper where the
animals are.
Click on the drop-down arrow in the blank row provided, and select a new paddock
(e.g. the Front paddock).
Because this is the first location record for these animals, the '# animals before'
column is blank.
Type in the number of animals into the '# animals after' column.
When you click OK, FarmKeeper will record that the Milkers mob has 200 animals in
the Front paddock.
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2. Move the entire mob to a new paddock
(e.g. the Silage paddock). FarmKeeper has already filled in that there are 200 animals
in that paddock after the move.
the Silage paddock.
Window reference
191
3. Move some of the animals into a new paddock, leaving some in the old
paddock
(e.g. the Silage paddock).
Change the '# animals after' column for the Front paddock to be 120
Change the '# animals after' column for the Silage paddock to be 80.
the Front paddock, and 80 animals in the Silage paddock, for a total of 200 animals.
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4. Split the mob into two new paddocks.
(e.g. the Silage paddock).
Change the '# animals after' column for the Silage paddock to be 100.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window.
Click on the drop-down arrow in new blank row, and select another paddock (e.g. the
Ridge paddock)
Change the '# animals after' column for the Ridge paddock to be 100.
the Silage paddock, and 100 animals in the Ridge paddock, for a total of 200 animals.
Window reference
193
5. Leave the mob in the same paddock, but add in some new animals.
Change the '# animals after' column for the Front paddock to be 210.
Click onto the blank row (below the Front paddock row), and click the '-' button at the
bottom of the window to delete the blank row.
the Front paddock.
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6. Move the mob to an Unspecified location
Sometimes you may want to record the fact that the animals have moved out of a
paddock, but are not going directly into another paddock. For example, they might be
grazing on another property temporarily.
FarmKeeper has a special 'paddock' you can use in this situation: the '<unspecified>'
paddock.
Just select '<unspecified>' from the paddock drop down, and type in the number of
animals which are in this 'paddock'.
an unspecified location.
Note: you could create a new paddock (or whole new map), and move the animals
into that new paddock. However, if you don't want to record information about the
new paddock, it is quicker to use the '<unspecified>' paddock.
Window reference
195
5.12.3 Animal Mob Activity event window
The Animal Mob Activity event window lets you enter notes relating to a general event
which was carried out on a particular mob (or mobs) on a particular date.
To change the Animal mobs in which the activity took place, click in the Animal Mobs
then click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Animal Mob Selector window 186 .
For the Activity field, click on the drop-down button to select the activity from the
drop-down list. Or click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Animal Mob Activity Editor
window, to create a new activity.
larger notes.
For more information on how to use this window, please refer to
Recording animal events 64 .
5.12.4 Animal Health Treatment event window
The Animal Health Treatment event window lets you enter notes relating to a health
treatment which was carried out on a particular mob on a particular date.
For more information on how to use this window, please refer to
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Recording animal health treatments
5.13
65
.
Options window
The Options window holds settings which influence the way FarmKeeper works.
These settings are stored for the computer as a whole, not for any individual datafile.
To open the Options window, click on the Tools menu on the main window (or the
mapping window), then click Options.
There are 7 tabs on the Options window, each holding settings for a different aspect
of FarmKeeper. Each tab is explained below.
The General tab lets you:
· specify whether the "Create New Map" entry is shown in the mapping module, and
· clear the "Don't ask me this again" settings.
Some of the FarmKeeper message windows have a box at the bottom which says
"Don't ask me this again". If you tick the box, FarmKeeper will remember your
previous response and use it automatically next time that message should be
shown. By clicking this button on the Options window, FarmKeeper will forget your
previous response and ask you again, the next time that message should be shown.
· specify whether you wish to be reminded to save regularly, and if so, how often.
Window reference
197
The Mapping tab lets you specify options relating to the Mapping window.
· "Snap Distance" is how far the mouse will 'jump', to snap to an existing fence line.
(This helps you accurately draw fencelines that touch each other).
· "GPS coord format" is the format in which GPS coordinates are displayed in the
status bar at the bottom of the Mapping window. The available formats are
"Degrees", "Degrees and minutes", or "Degrees, minutes and seconds".
· "Ignore 'only visible below scale'" means that all visible layers should be shown,
regardless of the current scale of the map. This overrides the "only visible below
scale" setting on the Layer Manager window 123 .
· "Allow overlapping labels" means that labels on the Fenced Area / Paddock layer will
be allowed to overlap. By default, this option is off, which means that overlapping
labels will be hidden rather than allowed to overlap.
· "Hide picture layers for thumbnail" relates to how the thumbnail of the map is
created. The "thumbnail" is the small picture which represents each map on the
Maps module 104 of the Main window. If this option is ticked, FarmKeeper will hide
the picture layer (if any) before creating the thumbnail, so the thumbnail will
consist of just the areas, lines and points you have drawn on the map.
· "Highlight shapes on the map as the mouse moves over them" can be used to turn
on or off the highlighting feature.
· The last option has been created to facilitate the import of shapefiles (provided by
GPS-mapping companies and local/regional councils for stream/vegetation mapping
, etc). These files are not always mapped to FarmKeeper standard, ticking this
option makes FarmKeeper more tolerant to these issues. Because turning on this
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option permanently has repercussions for drawing within FarmKeeper, by default
'Optimise for drawing' is ticked. If you need to import a shapefile you can turn on
'Optimise for shapefile import'. When you close FarmKeeper this is automatically
reset to 'Optimise for drawing'.
The Units tab lets you specify the distance or area unit you prefer to work with in
FarmKeeper.
Just change one of the drop-down boxes to your preferred unit, and all measurements
will then be displayed (and entered) in that unit.
The Fax tab lets you configure your computer's fax modem.
You might like to change the Station ID and Fax Header, so that faxes are received
with your specific ID and header.
The other settings are all defaulted to values that should work with your fax modem,
so you shouldn't need to change them. If you experience problems sending faxes, you
can use this tab to fine-tune the fax settings.
Window reference
The Datafile tab lets you specify options relating to datafiles
22
199
.
· If "Create a backup copy of modified datafiles" is ticked, FarmKeeper will make a
copy of each modified datafile when you close the datafile. The copy will be called
"Autobackup of <your_datafile_name>.fkbkp"
· If "Ask (prompt) before creating the backup" is ticked, FarmKeeper will ask you
before making the backup copy.
· If "Compact modified datafiles (make them smaller)" is ticked, FarmKeeper will
compact 97 a modified datafile when you close the datafile. This is not ticked by
default, since it adds to the time FarmKeeper takes to close down.
· If "Ask (prompt) before compacting the datafile" is ticked, FarmKeeper will ask you
before compacting.
When FarmKeeper compacts a datafile, or converts a datafile to a new FarmKeeper
version, it will first make a backup copy of the datafile. The backup copy will be called
"<your_datafile_name>_precompact.fkbkp" or
"<your_datafile_name>_preupgrade.fkbkp". If you want FarmKeeper to delete the
backup copy after a successful compaction or conversion, tick the "Remove temporary
backup..." box.
The Mobile tab lets you specify how many records are downloaded to FarmKeeper
Mobile, when you perform a HotSync 230 â operation your handheld with the desktop
PC.
By default, the 'Sync all paddock history records' option is selected.
If you want to limit the number of records, you can select the 'Limit to last xxx
records' option. The most recent records (up to the specified limit) will then be
transferred.
This option is useful if your handheld has limited memory.
The Feed Budget tab lets you specify the default pasture utilisation in a
Feed Budget 149 .
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5.14
FarmKeeper Manual
Pasture Cover window
The Pasture Cover window can be used to quickly and easily import or enter pasture cover
measurements for many paddocks at once. This is particularly useful when you have
walked/measured the whole farm and recorded pasture cover measurements into a
notebook or on your C-Dax pasture meter, and need to quickly update your FarmKeeper
records.
To open the Pasture Cover window, click on the Tools -> Pasture Covers menu from the
main window 102 or the mapping window 121 .
There are three options for entering pasture cover records.
1. Download C-Dax Pasture Cover Data 200
2. Enter Electronic Plate Meter Readings 202 (from electronic rising plate meter, probe or
eyeassesment)
3. Enter Manual Plate Meter Readings 204
See also:
· Pasture Cover Event window 184 (for entering single pasture cover measurements)
5.14.1 Download C-Dax Pasture Cover Data
To link your C-Dax pasture meter to your computer via BluetoothTM please refer to your
C-Dax Manual under 'Bluetooth Installation' or refer to our FAQ's Bluetooth Connection
Information , Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips
Note: If this is the first time you are using this option you will have to install the
FarmKeeper
Choose the 'Download C-Dax Pasture Cover Data' option. Click the 'Import C-Dax Pasture
Cover Data' button. In the first screen of the wizard please select the port your C-Dax
console is connected to. To find the COM-port your meter is linked to please see, either
'Details' or 'Properties' on your Bluetooth Manager. For more information on the Bluetooth
connection refer to our C-Dax manual or our FAQ's Bluetooth Connection Information ,
Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting or Bluetooth Device Pairing Tips.
Window reference
201
Once you have clicking on 'Next' you will get a message saying 'Downloading from
If everything works your console will say 'Send' and the Bluetooth icon in the right
hand bottom corner of your screen will turn green
.
Tier 2 customers only will get the following screen to match the paddocks from the
console with the paddocks in FarmKeeper. XP1 customers will go straight to the
Pasture Readings screen as the matching is done automatically via GPS-coordinates.
To match paddocks that have not been matched automatically by FarmKeeper based
on the names in both systems, click on the arrow and pick the right paddock from the
list. For paddocks that cannot be matched, choose <Skip>, beware you will lose the
data for this paddock. You cannot leave the screen until al paddocks are matched
and/or skipped.
In the screen below you can discard readings that look unreliable (very few readings,
the number of samples displayed in the screen would all be too low to be reliable) by
unticking the box in front. Again these readings will then be discarded and cannot be
retrieved!
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XP1 data import with the correct date forthe reading automatically. Tier 2 data
assigns the import date as the reading date, if this is incorrect it can be changed by
ticking the 'Edit date' box. Select the correct date in the box and click 'Ok', this will
change the date for all readings at the same time. If you take readings for half the
farm on one day and the other half the next day both will get the same date. To avoid
this download the readings when taken.
If the regression equation shown in the screen is not correct, this can be edited by
clicking the 'Edit regression equation' box. When you have any questions about the
equations or cannot find them, please contact C-Dax directly.
Click on 'Next' to finish.
5.14.2 Enter Electronic Plate Meter Readings
To enter readings from an electronic rising plate meter (or a similar device that
provides pasture cover readings in kg DM/ha or an eye-assessment), choose the
option 'Enter Electronic Plate Meter Readings'.
The first time you open the screen you get the following message to let you know you
can now sort your paddocks in walking order:
Window reference
203
Drag and drop the paddock names until they are sorted in the walking order. Once the
paddocks are in walk order, this will be saved for the next time pasture cover records
are entered. If you want to sort your paddocks in number or aphabethical order to
start a new walking order you can use the 'Ascending' or 'Descending' option in the
Sort Option box (see screen below), where Drag and Drop is the default option
allowing you to order your paddocks in walking order.
To
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
use this window:
Enter the date on which the measurements were taken.
Select a farm from the drop-down list of farms.
Click on the 'List paddocks' button to show a list of all paddocks on that farm.
Type in the pasture cover for each paddock in the 'Cover' column.
Click 'Done' to record all of the measurements, or Cancel to close the window
without recording any measurements.
Notes:
· You don't need to enter a cover value for all paddocks. Just leave the Cover column
blank for any paddocks which were not measured.
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5.14.3 Enter Manual Plate Meter Readings
To enter pasture cover measurements taken with a manual rising-plate meter, choose
'Enter Pasture Cover Measurements'.
FarmKeeper will calculate the cover based on the height measured, the number of
Samples (='plonks') taken, and the Multiplier and Adder for your region and season.
The latest advise (2009) from DairyNZ is to use the same formula everywhere in New
Zealand and all year round; the list of equations has disappeared of the website. Read
the entire story on the DairyNZ website www.dairynz.co.nz.
Standard formula:
"Average compressed pasture height" x 140 + 500 = kg DM/ha"
The first time you open the screen you get the following message to let you know you
can now sort your paddocks in walking order:
Drag and drop the paddock names until they are sorted in the walking order. Once the
paddocks are in walk order, this will be saved for the next time pasture cover records
are entered. If you want to sort your paddocks in number or aphabethical order to
start a new walking order you can use the 'Ascending' or 'Descending' option in the
Sort Option box (see screen below), where Drag and Drop is the default option
allowing you to order your paddocks in walking order.
Window reference
205
To change the equation used:
1. Tick the box beside 'Change equation' near the top of the window.
2. Type in values for the Multiplier and Adder, and optionally the Samples (if you
take the same number of Samples in each paddock).
3. Drag and drop the paddock names until they are sorted in the walking order.
Once the paddocks are in walk order, this will be saved for the next time pasture
cover measurements are entered.
4. For each paddock, type in the total height of grass measured in that paddock, and
adjust the number of samples taken if necessary.
5. FarmKeeper will automatically calculate the Cover value as you enter the Height
measured.
6. If you wish to change the Multiplier or Adder, click on the Recalculate button to
recalculate all of the Cover values.
To enter readings straight of the meter/walk sheet without any calculations, tick the
'Use initial/final meter readings box.
1. Make sure your paddocks are in walk order before you start entering data, once
started you can only change the order for paddocks you haven not entered data for
yet.
2. Just enter the number as written down straight from your plate meter and the
Samples if needed; FarmKeeper will do the calculations for you.
5.15
Animal Health Treatment window
The Bulk Data Entry - Animal Health Treatment window can be used to quickly and
easily lookup and enter many animal health treatments at once.
To open the Bulk Data Entry - Pasture Cover window, click on the Tools -> Animal
Health Treatments menu from the main window 102 or the mapping window 121 .
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To use this window:
1. If you wish to only see records for a defined date range, tick the 'Restrict to date
range' check box and specify the date range. To see all records, untick the
'Restrict to date range' check box.
2. Click on the 'List treatments' button
3. If there are already treatments entered, you can click directly on an existing
treatment to change it
4. Type in the details for the treatment
· Select a mob from the drop-down list
· Select the date on which the treatment occurred
· Select the product which was used in the treatment. FarmKeeper does not come
pre-configured with a list of products, but you can click the ellipsis [...] button to
easily define your own products 213 .
· Type in the dosage given to each animal (ml)
· Check and/or change the safe date for the treatment. The default safe date is
calculated by adding the withholding period (days) for the product to the
treatment date. You can change the default value, or clear the safe date entirely if
it's not applicable for a treatment.
· Enter any notes you wish to record about the treatment. (Note that you can
search for specific words in this event, and any other events, using the
Diary report 179 )
When you have finished browsing or entering records, click the Done button to return
to the previous window.
Window reference
207
See also:
· Animal Health Treatment Event window 195 (for entering single animal health
treatment events)
5.16
Reference Data windows
Reference Data windows are simple windows which allow you to work with 'lists of
things' in FarmKeeper, so that you can adapt FarmKeeper to your particular farm. For
example, you can use the Fertiliser Product Editor to make a list of the fertiliser
products that you use on your farm, and to tell FarmKeeper the nutrient break-down
of each.
5.16.1 Fertiliser Product Category Editor Window
You can use the Fertiliser Product Category Editor window to create and modify
fertiliser categories.
Then, when you add a Fertiliser product, you can choose the fertiliser product
category from this list, and FarmKeeper will keep track of the total amount of each
category you have applied to the paddock. In the Fertiliser Summary Report you
can report total fertiliser applications and applications per category.
You can open the Fertiliser Product Editor in two ways:
1. From the main window, click on the Tools menu and then click on Fertiliser Product
Category Editor
2. When you're entering a Fertiliser Product, click on the ellipsis (...) button in the
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Category field.
5.16.2 Fertiliser Product Editor window
You can use the Fertiliser Product Editor window to create and modify fertiliser
products, and specify the percentage of each element making up the fertiliser.
Then, when you record a Fertiliser Application event, you can choose the fertiliser
product from this list, and FarmKeeper will keep track of the total amount of each
element you have applied to the paddock.
You can open the Fertiliser Product Editor in two ways:
1. From the main window 102 , click on the Tools menu and then click on Fertiliser
Product Editor
2. When you're entering a Fertiliser Application event, click on the ellipsis (...)
button in the Product field.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new fertiliser product.
Then simply type in the name, and type in the percentage of each element present in
the fertiliser product.
Note: FarmKeeper initially comes with one fertiliser product, called simply 'Other
Fertiliser'. This is a placeholder that you can use if you're recording a fertiliser
application on your Palm device with FarmKeeper Mobile, and the fertiliser you're
applying is not already in the list. Then when you synchronise your Palm device, you
can edit the event and create the actual fertiliser product record.
Note also that FarmKeeper does not keep a 'history' of changes to fertiliser products.
If you record a fertiliser application with one fertiliser, then you use a slightly different
fertiliser next time - you should create a new fertiliser product record for the second
application. In other words, if you change the % of a trace element for a fertiliser
product, that change will apply to ALL fertiliser application records which use that
Window reference
209
product.
5.16.3 Ground Surface Editor window
You can use the Ground Surface Editor window to edit the list of ground surfaces that
you can assign to fenced areas 34 on a map.
You can open the Ground Surface Editor in two ways:
1. From the main window 102 , click on the Tools menu and then click on Ground
Surface Editor
2. In the Mapping window 121 , click on a paddock or fenced area and choose Fenced
area properties from the menu on the left-hand side of the window. Then click
on the ellipsis (...) button in the Ground Surface field.
Each entry in the list has a name and a symbol.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new ground surface.
Type in the name of the surface, then click on the Symbol field and click the ellipsis
(...) button. The Picture Editor 215 window will open, and you can draw in the symbol
that you wish to use to represent that ground surface.
You can also delete a ground surface by clicking on the '-' button at the bottom of the
window. Any paddocks or fenced areas with that ground surface symbol will no longer
have a ground surface symbol. (FarmKeeper will warn you if try to delete a ground
surface which is assigned to a paddock or fenced area.)
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5.16.4 Special Time Editor window
You can use the Special Time editor to name some common times of the day. Then,
when you're moving a mob of animals in the Move Animals window 187 , you can select
the time of day by name from a drop-down list, rather than having to enter in the
time manually.
You can open the Special Time Editor from the main window 102 , by clicking on the
Tools menu and then clicking on Special Time Editor.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new special time.
You can also delete a special time entry by clicking on the '-' button at the bottom of
the window.
Note that deleting or changing a special time has no effect on existing animal
movement records - the special times are only used to help you when recording new
animal movements.
5.16.5 Feed Category Editor window
You can use the Feed Category editor to create and edit categories of animal feed.
Feed Categories are used to group together different types of feed. Currently the feed
categories are used in the Feed Budgeting module. In future, FarmKeeper will use
feed categories to record consumption by animal mobs, to help give a better estimate
of paddock performance.
You can open the Feed Category Editor from the main window 102 , by clicking on the
Tools menu and then clicking on Feed Category Editor.
Window reference
211
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new feed category.
5.16.6 Feed Supplement Editor window
You can use the Feed Supplement editor to create and edit supplements which can be
fed to animals.
Currently the feed supplements are used in the Feed Budgeting module. In future,
FarmKeeper will use feed supplements to record consumption by animal mobs, to help
give a better estimate of paddock performance.
You can open the Feed Supplement Editor from the main window 102 , by clicking on
the Tools menu and then clicking on Feed Supplement Editor.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new feed supplement.
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Each feed supplement must belong to a Feed Category. The list of species can be
modified in the Feed Category Editor window 210 .
5.16.7 Animal Species Editor window
You can use the Animal Species editor to create and edit animal classes.
An Animal Species is used to group different types of animals within the same
species. At present Animal Species are only used in the Feed Budgeting window. In
future, Animal Species (and Animal Classes) will be used to keep more detailed
information on the class of animals in each animal mob. This will allow for more
accurate estimates of paddock performance to be produced.
You can open the Animal Species Editor from the main window 102 , by clicking on the
Tools menu and then clicking on Animal Species Editor.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new animal species.
5.16.8 Animal Class Editor window
You can use the Animal Class editor to create and edit animal classes.
An Animal Class is used to group animals with similar feed requirements. At present
Animal Classes are only used in the Feed Budgeting window. In future, Animal Classes
will be used to keep more detailed information on the class of animals in each animal
mob. This will allow for more accurate estimates of paddock performance to be
produced.
You can open the Animal Class Editor from the main window 102 , by clicking on the
Tools menu and then clicking on Animal Class Editor.
Window reference
213
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new animal class.
Each animal class must belong to a Species. The list of species can be modified in the
Animal Species editor window 212 .
5.16.9 Animal Health Product editor window
You can use the Animal Health Product editor to create and edit products which can
be used to treat animals for health reasons.
The products are used when recording animal health treatments
65
.
You can open this window from the main window 102 , by clicking on the Tools menu
and then clicking on List editors and then Animal Health Product Editor.
You can also open this window by clicking on the ellipsis ('...') button when recording
an animal health treatment.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new animal health
product.
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The 'Withholding (days)' column is used when calculating a safe date for an animal
health treatment.
5.16.10 Paddock Activity Editor window
You can use the Paddock Activity Editor window to edit the list of paddock activities
that you can record in FarmKeeper.
When you record a Paddock Activity, the list of activities you can choose from is taken
from the list in this window.
You can open the Paddock Activity Editor in two ways:
1. From the main window 102 , click on the Tools menu and then click on Paddock
Activity Editor
2. When you're recording a Paddock Activity event, click on the ellipsis (...) button in
the activity field.
Click on the '+' button at the bottom of the window to add a new paddock activity.
Then simply type in the name of the activity.
You can also delete an activity by clicking on the '-' button at the bottom of the
window. But be careful - if you delete an activity, you will also delete all of the
Paddock Activity events entered for that activity. (FarmKeeper will warn you if try to
delete an activity which has Paddock Activity events associated with it).
This list of paddock activities also appears in FarmKeeper mobile. On the
Paddock List window 235 , you can choose to display the last time a particular activity
was recorded for each paddock.
Window reference
5.17
215
Picture Editor window
The Picture Editor window lets you edit icons used by FarmKeeper.
You can open the Picture Editor window by clicking on the '...' button, which is
displayed when you click on a symbol in the Layer Manager window, or the Records
Explorer module.
Clicking on the '...' button opens the symbol in the Picture Editor:
Using the Picture Editor window is simple:
· Click on a colour in the colour selector, with either the right-mouse-button or leftmouse-button.
· The boxes at the top of the Colour selector show you which colours are currently
assigned to each mouse button
· The box on the right, at the top of the Colour selector, holds the Transparent
color. Click on the box to draw transparent areas on the picture (i.e., areas where
the background will show through).
· Click on a tool in the Editing Tools area
· Draw on the picture with the selected editing tool.
For more information on the individual editing tools and other parts of the Picture
Editor, simply hold the mouse over any part of the window, and a hint will appear
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describing that part. For even more information, click on the 'What's this' button
(question mark) on the top-right of the window's title bar.
5.18
Bug Report window
This is the one window in FarmKeeper that we hope you never see!
We've worked hard to keep FarmKeeper free from bugs, but the simple truth is that in
the world of software, it's impossible to guarantee any application is completely bugfree. We have taken the following steps to minimise the likelihood and impact of bugs
in FarmKeeper:
1. During the design phase, we selected the highest quality tools and components to
minimise the number of bugs brought in from 'outside'
2. During the implementation phase, we used robust programming techniques and
drew on past development experience to make FarmKeeper as solid as possible
3. Prior to each release, we thoroughly test FarmKeeper to ensure it is free from
critical bugs
4. If and when a problem does occur 'in the field', we have incorporated advanced
technology into FarmKeeper to capture useful information about the bug, which
you can send to us to help us investigate and resolve the problem.
If you do encounter a bug, the Bug Report window below will appear on your screen.
A Bug Report is a collection of information, including:
· Information about your computer, such as the computer name, username,
operating system version, available memory, free disk space, and version of
FarmKeeper;
· Exactly where the error occurred, inside FarmKeeper
· The version and location of the other modules on your computer which FarmKeeper
uses.
It does NOT include any personal information such as your physical address or any
passwords.
You can click the show bug report button to see exactly what is in the bug report although it might not mean much to you, unless you're very familiar with computers.
The mail bug report, save bug report and print bug report buttons allow you to
email the bug report to us, save it onto your computer, or print it out.
If you have email, we strongly suggest that you click the mail bug report button.
Window reference
217
This will prepare an email message with the text of the bug report, so you can just
click 'send' to send it on to us.
The three buttons on the right-hand side of the window let you specify what to do
next:
· continue application will attempt to ignore the bug and carry on. This may or may
not be successful, depending on what caused the bug, but it is worth a try! If you
are able to continue, we recommend that you save your work, then close and
restart FarmKeeper.
· close application will immediately close FarmKeeper. Any changes you have
made, since the last time you saved 100 (or since you opened FarmKeeper, if you
haven't saved at all) will be lost
· restart application is like close application, but it will automatically start
FarmKeeper again after closing it.
If continue application does not work, you will need to select either close
application or restart application.
Remember, we want to make FarmKeeper as bug-free as possible, so please send us
a bug report if you do encounter this window. It doesn't matter if you have an
evaluation version or a paid-for version, or whether you subscribe to the
Support and Upgrade service 262 or not - if you encounter a bug in FarmKeeper, we'd
love to know about it!
5.19
Datafile Backup Wizard
As you use FarmKeeper over time, your FarmKeeper datafile will become a valuable
store of historical farm information. It is important that you protect that asset, and
FarmKeeper has a built-in wizard to help make this task as painless as possible.
To begin backing up your datafile, just click on the "File" menu, and then Backup
Datafile. The Datafile Backup Wizard 218 will appear.
NOTE: the Datafile Backup Wizard will only back up your FarmKeeper datafile. It will
not back up any aerial photographs, external layers, or point photographs that the
datafile links to. You should ensure these files are backed up separately, as part of
your general computer backup routine.
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5.19.1 Datafile Backup Wizard - Welcome page
This page simply lets you know that you have run the Datafile Backup Wizard.
Click Next> to move on to the Choose Backup Type 219 page, or Cancel to close the
wizard.
Window reference
219
5.19.2 Datafile Backup Wizard - Choose Backup Type page
This page allows you to choose whether you wish to do an Off-site backup, or On-site
backup.
Note: the best protection for your datafile is to do regular off-site backups, and store
them in a secure location away from the computer.
· If you chose Off-site backup, click Next> to move on to the Off-site Backup 220 page
· If you chose On-site backup, click Next> to move on to the On-site Backup 221 page
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5.19.3 Datafile Backup Wizard - Off-site Backup page
The purpose of an off-site backup is to keep your datafile separate to your computer,
in case disaster strikes the computer. This page presents you with 3 methods of
getting a copy of the datafile off your computer, for safe storage. You can:
1. Burn the datafile to a CD 222 (Compact Disc) - if your computer has a CD burner.
2. Copy the datafile to a removable drive 223 - such as a small 'thumb drive' attached
to a USB port
3. Email the datafile 224 to a friend's computer - if you don't have a CD burner or
removable drive, email is another simple backup option.
Note: this page may be slow to appear. FarmKeeper checks whether your computer
has a CD burner or removable drive, and will disable any options which don't apply on
your computer. This check can take a few seconds on some computers.
Window reference
221
5.19.4 Datafile Backup Wizard - On-site Backup page
The purpose of an on-site backup is to make a copy of your datafile on your
computer, in case you accidentally change or delete the original datafile.
By default, FarmKeeper will name the backup copy "On-site backup of
<your_datafile_name>.fk". The backup copy will be made in the same directory as
the original datafile.
You can change the name and location of the backup file by clicking on the choose a
new location link, or just click Next> to go on to the Ready to backup page 224
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5.19.5 Datafile Backup Wizard - Burn datafile to CD page
This page ensures that everything is ready for the CD to be burned.
If you haven't yet put a blank CD in the CD burner, do it now.
If there is no writeable CD in the drive, or the CD does not have enough free space for
your datafile, a message will be shown on the page.
When everything is OK, click on 'Next >' to go on to the Ready to backup 224 page.
Window reference
223
5.19.6 Datafile Backup Wizard - Copy datafile to removable drive page
This page lets you select the removable drive you want to use for the backup (if you
have more than one). It also checks that you have enough free space on the drive to
fit your FarmKeeper datafile.
When everything is OK, click on 'Next >' to go on to the Ready to backup 224 page.
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5.19.7 Datafile Backup Wizard - Ready to backup
This is the last page in the Datafile Backup Wizard. It explains how FarmKeeper will
complete the backup when you click Finish.
Check that the explanation is correct, and then click Finish. One of the following
actions will occur:
· If you are burning the datafile to a CD, a progress window will be shown while the
CD is burned.
· If you are copying the datafile to a removable drive, the file will be copied.
· If you are emailing the datafile, a new email message will be created with your
datafile already attached
· If you are creating an on-site backup of your datafile, the backup copy will be
created.
Afterwards, a message will appear confirming the backup was successful, and the
Datafile Backup Wizard will close.
5.20
Open Datafile window
When you start FarmKeeper, it will try to open the same datafile 22 you used last
time.
Sometimes, this may not succeed - for example, if you have moved the datafile.
When FarmKeeper is unable to open the last-used datafile, the Open Datafile window
(below) opens to allow you to select a datafile to use with FarmKeeper.
Window reference
225
· To create an entirely new datafile, click on the 'I want to create a new datafile'
option.
Then, type in the new datafile name in the box below that option, or click on the
'Browse...' button to specify the new datafile name.
· To open an existing datafile, click on the 'I want to open an existing datafile'
option.
Then, type in the datafile's name in the box below that option, or click on the
'Browse...' button to specify the datafile name.
· To open an existing datafile which you've used in FarmKeeper before, click on the 'I
want to open a datafile I've used recently' option.
Then, click on the down-arrow on the drop-down list under that option, and select
the datafile from the list. The list contains the names of the last 10 datafiles you've
used with FarmKeeper.
Part VI
FarmKeeper
Mobile
FarmKeeper Mobile
6
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FarmKeeper Mobile
This section explains how to use FarmKeeper Mobile, the Palmä handheld companion
to FarmKeeper.
6.1
Concepts
6.1.1
What is FarmKeeper Mobile?
FarmKeeper Mobile is a simple and useful application which can be installed onto a
Palmä handheld computer. It is best thought of as a companion to the main
FarmKeeper program.
By installing FarmKeeper Mobile onto your handheld, you'll have instant access to all
of FarmKeeper's paddock information - in the palm of your hand!
Pick a farm, then pick a paddock - you can see the details of that paddock, including
size, last measured cover and last grazed date. Click 'History' to see a full history for
that paddock, including grazing, pasture covers, and fertilizer applications back
through time.
Plus, you can record pasture covers, fertiliser applications and stock movements
directly onto the handheld. Then, when you get home, just synchronise the handheld
with your desktop computer - the information is transferred directly into your
FarmKeeper database.
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6.1.2
FarmKeeper Manual
Getting started with FarmKeeper Mobile
When you install FarmKeeper, the setup process has an option to install FarmKeeper
Mobile.
To install FarmKeeper Mobile, just tick the box next to the FarmKeeper Mobile option.
(Note: the setup process will tick the FarmKeeper mobile box for you, if it detects that
your computer already has Palm software installed.)
If you didn't install FarmKeeper Mobile the first time around, you can run the Setup
wizard again. See 'Starting the Setup wizard 12 ' for more information.
As the Setup wizard runs, the following window will appear:
FarmKeeper Mobile
229
Click 'Next' to go to the next step.
This step will only appear if you have more than one Palm device synchronising to
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your computer.
Most likely, you will only have one Palm device, so the installer will skip this step.
If you do have more than one Palm device, tick the box beside each device that you
want to install FarmKeeper Mobile onto.
Then, click 'Next' to go to the last FarmKeeper Mobile installation window:
Click Finish to close this window.
The next time you synchronise your Palm handheld, the HotSyncâ operation will
install FarmKeeper Mobile onto the Palm handheld.
6.1.3
Your first HotSync - the 'Change HotSync Action' window.
After installing FarmKeeper Mobile onto your PC with the setup program, the next
step is to install it onto your handheld. This is done by the normal Palmä HotSync
operation.
Note 1: You will actually need to do two HotSync operations before using FarmKeeper
Mobile:
· The first HotSync operation installs the FarmKeeper Mobile program onto your Palm
handheld
· The second HotSync operation installs your FarmKeeper data onto your handheld,
for FarmKeeper Mobile to use.
Note 2: Ensure that FarmKeeper is not running on your desktop PC when you perform
FarmKeeper Mobile
231
the HotSync operation.
If you try to perform a HotSync operation while FarmKeeper is using the datafile, a
message will appear asking you to close FarmKeeper, then click OK to continue the
HotSync operation.
During the second HotSync operation, a window will appear giving you some options
for FarmKeeper Mobile:
The 'Hotsync Action for FarmKeeper Mobile Conduit' box lets you specify what
FarmKeeper Mobile should do during this (and future) HotSync operations
· "Synchronise the files" is the default action. This means that any information
entered onto the handheld will be added to the FarmKeeper datafile, and the Palm
handheld will be refreshed with new information from the FarmKeeper datafile. This
is what you will normally want to do.
· "Desktop overwrites handheld" means that any information entered onto the
handheld will be discarded, and the handheld will be refreshed with new information
from the FarmKeeper datafile. Choose this option to refresh FarmKeeper Mobile,
without recording any pasture cover readings into the FarmKeeper datafile.
· "Do nothing" means that FarmKeeper Mobile will not be synchronised with the
FarmKeeper datafile at all.
The 'Datafile options (Desktop)' box lets you specify the FarmKeeper datafile that
you want to synchronise with. It datafile defaults to the datafile you used, the last
time you ran FarmKeeper.
If you want to synchronise with a different datafile, click the 'Browse...' button, and
select the datafile you want to synchronise with.
If you don't have a FarmKeeper datafile, just click the 'Do nothing' option in the
Hotsync Action box.
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This might be the case if you install FarmKeeper and FarmKeeper Mobile, and then
perform a HotSync operation with your handheld before using FarmKeeper.
This window appears automatically the first time you perform a HotSync operation
after installing FarmKeeper Mobile.
After that, FarmKeeper Mobile remembers which datafile to synchronise with - so it
does not need to show the Change Hotsync Action window.
If you move or delete the FarmKeeper datafile on the desktop PC, FarmKeeper Mobile
will not be able to synchronise automatically. In that case, it will show the Change
Hotsync Action window, so you can specify the new file to synchronise with.
6.2
Window reference
This section takes you through each of the windows you can use to work with
FarmKeeper Mobile.
FarmKeeper Mobile
6.2.1
233
First Window
This is the first window you see when you run FarmKeeper Mobile on your handheld.
This window can show different information, depending on whether the "Farms" or
"Pending" button is selected at the bottom of the screen.
Farms
When the "Farms" button is selected, the window shows a list of the farms you can
work with in FarmKeeper Mobile (remember, these farms came from your FarmKeeper
datafile, during the HotSync operation).
In the example above, there is only one farm - the Home Farm.
Tap on a farm to go to the Paddock List 235 window, and see the paddocks for that
farm.
Pending
When the "Pending" button is selected, the window changes to show a list of Pending
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Items. A Pending Item is a record (grazing, pasture cover, paddock activity or
fertiliser application) that you have entered into FarmKeeper Mobile, and is waiting to
be updated into the main FarmKeeper datafile the next time you synchronise.
You can click on a Pending item to see more detail about that item in the Pending
Details window.
FarmKeeper Mobile
6.2.2
235
Paddock List Window
The Paddock List window shows a list of the paddocks for the current farm (i.e., the
farm you selected in the Farm list on the First Window 233 ).
To the left of each paddock is a small check box. If the check box has a tick in it,
then that paddock is 'selected'. (You'll need to 'select' paddocks before you can record
events like grazing, fertiliser and pasture covers - see 'Record Event Selector' below).
Note that you can select more than one paddock at once, to enter an event against
multiple paddocks.
The Selected Count shows the number of paddocks which are currently selected
(i.e. have a tick in their check box). This is useful when you have more paddocks than
fit on one screen. You can also use the Selected Count box to quickly select and
unselect paddocks - click on the Selected Count drop down, then click on 'Select None'
to quickly un-tick all of the paddocks.
The Info Field Selector is a drop-down list, that specifies which 'field' you want to
see alongside each paddock. You can choose to see the map area, known area, last
cover, or the last date of a particular paddock activity.
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Tap on the down arrow, then select a field from the list and click 'Done'. The
information shown beside each paddock will change to display the value you selected.
(note: if your handheld is a slower, older model, the screen may take a few seconds
to update with the new information).
To find out detailed information on a single paddock, just tap on the name of the
paddock. The Paddock Details window 237 will open for that paddock. (You can also
view the history of the paddock from the Paddock Details window).
Use the Record Event Selector to enter new information for the selected paddocks.
Tap on the selector and a popup list appears, where you can select from the following
event types:
· Tap on Grazing to enter grazing information (i.e. stock movements) with the
Grazing wizard 239
· Tap on Pasture Cover to enter a pasture cover measurement 244
· Tap on the Fertiliser button to record a fertiliser application 245
· Tap on the Other Activity button to record other paddock activities 247
When you have finished in this window, click Done to go back to the
Farm List window 233 .
FarmKeeper Mobile
6.2.3
237
Paddock Details Window
The Paddock Details window shows all of the information that FarmKeeper Mobile has
for a single paddock. To open the Paddock Details window, tap on the name of a
paddock in the Paddock List 235 window.
Each of the pieces of information came from your FarmKeeper datafile, the last time
you synchronised your handheld.
Note that information you enter onto your handheld (such as new pasture cover
readings) won't be shown in this window, until the next time you synchronise.
Tap the Done button to return to the Paddock List window 235 , or tap History to see
the history of this paddock in the Paddock History window 238 .
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6.2.4
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Paddock History Window
The Paddock History window shows all of the events which you have previously
recorded for a paddock. To open the Paddock History window, tap on the History
button on the Paddock Details 237 window.
· Tap on one of the events to see the full details of that event, in the
History Details 239 window.
· Click Done to return to the Record Pasture Cover 244 window.
FarmKeeper Mobile
6.2.5
239
History Details Window
The History Details window shows all the information relating to the event you
selected from the Paddock History window. To open the History Details window, tap
on an entry in the Paddock History 238 window.
Tap Done to return to the Paddock History window.
6.2.6
Grazing Wizard
The Grazing Wizard is a series of simple windows which you can use to enter
information about the movement of a mob of animals.
You can start the Grazing Wizard by tapping the Record button from the
Paddock List window 235 , then tapping the Grazing option.
The windows in the series are:
1. The Move Mob window 240 - where you choose which mob are moving
2. The Grazing Date + Time window 241 - where you set the date and time they
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moved
3. The Animals In Paddock window 242 - where you specify how many animals are
in each paddock
4. The Finish Move window 243 - where you confirm the details of the move.
6.2.7
Move Mob Window (Grazing wizard)
The "Move Mob" window is the first window in the Grazing Wizard 239 .
Tap on the name of the mob which you are moving, then tap Next> to move on to
the Grazing Date + Time window 241 .
(Note that you must have already set up the mob in your FarmKeeper datafile, before
you can record their movements in FarmKeeper Mobile.)
FarmKeeper Mobile
6.2.8
241
Grazing Date + Time Window (Grazing wizard)
The "Grazing Date + Time" Window is the second step in the Grazing wizard 239 .
It lets you enter the date and time on which the move occurred.
The date and time default to the current date and time, but you can tap on them to
change them.
You can also tap on the arrow next to the time field, and select a Special Time from
the list of times. (Note that the Special Times list can only be edited on your desktop
computer, with the Special Time Editor window 210 .
When you have finished setting the date and time of the move, click Next > to move
on to the Animals In Paddock window 242 .
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6.2.9
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Animals In Paddock Window (Grazing wizard)
The "Animals In Paddock" window is the third step in the Grazing wizard.
Enter the number of animals which have moved into each of the selected paddocks.
If you only selected one paddock on the Paddock List window, tap Next> to move on
to the Finish Move window 243 .
If you selected more than one paddock in the Paddock List window, tap Next> to go
through each of the selected paddocks in turn, and enter the number of animals
which have moved into each paddock.
As you go through the paddocks, the information in brackets changes to show you:
· How many animals have already been counted in the other paddocks so far
· How many are still uncounted, up to the number of animals in the mob at last
count.
You can enter any number of animals you like - there is no requirement to end up
with the same number of animals as the last count.
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243
FarmKeeper will default the number of animals in each paddock, by dividing the lastcount number evenly among the paddocks. This helps you to quickly record an even
split between multiple paddocks - but remember, you can still enter in a different
number if you want.
After you have entered in the number of animals in the last selected paddock, tap
Next> to move on to the Finish Move window 243 .
6.2.10 Finish Move Window (Grazing wizard)
The "Finish Move" window is the last window in the Grazing Wizard 239 .
It summarises the information you have entered for the move, so you can check that
it looks correct.
Tap Finish to record the move and go back to the Paddock List window 235 .
Or, tap <Prev to go back and change information in one of the previous windows.
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6.2.11 Record Pasture Cover Window
The "Record Pasture Cover" window lets you enter a pasture cover measurement.
This window is opened by clicking on the 'Pasture cover' option in the 'Record Event'
selector on the Paddock List window 235 .
The 'Paddock' field shows the name of the paddock you selected, or the number of
paddocks selected if there is more than one.
The 'Date' field defaults to today's date.
If you are recording a pasture cover reading for a previous date, you can change the
date to the actual reading date.
If you are recording pasture cover 'by eye', or using an instrument which tells you the
pasture cover reading (such as an electronic rising plate meter), enter the pasture
cover directly into the 'Cover' field.
If you are using a manual rising plate meter, you can use the built-in calculator to
make the arithmetic easy. Just enter the height recorded on the meter, the number of
samples you took with the meter, and the appropriate multiplier and adder for your
FarmKeeper Mobile
245
region and season. Then tap the 'Calc ^' button, and FarmKeeper Mobile will
calculate and enter the cover for you.
FarmKeeper Mobile remembers the 'Samples', 'Multiplier' and 'Adder' fields for next
time, so you don't need to reenter them for every measurement.
When you have finished, tap Done to record the measurement and return to the
Paddock List 235 window
Or, tap Cancel to discard the reading and return to the Paddock List 235 window.
6.2.12 Record Fert Application Window
The "Record Fert Application" window lets you enter an application of fertiliser to the
selected paddocks.
This window is opened by clicking on the 'Fertiliser' option in the 'Record Event'
selector on the Paddock List window 235
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If you are recording a fert application for a previous date, you can change the date to
the actual application date.
Tap on the 'Select fertiliser product' field to choose the fertiliser product which was
applied. The 'Select Fertiliser' window will appear - choose the fertiliser you applied
from the list, and tap Done. (If the fertiliser you applied is not in the list, select
'Other Fertiliser', and write the details of the actual fertiliser in the Notes field. Then,
when you synchronise you Palm device with your desktop PC, you can edit the
Fertiliser Application record, and create a new Fertiliser Product to represent the
actual fertiliser.)
Enter the rate (in kg/Ha) at which the fertiliser was applied, in the 'Rate' field.
Optionally, you can enter a note about the application in the Notes field.
When you have finished, tap Done to record the application and return to the
Or, tap Cancel to discard the application and return to the Paddock List 235 window.
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6.2.13 Record Paddock Activity Window
The "Record Paddock Activity" window lets you record activities other than grazing,
fertilising, and pasture cover.
This window is opened by clicking on the 'Other Activity' option in the 'Record Event'
selector on the Paddock List window 235
If you are recording a paddock activity for a previous date, you can change the date
to the actual application date.
Tap on the 'Select activity' field to choose the activity. The 'Select Paddock Activity'
window will appear - choose the activity from the list, and tap Done.
Note: you cannot create entirely new activity types on FarmKeeper Mobile. To create
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a new activity type, run FarmKeeper on your desktop PC and use the Paddock Activity
Editor window. The next time you synchronise, the new activity type will appear on
your handheld.
Optionally, enter a note about the activity in the Notes field.
When you have finished, tap Done to record the activity and return to the
Or, tap Cancel to discard the activity and return to the Paddock List 235 window.
6.2.14 Pending Details Window
The "Pending Details" window shows you more information on a Pending Item. You
can open the Pending Details window by clicking on a Pending Item from the Pending
list on the First window 233 .
· Click Done to go back to the Pending List on the First window.
· Click Delete to remove the Pending Item. Once you delete a Pending Item, it won't
appear in the Pending List, and it won't be synchronised back to the FarmKeeper
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datafile when you perform a HotSync operation.
Deleting a Pending Item is the best way to correct a mistake when you enter
information in FarmKeeper mobile: just delete the Pending Item and re-enter it with
the correct details.
Part VII
FAQ (Frequently
Asked
Questions)
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
7
251
This section contains Frequently Asked Questions, so before you phone or email us,
have a quick look here and see if your question has already been answered.
7.1
How do I start FarmKeeper?
Before you can start FarmKeeper, you need to install it.
For installation help, see 'Getting Started 12 '
Once FarmKeeper is installed, you can start it by doing the following:
·
·
·
·
Click
Click
Click
Click
on
on
on
on
the Start menu
'Programs' (or 'All programs')
the 'FarmKeeper' folder
the 'FarmKeeper' link.
7.2
Mapping FAQs
7.2.1
How do I use a GPS to map my farm?
A GPS Unit is a small gadget about the size of a mobile phone.
It receives signals sent from satellites, and uses the signals to calculate exactly where
on earth it is located.
GPS units can be broken down into two categories: professional units and consumerlevel units.
Professional units can be used to provide very precise position information - down
to a few centimetres.
They are relatively expensive (in the thousands of dollars), and can be used for very
precise tasks such as GPS guidance of tractors in cropping situations.
Professional mapping and surveying companies typically use professional units to
generate property maps.
Consumer-level units typically provide less precise information - down to a few
metres.
Although this is not normally precise enough for precision agriculture (you wouldn't
want to steer a tractor with one), they are precise enough to provide a rough map of
your farm, accurate to within a few metres.
For a few hundred dollars, and a day spent travelling around the boundaries and
fencelines of your farm, you can produce a farm map accurate enough to use for
general farm planning. This is a great way to get started with FarmKeeper, especially
when detailed aerial maps of your property are not available.
FarmKeeper can interface directly with Garminä-brand GPS devices. So creating a
map of your farm is as simple as:
1. Get hold of a compatible GPS device. (You can buy one outright for less than
NZ$300, borrow one from a friend, or contact us 260 to hire one for a few days)
2. Turn it on, and carry it with you as you walk, ride or drive around every boundary
and fenceline on your farm. The GPS automatically keeps a 'bread crumb' trail of
where you've been.
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3. When you get back home, attach the GPS to your computer and run FarmKeeper.
FarmKeeper can communicate directly with the GPS, downloading the bread
crumb trail of your boundaries, and converting the trail into a map.
4. Use the FarmKeeper Mapping window to draw over your trails and convert them
into fencelines. This takes around an hour, and FarmKeeper automatically
recognises the paddocks (areas completely enclosed by fencelines) as you draw
the fencelines.
That's it! Now you have a basic map of your farm. From here, if you wish, you can:
· Print out a map of your farm, for the cowshed or office wall - to any size (blown up
across multiple sheets of normal A4 paper, or professionally printed from a PDF file)
· Name your paddocks, and then start keeping records of fertiliser applications,
pasture cover levels, and other paddock activities
· Create mobs of animals, and drag them from paddock to paddock to keep records
on grazing rotation movements.
· Add other geographic information to your map, such as pipelines, troughs, and
gates. This information is then at your fingertips for explaining tasks to new
employees or contractors.
There's no question that this process will be less accurate than commissioning a
professionally-surveyed farm map.
But you can get a workable, useful map at a fraction of the cost - with FarmKeeper, a
cheap GPS unit, and a day's work. And you'll end up with much more than just a
paper copy - you'll have a simple, useful record-keeping system.
7.2.2
How do I obtain an aerial photo of my farm?
If you have an aerial photo of your farm, you can load it straight into FarmKeeper as
the basis for your farm map.
There are a few different ways to get hold of a suitable aerial photo:
1. Scan a paper-based aerial photo.
If you have a paper-based aerial photo hanging on the wall, you can scan it in to
your computer yourself (if you have a suitable scanner), or have it scanned at a
digital imaging shop.
The disadvantage of this method is that the image won't contain any geographical
positional information, so you won't be able to measure distances and areas until
you scale the map 46 .
2. Purchase an existing aerial photo from an aerial imaging company.
Large parts of New Zealand and Australia have already been imaged, and you may
be able to buy an image of your farm directly in a form suitable for use in
FarmKeeper.
These images should come with a world file 254 which contains geographic
positional information, so you can measure distances and areas relatively
accurately straight from your FarmKeeper map.
We have access to aerial photo databases for New Zealand and Australia contact us 260 to see if we can help with your farm. We can also put you in touch
with an aerial imaging company if your farm is not covered by our database, or if
you require more detailed or higher-quality imagery.
253
3. Commission a new aerial photo from an aerial imaging company.
This can be relatively expensive, but may be the only option if your area has not
already been imaged.
These images should also contain geographic positional information, so you can
measure distances and areas relatively accurately straight from your FarmKeeper
map. Remember you could always use a GPS 251 to map the farm instead!
Once you have obtained your aerial photo, loading it into FarmKeeper is simple. Refer
to Creating a new map 30 for more details.
7.2.3
How representative is the sample aerial photo?
When you install FarmKeeper, a sample aerial photo called 'Sample nz farm map.jpg'
is installed into your data directory. You can create a new map based on that aerial
photo to help you evaluate FarmKeeper.
The sample image was kindly supplied by NZ Aerial Mapping Ltd (www.NZAM.com).
Please note:
· The original file received on CD from NZ Aerial Mapping Ltd was much larger in size.
We have trimmed the file and re-saved as a .jpg file to reduce the size to be small
enough to distribute over the internet. Some information was discarded in the
process, i.e. the original image was of higher quality.
· The resolution of the image is 0.75 metres per pixel. This means that each 'dot' in
the image is 75cm square. This is a typical resolution and is suitable for use with
FarmKeeper. A map of your area may be available in higher resolution or lower
resolution depending upon where in New Zealand you reside.
Refer to the sections What format should my aerial photo be in? 253 and
How can I speed up loading and working with maps? 257 for more information about
aerial photos.
7.2.4
What format should my aerial photo be in?
FarmKeeper can work with aerial photos in many different formats, including:
·
·
·
·
·
Windows bitmap files (*.bmp)
JPEG file (*.jpg,*.jpeg)
Portable Network Graphics file (*.png)
Tag Image File Format (*.tif)
Enhanced Compressed Wavelet (*.ecw)
If you purchase an aerial photo from an aerial imaging company, you may be able to
specify the resolution of the image. Be aware that a high-resolution image may be
quite large - a 500MB file (almost filling up a CD) is not uncommon. This is a lot of
information for any computer to process, and while FarmKeeper can work with a file
of that size, it will certainly slow things down.
It may be worth asking your aerial imaging company for a smaller version of the
image (say around 20MB) as well as the 'master' version at whatever resolution you
require. Refer to How can I speed up loading and working with maps? 257 for more
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information and tips on working with large files.
7.2.5
What is a 'World file'?
A world file is a small text file that you might find alongside an aerial photo picture
file.
The purpose of the world file is to tell computer software (like FarmKeeper!) what
'patch' of the earth's surface is represented by the aerial picture file.
If FarmKeeper finds a world file when creating a map based on an aerial photo, it will:
· Create the map to the correct scale, so you can immediately take measurements off
the map
· Tell you the GPS coordinates of any point on the map, when you move the mouse
over that point
· Allow you to download tracks and waypoints from a GPS unit, onto the map
· Allow you to upload the information you've drawn on the map, back up to a GPS
unit.
How do I know if I have a world file?
A world file always has the same name as the image file, but with a different
extension (usually '.jfw', '.jgw', or '.tfw'). So have a look in the directory containing
your aerial photo, and see if you have a file with one of these extensions.
For example, if your aerial photo is called 'Home Farm.tif', the world file is likely to be
called 'Home Farm.tfw'
What's in the world file?
A
·
·
·
·
world file contains numbers representing
The number of metres per pixel in the X direction
The number of metres per pixel in the Y direction
Two numbers representing rotation (not used by FarmKeeper)
The X and Y coordinates of the top-left corner of the aerial photo
Why does FarmKeeper still need to know the map system?
Unfortunately, the world file does not contain information about the map system in
which the coordinates are taken. So you still have to tell FarmKeeper what map
system to use, so it can make sense of the coordinates in the world file. This is done
in the Map System page 118 of the New Map Wizard 108 .
7.2.6
What is a 'Map System'?
When you create a new map
30
, you may be asked to select a map system 118 .
A 'map system' is a name for information that defines how the 3-dimensional surface
of the earth should be displayed on a two-dimensional surface (like paper or a
computer screen). Put simply, it allows you to 'translate' a 2-d point (on a map) to a
3-d point (on the earth's surface) and vice-versa.
FarmKeeper stores maps in 2-d format, like a paper map. FarmKeeper needs to know
255
the map system for two reasons:
1. To create the 2-d map from a 3-d source, like a GPS track or a picture with a
world file 254
2. To calculate the 3-d coordinates of a point on a 2-d map - such as when you move
the mouse over a map, or when you upload a map back to a GPS 135
This is quite a complex area, often requiring quite specialist knowledge. The good
news is, you don't need to know hardly anything about map systems to use
FarmKeeper! When you create a map from an aerial photo with a world file, just tell
FarmKeeper what map system the world file is in (your aerial mapping provider
should be able to tell you this), and FarmKeeper does the rest.
FarmKeeper comes pre-loaded with map systems for Australia and New Zealand. If
you are using FarmKeeper in another country, you may need to know a little more
about the mapping system in your country. FarmKeeper is fully capable of displaying
a map in any country around the world - you might just need to provide a little more
information about the map system in your country. Please
contact FarmKeeper support 260 for help with this.
If you would like to know more about map systems, there is lots of information on the
internet - here are a few good starting points:
· Geoscience Australia has general information on coordinate systems, projections,
datums, and specific information about the systems used in Australia:
http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/geodesy/datums/
· Land Information New Zealand has general information on datums and
projections, and specific information about the systems used in New Zealand:
http://www.linz.govt.nz/rcs/linz/pub/web/root/core/SurveySystem/GeodeticInfo/ge
odeticdatums/index.jsp
· www.maptools.com has tutorials about coordinate systems, latitude & longitude,
and information about the UTM map system (useful for GPS users):
www.maptools.com/tutorials.html
7.2.7
Which UTM Zone am I in?
Some map systems 254 are based on a projection called UTM (Universal Transverse
Mercator).
When you create a new map 108 and select a map system 118 which uses the UTM
projection, you will be asked to enter a UTM Zone and Hemisphere:
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In the UTM system, the earth is divided up into 60 zones, like segments in an orange,
numbered from 1 to 60. You need to tell FarmKeeper which segment your map is in,
so that FarmKeeper can convert between Northings/Eastings (projected coordinates)
and Latitude/Longitude (unprojected coordinates).
Use the following diagram to find your location, and read the UTM zone from the
bottom of the map. Then enter the UTM zone into Zone field on FarmKeeper's Map
System page: (image courtesy of Alan Morton, www.dmap.co.uk)
7.2.8
257
What is an 'External map file?'
An 'External map file' is FarmKeeper's term for a file on your computer which contains
map information - point, line, and/or area features.
'External' simply means that this information is not actually stored in your
FarmKeeper datafile. FarmKeeper reads the information on-the-fly from the file on
your computer.
'External map file' is actually an umbrella term for lots of different types of file that
FarmKeeper can read, such as:
· ArcView shape files (*.shp)
· Arcinfo Export Format (*.e00)
· MapInfo Interchange files (*.mif, *.mid)
· MapInfo Native Format (*.tab)
· Autocad files (*.dxf)
· Microstation Native Format (*.dgn)
· Geographic Markup Language (*.gml;*.xml)
· ... and many others. If you have an external file format not on this list, please
contact FarmKeeper support 260 for help.
There are a couple of things to be aware of when using external files:
1. The external file must be in the same map system 254 as the map they're added
to. FarmKeeper will not reproject the layer.
2. FarmKeeper does not allow objects on external layers to be edited or deleted.
7.2.9
How can I speed up loading and working with maps?
FarmKeeper is designed to allow you to load and work with maps as quickly as
possible.
However, if you're running FarmKeeper on an older PC, or using huge image files, it
may take a few seconds to load a map, and a few seconds more each time you zoom
or move around the map.
Here are some tips to help you speed things up:
1. Reduce the size of the aerial photo file.
FarmKeeper can work with very large, very detailed aerial photo files. A large aerial
photo file is the most likely culprit of slowness when loading a map. Roughly
speaking, a file bigger than about 20MB on a computer more than a year or two old
will start to slow things down.
If you have a large aerial photo file, use an image editor to either increase the
compression of the file (if it's a JPEG) or to change the dimensions of the image. For
example, you can use the Paint application in Windows to 'Stretch' an image to 50%
of its original width and height, which could reduce the size of the file to 25% of its
original size. Please make copies of both the photo and the world file with different
names before you change them!
NOTE: If your photo comes with a World-file and you make the image 50% of its original width
and 50% of its original height you will have to double the number of metres per pixel both in the
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X- and Y direction. You can edit the World-file with any text editor 'Wordpad' for example. If in
doubt, please contact support.
Of course, by reducing the size of the aerial photo file, you will lose some of the detail
of the image. But there's a way to get the best of both worlds: faster loading AND
best resolution.
The secret is to have two picture layers on the map:
· The first picture layer contains the less-detailed, smaller image. It will load quickly
(since it's a small file) and will look acceptable when the map is initially displayed
(i.e. zoomed out).
· The second picture layer contains the detailed aerial photo, but is configured to only
be visible when you zoom in to a certain zoom level. (see the
layer manager window 123 ). When you zoom in to that zoom level, FarmKeeper will
load the detailed aerial photo and superimpose it on top of the less-detailed picture
layer.
Using this method, you get a map which loads quickly and looks great when zoomed
out, and will only slow down once you zoom in far enough to need the really detailed
information. This also works very well for a large farm with smaller, more detailed
areas - such as a large Australian farm with a smaller irrigation block.
2. Limit the use of transparency.
Semi-transparent layers can make your map look fantastic - such as when paddocks
with ground surfaces are made semi-transparent over a detailed aerial photo. But the
transparency takes quite a lot of computing power, and will slow down loading and
moving around a map. You can turn transparency on or off for each layer through the
Layer Manager 123 window.
7.2.10 How can I 'de-clutter' my map?
FarmKeeper lets you store a lot of information on your map - the locations of fences,
drains, troughs, water pipes, tracks, and lots more. You may find that after you've
recorded all this valuable information, the map starts to look 'cluttered'. Never fear there's a simple solution!
First off, you can simply make unwanted layers invisible. Layers that are not required
for daily use (e.g. water pipes) can be made invisible through the
Layer Manager window 123 , and then simply made visible again when required (such
as when you have to fix a broken water pipe, and want to know where it is fed from).
More cunningly, you can also make a layer invisible when the map is zoomed out, but
become visible when you zoom in to a certain scale.
For example, if you have added gates to your map, you probably don't want to see
the location of each gate when looking at the entire map - but when you zoom in to
look at a particular group of paddocks, it would be useful to have the gates shown.
This is accomplished simply by typing the scale (at which you want to see that layer)
into the 'Only visible below [1:x] scale' box on the Layer Manager window 123 .
How do you know what scale to type in? That's simple too - just zoom 30 the map in
to about the scale where you want the layer to become visible, and look at the status
bar at the bottom of the Mapping window 121 . As a rough guide, when you zoom in so
259
that a 1Ha paddock roughly fills an average-sized computer screen, the scale is about
1:1000.
Note: there may still be times when you want to see all the information at once. A
good example is when you're printing a map (particularly a large one, to put on the
wall). You can tell FarmKeeper to temporarily ignore the 'Only visible below [1:x]
scale' settings by clicking on the "Ignore 'only visible below scale'" setting on the
7.3
FarmKeeper Mobile FAQs
7.3.1
When I try to use FarmKeeper Mobile, I get a message saying 'No Farms
Found'
This message appears when FarmKeeper Mobile program is installed onto your
handheld, but the program can not find any data to display.
The most likely cause is that you have only performed one HotSync operation, after
installing FarmKeeper on your desktop PC. The first HotSync operation installs the
FarmKeeper Mobile program onto your handheld, but you need to perform a second
HotSync operation to copy the data from your FarmKeeper datafile onto the handheld.
See 'Your First Hotsync 230 ' for more information.
If you have performed two HotSync operations, and you are still getting the 'No Farms
Found' message, try the following:
· Run FarmKeeper on your desktop PC, and ensure that there is at least one farm,
and one or more paddocks, in your datafile. (Click on 'Farms' and 'Paddocks' in the
explorer tree, and check that one or more records are shown in the right-hand side
of the main window 102 )
· Reinstall FarmKeeper Mobile 259 onto your handheld.
7.3.2
How can I reinstall FarmKeeper Mobile?
In some situations, it may be necessary to reinstall FarmKeeper Mobile onto your
handheld.
This could be because:
· You have a new handheld, and want to install FarmKeeper Mobile onto it
· You want to change the datafile which FarmKeeper Mobile is synchronised with
· You want to install a new, upgraded version of FarmKeeper Mobile on your handheld
This is a simple process:
1. Perform a HotSync operation with your handheld, to copy any Pending Items 248
from your handheld into the desktop FarmKeeper datafile.
(If you are unable to synchronise your handheld, the best solution is to write
down the details of each Pending Item, and enter them manually into FarmKeeper
later)
2. Ensure that your FarmKeeper desktop datafile is backed up. (e.g. by using the
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Datafile Backup Wizard 217 )
3. Delete FarmKeeper Mobile from your handheld.
· From the Launcher (main handheld window), click on the Menu button, and
then Delete.
· Select FarmKeeper from the list, and then click Delete.
· Click Yes to confirm, then Done to return to the Launcher.
4. On your desktop PC, run the Install Tool by clicking on Start -> Programs -> Palm
Desktop -> Install Tool.
· In the Install Tool, click Add, then choose FarmKeeper.prc from the list of files
and click Open
· Ensure that FarmKeeper.prc appears in the list of files in the Install Tool
window.
· Click Done to close the Install Tool.
· If you cannot find FarmKeeper.prc you will have to run the FarmKeeper
installation again and make sure FarmKeeper Mobile is ticked in the list of
applications to install.
5. Perform two HotSync operations, to install FarmKeeper Mobile (the first sync) and
your FarmKeeper data (the second sync). Refer to Your first HotSync 230 for details
of that process.
You should now have FarmKeeper Mobile, and your data, installed onto the handheld.
7.3.3
How can I create new farms / paddocks / fertilisers on FarmKeeper Mobile?
FarmKeeper Mobile does not support the addition or deletion of new farms, paddocks
or fertiliser products from your handheld.
You can add, delete or rename these items on FarmKeeper on your desktop PC. The
next time you perform a HotSync operation, the changes will appear in FarmKeeper
Mobile.
If you want to record an event or change which FarmKeeper Mobile doesn't support,
you can always use your handheld's To Do list to record the details. Then, when you
get back to your desktop computer, you can manually enter the event or change into
FarmKeeper on the desktop computer.
7.4
How do I get support with FarmKeeper?
We are very proud of our fast, friendly support - we recognise that however hard we
try to make FarmKeeper as easy-to-use as possible, you'll still have questions!
You have two options to contact us for support: email or phone.
By email
Send an email to [email protected]. Include as much information as you can
about the problem you're having, and we'll investigate and reply as quickly as
possible (we aim to reply to all support emails within 24 hours). It's a good idea to
also include a contact phone number in your email, in case we need to talk you
through a resolution.
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Emails are best when:
· you don't need an urgent reply
· you need to send us information like a bugreport, or copy of your FarmKeeper
datafile
By phone
Call us from New Zealand on 0800 505 061 or from Australia on 1800 202 171. Our
office in Hamilton, New Zealand is generally staffed during office hours. If any of
those numbers don't work (because you're looking at an out-of-date manual!), visit
our website www.farmkeeper.com to find current phone numbers.
Phone is best when:
· you need an urgent reply
· it's a quick question which will save you lots of time.
Priorities
We generally prioritise support requests as follows:
1. Registered users with a current support & maintenance contract (including those
in their initial free support & maintenance period).
2. Potential users who are evaluating FarmKeeper
3. Registered users without a support & maintenance contract - we may ask you to
renew your support & maintenance contract before providing support.
7.5
How accurate is a FarmKeeper map?
The accuracy of a FarmKeeper map depends on how you create the map.
· If you start with GPS data, then the map will only be as accurate as the GPS. If you
use a normal consumer-level GPS, then the accuracy could be anywhere from +/- 4
metres, to +/- 12 metres or more, depending on the conditions when you used the
GPS
· If you start with an aerial photo, then the map will only be as accurate as the aerial
photo - which may be more or less accurate than a consumer-level GPS depending
on the quality of the aerial photo
· Either way, the precision with which you draw in the fencelines (to create paddocks)
also affects the accuracy of the resulting map.
7.6
Can I install FarmKeeper on other computers?
From version 1.2.3 (release Feb 05), each purchase of FarmKeeper includes a license
to install FarmKeeper on 2 computers. So you can install one on your laptop, and one
on your desktop; or one on your computer, and one on your manager's /
sharemilker's / worker's / boss's computer.
Installing FarmKeeper on more than one computer is a great idea where other people
have an interest in the day-to-day running of the farm. You can easily email your
datafile to other FarmKeeper users so they can refer to an up-to-date copy of the
maps and records.
262
FarmKeeper Manual
Don't forget that you can also use FarmKeeper's inbuilt fax and email tools to send
information (like maps and reports) to other non-FarmKeeper users.
7.7
How does the Support and Upgrade Subscription work?
When you first purchase FarmKeeper, the purchase price includes a specified period of
support and upgrades. This means you can email us with any start-up or on-going
questions, and we'll aim to reply within 24 hours. Also, any new versions of
FarmKeeper which are released within that period will be sent to you, free of charge.
After the that period, there is a yearly charge for this service.
NOTE: Of course, you can keep using FarmKeeper without subscribing to the Support
and Upgrade service. But we recommend the service as a cost-effective and hasslefree way of getting great support, and keeping up-to-date with the latest new
FarmKeeper features.
7.8
Faxing / the GPS interface / CD burning / printing doesn't work.
FarmKeeper has been tested and proven to work on a number of different computers,
with different versions of Windows™ and various hardware configurations.
However, due to the vast number of computers, devices and software versions
available, it is physically impossible to test every combination.
If you have a problem with any feature of FarmKeeper, please send us as much
information as you can about the problem, and we will work with you to resolve it.
Part VIII
Glossary
264
8
FarmKeeper Manual
Glossary
GIS - Geographic Information System - a system for creating and managing spatial
data and associated attributes.
Raster file - a file format where an image is represented as a rectangular grid. Each
element or cell in the grid is called a Pixel (short for Picture Element). A raster file
stores a number representing a colour for each pixel. Aerial and satellite photographs
are usually Raster files. See also: Vector file 264 .
Vector file - a file format which stores the coordinates and properties of shapes. In a
vector file, a line is represented as a series of interconnected points. GIS 264 systems
usually store drawings in Vector format, so that you can analyse and store properties
of the objects being drawn. See also: Raster file 264 .
Part IX
Appendices
266
FarmKeeper Manual
9
Appendices
9.1
Appendix 1: Print templates
Template files are used by FarmKeeper to control the layout of a printed map. You
can select a template to print with from the Template page 140 of the Page Setup
window.
NOTE: The information in this topic is fairly complex. You don't need to understand
this topic to use print templates. This information is for users who want to create their
own templates, to have precise control over how a map printout looks.
Templates are stored in special files with a .tpl extension which are installed when
you install FarmKeeper.
FarmKeeper looks for these template files in the program directory where FarmKeeper
is installed (usually C:\Program Files\FarmKeeper), and also in the same directory as
your datafile (usually <My Documents>\FarmKeeper).
You can create your own template file if you want your printed map to have a
different layout to the pre-defined layouts.
Simply copy one of the existing template files, and edit the new file with a text editor.
The template file is simply a text file with a .tpl extension. The format of the template
file is specified below.
1. The first line of the template file must be:
[PrintTemplate]
2. Each subsequent line defines one object to be included in the template, and must
be similar to one of the following lines.
GRAPHICn=left,top,right,bottom,path
TEXTn=left,top,right,bottom,justify,color,fontname,fontsize,fontstyle,charset,va
lue
BOXn=left,top,right,bottom,path
FRAMEn=left,top,right,bottom,color,width
MAP1=left,top,right,bottom
LEGEND1=left,top,right,bottom
SCALE1=left,top,right,bottom
NORTHPOINTER1=left,top,right,bottom
Comment lines may be included by starting the line with a semicolon (";")
3. The italics in the items above indicate the option which you can change. Possible
values for each option are listed below.
left: position of the left hand edge of the specified item
top: position of the topmost edge of the specified item
right: position of the right hand edge of the specified item
bottom: position of the bottom edge of the specified item
Appendices
267
width: width of the specified item
Note that these first five items (left, top, right, bottom, width) can be expressed
in different units by including a suffix after the number: twips (default, i.e. no
suffix), pixels ("px" suffix), centimeters ("cm" suffix), millimeters ("mm" suffix),
point ("pt" suffix) and inches ("in" suffix). For example, specifying "5.00cm"
(without the quotes) in place of left means to position that item 5.00cm in from
the left of the page.
Note also that you can add a "*" (asterisk) prefix to the left, top, right or bottom
measurement, to make that measurement relative to the printer margin. For
example*, specifying "*5.00cm" (without the quotes) in place of right means to
position that item 5.00cm in from the right hand edge of the page.
path: path to the graphic file; relative to template file location
color: color of the item; can be:
· integer value (BGR), or
· red:green:blue (eg. 213:24:58), or
· AQUA, GRAY, NAVY, SILVER, BLACK, GREEN, OLIVE, TEAL, BLUE, LIME, PURPLE,
WHITE, FUCHSIA, MAROON, RED, YELLOW
justify: text justification; LEFTJUSTIFY, CENTER, RIGHTJUSTIFY
fontname: font name; if empty then Arial will be used
fontsize: size of the font in points
fontstyle: font style. Can be: val1:val2:...:valN (eg. BOLD:ITALIC) from set of
NORMAL, BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINE, STRIKEOUT
fontcharset: font character set, from the following list:ANSI,0, DEFAULT,1, SYMBOL,2,
MAC,77, SHIFTJIS,128, HANGEUL,129, JOHAB,130, GB2312,134,
CHINESEBIG5,136, GREEK,161, TURKISH,162, VIETNAMESE,163, HEBREW,177,
ARABIC,178, BALTIC,186, RUSSIAN,204, THAI,222, EASTEUROPE,238, OEM,255
text: text to be displayed. Can be overridden by the user on the
Templates 140 tabpage. Can include any of the following fields, which will be
replaced actual values when map is printed:%MAP_NAME%,
%CURRENT_DATE_SHORT%, %CURRENT_DATE_LONG%,
%CURRENT_TIME_SHORT%, %CURRENT_TIME_LONG%, %MAP_WIDTH_MM%,
%MAP_WIDTH_CM%, %MAP_WIDTH_IN%, %MAP_WIDTH_PT%,
%MAP_HEIGHT_MM%, %MAP_HEIGHT_CM%, %MAP_HEIGHT_IN%,
%MAP_HEIGHT_PT%, %PROJECTION_CODE%, %PROJECTION_NAME%,
%DATUM_CODE%, %DATUM_NAME%, %UTM_ZONE%, %UTM_HEMISPHERE%,
%COORD_SYSTEM_SHORT%, %COORD_SYSTEM_SINGLE_LINE%,
%COORD_SYSTEM_MULTI_LINE%, %DATAFILE_DIR%, %DATAFILE_NAME%,
%DATAFILE_FULLNAME%, %TEMPLATE_FILE_NAME%,
%TEMPLATE_FILE_FULL_NAME%, %SCALE_TEXT%, %COMPUTER_NAME%,
%USER_NAME%
A full example template file is included below:
[PrintTemplate]
; Page border
BOX1=
*0.01cm, *0.01cm, *-0.01cm, -0.50cm, white
FRAME1= *0.01cm, *0.01cm, *-0.01cm, -0.50cm, BLACK, 0.01cm
; Title at top right
268
FarmKeeper Manual
TEXT1= *-6.00cm, *0.50cm, *-0.50cm,
*1.30cm,CENTER,BLACK,,18,,DEFAULT,%MAP_NAME%
; Legend at right (with background box)
BOX2=
*-6.00cm, *1.50cm, *-0.20cm, *-8.50cm,white
FRAME2= *-6.00cm, *1.50cm, *-0.20cm, *-8.50cm,BLACK, 0.01cm
TEXT2= *-5.90cm, *1.51cm, *-0.20cm,
*2.50cm,LEFTJUSTIFY,BLACK,,16,,DEFAULT,Legend
LEGEND1= *-5.90cm, *2.51cm, *-0.20cm, *-8.50cm
; Map, with frame
BOX3=
*0.20cm, *0.20cm, *-6.20cm, *-0.70cm,white
FRAME3= *0.20cm, *0.20cm, *-6.20cm, *-0.70cm,BLACK, 0.01cm
MAP1=
*0.21cm, *0.21cm, *-6.21cm, *-0.71cm
; Scale at right middle
Scale1= *-6.00cm, *-8.00cm, *-0.01cm, *-7.00cm
Text3 = *-6.00cm, *-7.00cm, *-0.01cm, *6.50cm,CENTER,BLACK,,10,,DEFAULT,%SCALE_TEXT% (map
%MAP_WIDTH_MM%x%MAP_HEIGHT_MM%mm)
; North pointer
NORTHPOINTER1= *-5.90cm, *-10.00cm, *-3.90cm, *-8.00cm
; Map system details
Text4 = *-6.00cm, *-5.50cm, *-0.01cm, *-4.50cm,CENTER,BLACK,,10,,DEFAULT,Map
Projection: %COORD_SYSTEM_SHORT%
datum: %DATUM_NAME%
; Date map produced
Text6 = *-6.00cm, *-3.50cm, *-0.01cm, *-3.00cm,CENTER,BLACK,,10,,DEFAULT,Date
map produced: %CURRENT_DATE_SHORT%
produced by: %USER_NAME%
; Place graphic at bottom right
GRAPHIC1 = *-6.00cm, *-2.50cm, *-0.01cm, *-0.51cm, "farmkeeper_map_logo.jpg"
Index
using buffers to create watering circles
Index
Bug report window 216
Bulk data entry - Pasture Cover
-C-
-AAccuracy 261
Acres 196
setting area unit
Calendar module 10, 105
Cancel and Done buttons 100
clutter 258
reducing clutter on a map 258
196
Adding fences to a map 32
Adding records 101
Aerial photo 253
format 253
obtaining 252
sample 253
size and performance 253
worldfile 253
Animal Class Editor window 212
Animal Health Product Editor window
Animal Mob activities 186
selecting multiple mobs 186
Common window parts 100
done and cancel buttons 100
save button 100
undo button 101
Compacting a datafile 97
Creating a new datafile 96
Creating a new map 30, 108
-D213
Animal Mob selector window 186
Animal Species Editor window 212
Animals 62
about animal records 62
creating records 62
deactivating 64
deleting 64
empty mob 64
moving 63, 187
splitting mobs 187
Animals in Paddock window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
242
Area 196
setting area unit 196
measuring on a map 44
As-at date 23
Attributes tab 181
Properties window
181
-BBackup 217
Datafile Backup Wizard
Buffer 52
creating
200
52
217
Datafile 224
Autobackup options 196
Autocompact options 196
backing up 217
compacting a datafile 97
creating a new datafile 96
emailing a datafile 98
General concepts 22
Open Datafile Window 224
opening a different datafile 97
size and the Undo log 23
Diary Report 179
Distances 44
measuring on a map
setting distance unit
DM 184
see Pasture Cover
44
196
184
Done and Cancel buttons 100
Drawing 42
adding a new layer 42
creating new features 41
drawing tools 32
fences 32
moving entire map layers 57
moving features 43
other features 39
Picture Editor window 215
269
53
270
FarmKeeper Manual
what is FarmKeeper Mobile? 227
your first hotsync 230
animals in paddock window 242
finish move window 243
grazing wizard 239
history details window 239
move mob window 240
paddock details window 237
paddock history window 238
paddock list window 235
pending details window 248
record fert application window 245
record paddock activity window 247
record pasture cover window 244
Drawing 42
symbols 39
Dry Matter 184
see Pasture Cover
184
-EEditable indicator 123
Editing records 101
Electronic plate meter
Ellipsis button 41
Emailing 61
a map 61
a report 68
emailing a datafile
reports 162
Errors 216
Bug report window
123
202
Faxing 60
a map 60
a report 68
configuring fax modem
reports 162
98
216
Events 38
recording paddock events
Feed Budget window 153
Feed Category Editor window 210
Feed Wedge Report 165
Fence 28
Fenced area 28
linking to a paddock 36
specifying a ground surface for 34
38
Explorer tree 102
main window 102
Explorer view 102
main window 102
Export GIS file wizard
External files 142
exporting 142
importing 141
142
External map file 257
creating new map from external map files
Eye symbol 123
116
Fertilise Paddock event window 184
Fertiliser 208
adding your product mix 208
Checking paddock history 181
Recording fertiliser applications 184
Fertiliser Product Editor window 208
Fertiliser Summary Report 173
Finish Move window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
First window (FarmKeeper Mobile) 233
Frequently Asked Questions 251
123
-FFAQ 251
FarmKeeper Mobile 227
creating new farms ,paddocks etc
Farms and Pending button 233
first window 233
getting started 228
installing 13
limiting records 196
No Farms Found message 259
reinstalling 259
selecting paddocks 235
196
243
-G260
Georeferencing a map
GIS files 142
exporting 142
importing 141
47
Google Earth(tm) 117
creating new map from an image from Google
Earth 117
Index
GPS 108
creating map from GPS track 108
Using a GPS to map a farm 251
Graphs 161
report windows
-MMain window 105
calendar module 105
maps 104
overview 102
reports module 107
161
Grazing Wizard (FarmKeeper Mobile)
Ground surface 34
specifying for a fenced area 34
Ground Surface Editor window
Guides 30
step-by-step 30
239
Manual 9
Using 9
209
manual plate meter 204
Map Properties window 10, 132
Map Summary Report 175
Map system 254
for new map 118
-HHectares 196
setting area unit
196
History Details window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
History tab 181
Properties window 181
HotSync 230
How do I 252
obtain an aerial photo 252
start FarmKeeper? 251
use a GPS to map my farm 251
-IImport GIS file wizard 141
Installing 261
on multiple computers 261
Introducing FarmKeeper
7
-LLast Grazed Report
Layer 42
adding new layer
164
42
Layer Attributes Report 178
Layer Intersection Report 176
Layer Manager window 123
Layers 26
editable 123
managing 123
visible 123
Left mouse button 25
Linking 36
fenced area to paddock
239
Mapping 32
adding fences 32
adding other features 39
concepts 26
creating a buffer 52
creating a new map 30
creating a new map. 108
creating watering circles 53
emailing a map 61
faxing a map 60
Georeferencing a map 47
getting around 30
layer attributes report 178
layer intersection report 176
layers 26
linking fenced areas to paddocks 36
managing layers 123
map summary report 175
measuring distances and areas 44
moving animals 63, 187
multiple-selection 49
New Map Wizard 108
printing a map 59
scaling a map 46
specifying a ground surface 34
the mapping window 121
zooming 30
for existing map 132
Modem 196
configuring fax modem
Modules 102
main window
36
102
196
271
272
FarmKeeper Manual
Mouse buttons 25
left and right 25
PDF 136
creating a PDF file of a map
Move Mob window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
Moving 57
entire map layers 57
features on a map 43
Moving animals
240
63, 187
123
Pending Details window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
Photographs 57
adding to a map 57
248
Picture Editor window 215
Point features 57
adding photographs 57
-NNaming your farm 110
New map 30
Point photographs 57
Printing a map 59, 136
Problems 262
-Q-
-OOff-site backup 220
On-site backup 221
Opening a different datafile
Options window 10, 196
Pen symbol 123
136
Questions 251
frequently asked questions
97
-PPaddock 28
linking to a fenced area 36
editing list of activities 214
Paddock Activity Editor window 214
Paddock Activity event window 185
Paddock Details window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
Paddock events 38
recording 38
selecting multiple paddocks 183
251
-RRecord Fert Application window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
245
Record Paddock Activity window (FarmKeeper
Mobile) 247
Record Pasture Cover window (FarmKeeper Mobile)
244
Records 101
adding 101
creating animal records 62
237
editing 101
General Concepts 24
removing 101
Removing records 101
Paddock Grazing Performance Report 171
Report windows 161
Paddock History window (FarmKeeper Mobile) 238
common features 162
Paddock List window (FarmKeeper Mobile) 235
Reports 179
Paddock selector window 183
diary report 179
Pasture cover 181
emailing a report 68
Checking paddock history 181
faxing a report 68
Recording many pasture covers 200
feed wedge report 165
Recording pasture cover 184
fertiliser summary report 173
last grazed report 164
Pasture Cover Event window 184
layer attributes report 178
Pasture Cover History Summary Report 169
layer intersection report 176
Pasture Growth Rate History Report 167
map summary report 175
Pasture Growth Rate Report 166, 167
module 107
paddock grazing performance report
171
Index
Reports 179
pasture cover history summary report 169
pasture growth rate history report 167
pasture growth rate report 166
running a report 67
Reports module 107
Right mouse button 25
Rotating a map 132
Running a report 67
Undo button 101
Units 196
Upgrades and support 262
Using this manual 9
UTM 255
UTM Zone ,Zone 255
-VVisible indicator 123
-SSave 22
general concepts
Watering circles
creating 53
49
Why use FarmKeeper 8
Window reference 100, 232
Wizard 217
Datafile Backup Wizard 217
New Map Wizard 108
Special Time Editor window 210
Speed 257
how to speed up a map 257
Worldfile
260
262
-TTrackpoints 133
downloading from GPS onto existing map 133
downloading from GPS onto new map 115
uploading to GPS 135
Tracks 133
-U-
252, 254
-Z-
Starting FarmKeeper 251
Support 260
getting support with FarmKeeper
Undo 22
datafile size and the undo log
53
Waypoints 133
Shapefiles 142
exporting 142
importing 141
Support and upgrade subscription
123
-W-
22
Save button 100
Scaling a map 46
Scrolling 30
Selecting multiple map features
Setup wizard 13
following 13
starting 12
273
23
zoom 258
Zooming 30

FarmKeeper Manual

Transcription

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