fieldmargin’s Livestock management tools allow you to keep track of the number of animals and their location on your farm. Herd (animal group or mob) locations appear on the map as colour-coded markers so you can easily see which fields are being grazed.
As you move herds around your farm you will build up their history. This means you can look at a herd and see how long it has been grazing in its current field and which fields it was in previously. You can also look at your field history to see when a field was last grazed and how long it has had to rest.
You can also attach notes and tasks to your herds. These will become part of your herd history. This way you can keep track of what treatments you have administered or issues within the herds. You can find instructions for doing this here.
You can set up 1 animal herd on the Free plan and 2 on the Essentials plan. Upgrade to Plus or Pro for unlimited herds. You can learn more about plans and pricing here.
Viewing livestock
iOS and Android
You can access the livestock section by tapping the hamburger menu in the top left of the screen and then tapping on livestock. This will show you all of the livestock herds that you have on your farm organised by animal type.
You can quickly see the name of the herd, how many animals are in it, where it is at the moment and when it was last moved. Tapping the herd row will take you to see more information about it and tapping ‘Move’ will allow you to change its location
Herds that are in a field will also appear on the map with a marker showing the herd colour and animal type.
Web
On web this is very similar but the livestock list is accessed using one of tabs down the left of the screen.
Creating a herd
Livestock is organised in herds, these are groups of animals (i.e. mobs) that are being moved together. Each herd has an animal type and colour which is used to represent it on the map, a name which you can use to add specifics about the animals in the group like age, gender or breed, and the number of animals.
iOS and Android
Go to the livestock list and tap ‘+ Add livestock’ at the top of the screen.
Select a livestock type by tapping one of the animal icons
Select a colour by tapping on the square (this is to help differentiate herds of the same animal type on the map)
Name your herd, this is pre-filled with the livestock type but can be changed to anything you want. For example, Ewes, Steers, Heifers, Friesian cows etc
Set the number of animals in the group
Tap ‘Save’
Web
Go to the livestock list and click ‘+ Add Herd’ at the top of the livestock list
Select a livestock type by clicking one of the animal icons
Select a colour by clicking on the square (this is to help differentiate herds of the same animal type on the map)
Name your herd, this is pre-filled with the livestock type but can be changed to anything you want. For example, Ewes, Steers, Heifers, Friesian cows etc
Set the number of animals in the group
Click ‘Create’
Moving a herd
You set the location of your herd with ‘herd moves’. This records what field they are in and when they were moved there. This will be used to build up your herd and grazing history.
iOS and Android
Go to the livestock list and tap the ‘Move’ button next to the herd you want to move. You can also do this by opening the herd by tapping its symbol on the map or selecting from the livestock list.
Select the field you are putting the animals in by tapping it on the map, it will then show in the ‘New Location’ section
Set the move date, this defaults to the current date but you can change it by tapping on the date
Tap ‘Move’ to save
Web
Go to the livestock list and clicking the ‘Move’ button next to the herd you want to move. You can also do this by opening the herd by clicking on its symbol on the map or selecting from the livestock list.
Select the field you are putting the animals in by clicking on it on the map, it will then show in the ‘New Location’ section
Set the move date, this defaults to the current date but you can change it by clicking on the date or time
Tap ‘Move’ to save
Editing a herd
iOS and Android
Open the herd you want to edit from the livestock list
Tap the 3 dots in the top right corner
Select 'Edit'
You can change the type, colour, name and number of animals
Web
Open the herd you want to edit from the livestock list
You can change the type, colour, name and number of animals
Click ‘Save’ to confirm
Herd history
Your herd history shows you where a herd has been over time. It shows when the herd was moved into a field and when they were removed to go somewhere else. On the removed date it will show how many days the animals had been grazing in that field.
iOS and Android
Select the herd you are interested in from the livestock list or its icon on the map
On the herd view screen switch to the history tab
You will see a history of where the herd has grazed
Web
Select the herd you are interested in from the livestock list or its icon on the map
You will see a history of where the herd has grazed below it’s current location
Managing grazing with field history and rest days
You can see if a field has livestock in it at the moment by selecting it from the map, if the field is empty it will show you how many 'rest days' (days since it was last grazed) it has had.
You can also see your herd moves as part of your field history to help you understand pasture productivity and grazing availability.
iOS and Android
Select the field you are interested in by tapping it on the map or field list and make sure you are on the history tab.
This shows you the dates that herds were moved in and out of the field, the length of time they grazed alongside other field work or notes as well as the rest days in between grazing periods.
Web only
Select the field you are interested in by clicking it on the map or field list and make sure you are on the history tab.
This shows you the dates that herds were moved in and out of the field, the length of time they grazed alongside other field work or notes as well as the rest days in between grazing periods.
Notes
You can add more than one herd to a field at the same time but only one icon will show on the map view. You can check which herds are on these fields in field view.
You can set up 1 animal herd on the free and essentials plan. Upgrade to Plus or Pro for unlimited herds. You can learn more about plans and pricing here.