How to record actual and planned births and deaths

Learn how to record non-financial livestock events such as births, deaths, and missing livestock in Farm Focus. Follow these steps to accurately capture livestock changes for better management and reporting.

Why record non-financial livestock events?

Recording non-financial livestock events helps you track changes in your livestock numbers, ensuring your records are accurate and up-to-date. This is essential for managing stock levels and reporting livestock movements.

Benefits

• Maintain accurate livestock records.

• Keep track of livestock movements and changes.

• Ensure accurate reporting and reconciliation.

Recording actual births and deaths

There are two ways to record non-financial livestock events in Farm Focus:

1. In the Actuals screen
2.  In the Working Plan - Livestock tab

In the Actuals screen

To record non-financial livestock events in the Actuals screen:

1. Go to Actuals > Needs Action.

2. Click on the Add births, deaths etc icon.

OR

1. Go to Actuals > Stock Activity.

2. Click on the Add births, deaths etc icon.

For each event, record the following:

• Event date: The date the event occurred.

• Event type: Birth, death, killed, missing, found, transfer, or grazing.

• Stock class (code): The class of livestock involved.

• Quantity: Number of livestock affected.

• Description and note: Optional details.

• Supporting material: Attach any relevant documents (e.g., weight dockets).

When recording a birth event, an extra field called Parent Code will appear. Use this to allocate the event to a breeding stock class (e.g., MA ewes, 2th ewes, ewe hoggets). This helps calculate breeding percentages:

• Mixed Age (MA) Ewes and 2th Ewes contribute to the primary breeding percentage.

• Hoggets contribute to the secondary breeding percentage.

Click Save to complete the entry.

TIP: Record birth events before any other events for the same stock class. For example, if 1,000 lambs are born and 500 are sold, enter the birth event first. This keeps your Livestock Reconciliation accurate and tidy.

Once saved, the event will be listed in the Stock Activity tab under Actuals alongside other livestock transactions.

In the Working Plan - Livestock tab

To record non-financial livestock events (eg. births, deaths etc) in the Working Plan:

1. Click into the greyed-out Actuals area in the Livestock tab of your Working Plan.

2. Drop down the Stock class category and click the relevant cell.

3. Click +Add, then enter the event details as you would in the Actuals screen.

Recording planned births and deaths

During the planning process, you can also record planned births and deaths in the Working Plan - Livestock tab.

1. Click into the whited-out Plan area in the Livestock tab.

2. Drop down the Stock class category and click the relevant cell.

3. Click +Add to enter the livestock event details.

Alternatively:

1. Click View > +Added Planned Item and enter the event details as you would for actual events.

TIP: You cannot enter births and deaths in the Working Plan Cashflow tab as they are non-financial events.

Deleting births and deaths

1. Click into the Livestock tab of your Working Plan.

2. Drop down the Stock class category and click the relevant cell.

3. Click View, then go to the 3 vertical dots and select Delete 

OR delete in your Actuals >Stock Activity page.