Trac^© FAQ’s #8

How should farm and crop information be set up on the FarmData worksheet?

On the FarmData worksheet, each column (Farms, Orchards or Vineyards, Blocks & Acres, Varieties, and Sprayers) is for you to enter a list of the names or codes for each that you have and use on your farm business. These lists then become drop-down lists on the SprayData, FertData, and BloomHarvestData worksheets to make data entry easier and more consistent. For the list of Block names or codes, the size of the block must be entered next to the block name. Use abbreviated names or codes if necessary. Put unique identifying characters at the front of the name when names are similar. For example, if several blocks contain Concord grapes, they might be designated as “B-l Concord” and “B-2 Concord”, etc.

Also consider how your sprays are applied. Are all the Concord grape blocks sprayed on a single day or does it take longer? Are only the Ginger Gold apples sprayed for fire blight? In each of the lists (Farms, Orchards or Vineyards, Blocks, or Varieties) you may want to have the word “All” to easily indicate that all Farms, all Orchards or Vineyards, all Blocks, or all Varieties were treated on the same date and time.

Also consider how your harvest operation proceeds. Will it be useful to have split-block designations so the drop-down lists in the BloomHarvestData worksheet improve your record keeping?

If you have a small farm business, simply leave columns blank on the FarmData worksheet that are not applicable to your business structure. If you have a large business with multiple farms, orchards or vineyards, it may be desirable to set up and save separate files for each of your farms since there are only 1000 rows available to enter spray data. While it is not necessary to fill in every column on the FarmData worksheet, it is recommended even if it is only one name. These drop-down lists are very useful because they streamline data entry, insure consistent use of names in your records, reduce typographical errors, and enhance accurate sorting and filtering of your spray records.