C21 Herd Management

DairyPlan C21 5.2 Introduction Manual

4448-3419-009
Edition May 2009

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Page Topic
No.

4. Cow Entry
5. Culling Cows
7. Responder Number Entry
8. Group Numbering
10. Service Sire Details
11. Feed Amount Entry
12. Calving Entry
14. Service Entry
15. Dry-Off Entry
16. Milk Withdrawal
17. Reproduction Overview
18. ResCounter II
20. Status Code Overview
21. Cow Selection (Automated Gates only)
22. DPSingle
23. Reports
26. Milk Meter Performance Analysis
27. Re-Start Feeding
28. Data Backup
29. Software Security

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Cow Entry
This is where you enter your cows onto DairyPlan when you first start This is also where you
enter newly purchased animals in future . Alternatively if you use NMR you can get use a
DataStream disk to enter all the animal information automatically

3
4
Enter the animals line number
(freeze brand no.) For Metatron 12
systems the maximum number of
digits you can enter is 4. Enter as
much of the basic details such as
lactation no., calving dates as you
can. The Responder Number is for
Parlour Auto Identification systems
only. When you have finished
entering details press OK. You can
then enter the next cows details

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Culling Animals
There are two main options when Culling an animal in DairyPlan. You can completely remove
an animal so that there is no record left or you can Cull an animal but still keep her record for
future use i.e. in future you can look at the Dam’s records
Note : DairyPlan has a limit as to how many cows it can store .The standard is 500 cows.
When you Cull an animal but Save her records this Cull animal still counts as one animal. If in
future you find the number of animals in DairyPlan is approaching the Herd limit then you can
either Delete these Cull animals completely or you can purchase a DairyPlan Module to take
you up to the next Herd size . The Herd Size options are 500,1000,3000

Choose
1
an option

2 3

Enter the Left Herd Date - if you have

DPCert then enter 0 for a Sold animal
& 2 for a Dead animal (in DPCert you
can then enter extra details as to why
the animal was culled) . Otherwise
make up your own reasons e.g. 3 for
Mastitis ,4 for Bad feet etc.

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Culling Animals

Enter cow numbers to Cull.

6 Tip: If you wish to select a number of
animals in one step (assuming they
are culled on the same date & for the
same reason) then type the number of
the cow followed by a space and then
the next cow number e.g. 8 12 23

Now press this box to Cull 7

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Entering Responder
numbers
This section if for installations using Automatic Cow Identification whether it’s for Parlour ID,
Out of Parlour Feeders or Auto Selection Systems.

Enter the Responder number

of this cow in the box . For new
systems enter the last 8 digits
of the responder

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Changing Group numbers

If you group your cows in different buildings/lots you may want to keep a record in DairyPlan.
Alternatively if you intend using the Automatic Feed to Yield program then even though the
cows may be in one physical group , on the computer you may group them according to for
example stage of lactation, milk yield etc. for feeding purposes

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Changing Group numbers

Enter the group number here. You

5 can enter any group number from 1 to
99. After pressing the Enter key you
can then enter the group number for
the next cow

To return to the Main Menu press the

M button (6) & select DPMenue (7)

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Entering Sires
Enter the details of the Sires you currently use for breeding. If you wish to extra information
such as straws in stock then select option 5 shown below

2 3

6
5

Enter straws in stock & their location

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Entering Feed
Amounts
Enter here the feed amounts you wish each cow to receive per day whether this amount is to
be fed in Parlour or in the Out of Parlour Feed Stations

1
2

Enter the 24hour feed . If this is for In Parlour

Feeding then the feed amount will be divided by the
number of times you milk per day .

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Entering Calving
Details

1
2

3 Enter the 4
cow no. then
press the
RETURN key
on your
keyboard

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Entering Calving
Details

Enter Calving date &

other details if you
wish. In the comment
section you can for
example enter
whether it was an
assisted calving

6 In the case of twins

toggle between them
using these buttons

Enter the number of heifer/bull calves

followed by their registration no.

Tick the box if the calf is to be kept on the

farm as part of milk herd replacement stock .
Also give the calf a number, one that isn’t
currently used by any milking cows. The
number of the heifer can be altered when she
enters the Milk herd

Press OK to complete

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Entering Service
Details

3 Enter the cow no. 4

then press the
RETURN key on
your keyboard

5.Enter Service Date

6. Press “Sires” box to

get a list of Sires that
you are currently using

7. Press “OK Save” to

complete

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Entering Drying-Off Details

3 Enter the cow no. 4

then press the
RETURN key on
your keyboard

5.Enter Dry-Off Date

6. Any comment such

as drug used (DPCert
users enter in DPCert
instead

7. Press “OK Save” to

complete

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Milk Withdrawal

•Enter Isolation Code 1

Time of day withdrawal to Finish

Date withdrawal to Finish

Time of day withdrawal to START

Date withdrawal to START

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Reproduction Overview
The Reproduction Overview is an electronic version of the Calendar board . It shows at a
glance the reproduction situation in the herd

Tips:
ResCounter Tips:
1. The no. of dots in each
box is the no. of times this 1. Fast flashing Yellow box
animal has been Served indicates a full activity
2. Move mouse onto cow alarm in the animal’s
number to get extra details expected heat cycle
3. Double click on an animal 2. Slow flashing Yellow box
to bring up the next logical indicates a full activity
DPVet event entry box alarm
4. A yellow message beneath 3. Slow flashing white box
means that not all the cows indicates a “suspicious”
in this herd could be fitted activity reading
onto this screen

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ResCounter II
Cows with High Activity can be checked by either viewing a Report List or by viewing a
Graph

Report Viewing: You can use either a Report showing cows active in the last 12 or 24
hours. The example below shows a Report List with cows active in the last 24 hours

Optional 12 Hour
Activity List
1

•The number of pluses indicates the level of activity.

•The more readings shown the longer the period of
high activity

Days since last but one high activity

Days since last high activity

Cows with high activity in last 24 hours

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ResCounter II
Cows with High Activity can alternatively be checked by viewing a Graph

Press these buttons to view

next or previous cow with
High Activity

Days from
today

1. This cow shows a recent High Activity Time of peak activity can
2. Previous activity approximately 21 be checked to determine
days and 42 days helps confirm that optimum insemination time
the cow is in HEAT

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Status Code Overview

Each animal is assigned a status code indicating its stage of lactation.The status codes also
form the basis for many analyses in DairyPlan.The status of the cow determines whether it is
being fed, milked or checked for being in heat.

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Cow Selection
(Automatic selection gates only)
If you have an Automatic Selection system then you can enter the date that you wish to select
a cow . For example if you have a vet visit in 10 days time you can program Dairyplan to select
any cows on that particular day. Off course you can also select an animal during milking using
the Metatron terminal . See Metatron Parlour Information sheet for details . The example
shown shows only a limited part of the Selection system possibilities. Please contact your
Dealer/technician for further information

1
2

4 3

Enter the Selection date

here . As in all Dairyplan
programs if you enter for
example +7 then it will
add 7 days onto today’s
date

Ensure that a Y for yes is

entered here for each
animal to be selected

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DPSingle
DPSingle allows you to view information of individual animals in more detail e.g. Lactation
records ,Vet history, Lactation Graphs etc.

Enter animal no.

and press OK
1

Lactation records,Milk Veterinary

Measurements,Ancestry etc history

Lactation Graphs
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DairyPlan Reports
DairyPlan has a large number of reports to choose from . Below are some of the most useful
as far as Herd Management is concerned. All reports can be changed to suit an individual
farms requirements or new reports created

This is the Milk Production

report. It is in cow number
order

Tip: If you double click on a

cow number DPSingle will
appear for that animal

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DairyPlan Reports

This report shows cows

that are down in Milk or that
have high Conductivity

The + sign show she has increased milk yield or

conductivity & - sign the opposite. The more + or
– signs the more significant the alarm .The report
shows the last 3 milkings for each alarm animal
so that you can see the trend

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DairyPlan Reports

1
2

This is the ‘Cows Due to

Calve’ report. It is in order
of Due date.

This is the ‘Dry Cow List’. It

is in order of Due date.

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Milk Meter Performance

Analysis
This report enables you to check the performance of each milk meter & also cross check milk
meter milk totals with Bulk Tank milk collection amounts. Note: Divide the Milk Meter Total(kg)
by 1.03 to compare with Milk Collection Tanker which is measured in Litres

No. of milkings at
each milk meter

Auto ID percentage
success

Total milk through

each milk meter. If
one meter is
consistently showing
more or less milk it
may indicate a fault
with that meter

This part of the report

shows the Total Milk
produced for each of the
last 8 milkings as well as
the number of cows milked

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Re-Start Feeding
If for any reason you find that the In Parlour Feeding does not operate or the feed that you
have entered today hasn’t yet taken effect try the following steps

Double click on the

DPProcess icon
1

Select the 5
CLOSE button

4
Restarting the Feed
system only takes a
few seconds after
which this screen
disappears

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Data Back-up – using Floppy disk

Backing up DairyPlan data should be carried out as often as possible,ideally once a week .You
can backup onto floppy disks (which these days aren’t as reliable) or USB memory stick

1
2

5
3

If you are backing up onto

floppy disk click on Diskette

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Data Back-up – using Memory Stick

1
2
8
3

If you are backing up onto

Memory Stick or other device
click on the Browse key to
locate the device
5
Highlight backup device

Enter file name e.g. 7

DPBackup.dpb 6
& then press the OPEN key twice

NOTE : For future backups carry out steps 1,2,3,8 only .This
is because it remembers where you’ve backed previously
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Software Security
A screen similar to that shown below appears each time you access information in DairyPlan.
The information shown should be forwarded by the installer to WestfaliaSurge head office.
Once this information is processed you will be contacted & given a Software Security key 2 no.
You should enter this number in the box shown & then press the OK button. If the number is
correct then this Security screen won’t appear again.

Enter Key 2 no. here

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