When you create a new data file for your herd an Event
Structure is copied from a template file appropriate to your production
system. While this event structure should be adequate as a starting point, most
farmers will need to fine-tune the structure to their exact requirements.
Details of the event structure can be printed by clicking the
button on the Event definitions form.
Note: As well as improve an event structure, it is equally possible to destroy one. For this reason it is strongly recommended that you take a back-up before making any changes. You should also not attempt any changes until you are confident that you understand what is required. As a safety measure the standard INTERAGRI user name used to log-in does not have permission to amend events. This is to prevent over-confident beginners damaging their event structure. If you log-in with user name MANAGER and password ELITE you will have the appropriate permission but you are then responsible for any changes! If in doubt contact your distributor to discuss proposed changes.
Introduction to developing your own event structure
Creating a new event in the event structure
Including the use of supplies in the event structure
Introduction to developing your own event structure
All changes to the event structure are implemented via the Event definitions form. Before implementing any change it is essential to understand the Event Definition Form. The example below shows the definition of the calving event (CALV):
The key elements will be explained here. For a full description of the screen see Event Definitions. Note that every event is give an Event class that InterHerd uses to respond appropriately (for example to create a new parity record and calf record following a parturition class event, or to reclassify a pregnant animal as empty if it has a service class event).
The Results are possible outcomes following the occurrence of the event. The results should generally be mutually exclusive. In this example there are two possible results of a calving, either that you do or do not intend to breed from this animal again. Note that the different results generate different follow-up events. The categories describe the result in greater detail. Any number of the categories may apply to the occurence of the event (e.g.a malpresented, oversized foetus that required vet assistance at calving would have 3 categories selected)
It is the definition of results and their respective follow-up
events that are the fundamental components of developing your event structure.
You are free to enter additional or different results and to amend the follow-up
events to satisfy your requirements. To understand the follow-up events more
clearly click the button. Then click on a
row in the follow-up events grid. In the example below the follow-up events for
the Breed again result is displayed:
The 45:HT-DL in the Results grid is expanded to give the 3-column grid as above. So when a cow calves and you select Breed again as the result of that calving, a heat deadline event (HT-DL) will be scheduled (to occur in the future) in the cows new parity record for 45 days after the calving date you have entered. If you wanted to change the interval to 60 days then simply change the 45 to 60. Once saved, future occurences of that result would schedule the Ht-DL at 60 days.
If your herd normally implements a pre-breeding examination at
30 days after calving then you would need to adjust the follow-up events to
include this. (If your template does not already have an appropriate code for
the pre-breeding examination then you would need to create it by canceling
changes to this event and clicking the
button. The event class would be observation/treatment.) This is simply done by
inserting the appropriate values as below:
Click outside the grid and see that the change is included in the Follow-up events column of the results grid:
Once the change is saved, subsequent entries of the Breed again result in an animal's record will schedule in the PBE and HT-DL events being scheduled at 30 and 45 days after calving respectively.
If the template you have is inserting events that you do not require (such as a pre-breeding examination) then follow the above procedure but delete the event that is not required. Remember that you may need to remove it from more than one result.
Note: Particular care must be taken when amending fertility events (calving, heat, expected heat, heat deadline, service and pregnancy diagnosis) to ensure that female animals always have one such event scheduled. At calving, for example, a heat deadline event is set for a specified number of days later. If no other fertility event occurs to supercede that event then it will appear on action lists warning of problems as the scheduled date approaches. If you removed the scheduled heat deadline event then an animal that failed to show heat or be served might go unobserved as there would be no overdue event to appear on the action lists. In the template you have been given the event definition of the heat deadline event (HT-DL) specifies the event as "transient". This applies to fertility events and means they will disappear if (and only if) another fertility event is recorded in the animal's record. So on calving the HT-DL is scheduled. If the cow subsequently is seen on heat or is served, when this fertility event is saved the transient event will disappear automatically.
Creating a new event in the event structure
Before you add a new event to the current event structure be certain that you know how the new event will be used. This includes knowing which other events (if any) are going to schedule your event. Also what are the mutually exclusive results that your new event will have and what follow-up events (if any) will your event schedule for each result. It is advisable to print out the current structure and to study existing event structures to ensure that you understand how the different events interact before making your own.
It is also necessary to determine the Event Class for your event. This is important as it determines how InterHerd interprets the event. Some examples of common events and their likely event class are given below:
Event Class | Typical events |
Milk test | Chemical pregnancy test |
Observation/treatment | Vaccination |
Follow-up vaccination/treatment | |
Vet / pre-breeding examination | |
Foot trimming | |
Insertion of PRID / CIDR | |
Removal of PRID / CIDR | |
Check animal following treatment | |
De-horning | |
Vulval discharge | Vulval discharge |
Mastitis | Mastitis |
Lameness | Lameness |
Other health abnormality (*) | Cystic ovaries |
Injury |
(*) Where health events such as mastitis, lameness, vulval discharge etc have an event class of their own this is to enable the display of the number of occurrences of each event class in the Parity record summary grid in the individual animal form. "Other health abnormality" specifies a health abnormality that is not currently covered by its own class (such as mastitis, lameness.)
The entry of a new event is described in the Event Definition form.
Including the use of supplies in the event structure
When the response to an event is predictable and standard, this can be built in to the event structure to save data entry time. Take as an example the definition below for recording mastitis.
On this farm the standard treatment is 6ml of Tetra Delta. Four other supplies (Synulox, Cephguard, Tylan and Leo Yellow) are used in certain circumstances. Note how each treatment is assigned as a separate result in the mastits event. There are tow other results to cover treatment with another undefined supply or when the mastitis is not treated. Having Tetra Delta as the first result makes it appear as the default (offered) result. To place a different result at the top of the list, change the required result's sequence number to 1.
In the Default supplies column of the Results grid is the supply
and quantity applied. Clicking the button
allows you to move to the Default supply column to display the supply in detail:
The example above shows details of the Tetra Delta (Note that the supply should already have been registered in the Supply Details form). The Days column of the grid refers to the number of days over which the treatment is applied. Milk and meat withdrawal periods will be calculated from the end of the treatment period.
When the mastitis event is recorded (via the Event Pad or event details in the individual animal record) using the above definition, the supply and quantity corresponding to the selected result will be entered automatically in to the animal's record. All that will remain is for the user to identify the batch number of the supply and the operator. Note that, provided the stock history is correctly established, all the stock control relating to the use of the supply will be handled automatically by the program.