Why do I need a "holding paddock"?
Given that there are very few events in the production cycle which allow an accurate livestock count to take place, it is important to know what to do when livestock numbers change without a purchase, sale, death or natural increase event.
The holding paddock is particularly helpful when animals are noted as missing but are not yet presumed dead (e.g. they may have jumped a fence or wandered onto a neighbour's property) and may be found at a later date. Keeping track of missing livestock is useful for accounting/valuation purposes until the time comes to reconcile numbers (e.g. to write missing livestock off as deaths).
How do I use a "holding paddock"?
When livestock numbers change without a purchase, sale, death or natural increase event, they can be moved into a holding paddock until they are found, or until they are confirmed dead.
The first step is to draw a holding paddock. This is a separate area to the side of your property's map into which livestock can be moved when they are identified as missing.
We suggest to add the area as a 'Yard' and set the total area to 0 ha so that is doesn't contribute to your Station's total area.
To learn how to draw a Yard, view our article about adding areas.
Draft off the relevant number of animals (e.g. the number that are missing) and move them across to the holding paddock.
⚠️ IMPORTANT
To prevent the creation of a joining record, you will need two separate holding paddocks for males (e.g. bulls) and females (e.g. cows).
Reduce the mob's DSE rating to 0 if you do not wish for these animals to be included in your total DSE load. To learn how to update DSE rating, view our article in the Help Centre for IAM or Mobs.
When should you delete missing animals?
Deleting missing animals from the farm may sound like an interesting idea, but by doing so, you will lose all records linked to these animals that once existed on the farm, compromising farm reports and data. And because this is a permanent action, you will not be able to view the animals again in AgriWebb if they are found on the farm.
Deletion is a record that should be applied when animals did not physically exist on the farm, for example, they were duplicated or created by mistake and records were added to them. If this applies to you, please contact our support team so we can assist you with this action.
The animals have been reported missing and will not be found. What should you do?
We recommend waiting 6 to 12 months before considering the missing animals lost. After this period, there are a few solutions for removing the animals from the farm without deleting them:
Transfer Off Farm Record
To create a simple off-farm transfer record, click Livestock > Add records > Off-farm transfer. In transfer details, select Basic transfer record. Click Save.
In the Animal Lifetime Performance report, the fate column will indicate that the animals have been transferred:
You can fill in the Sold/Transferred to PIC and Sold/Transferred to fields under the Transfer Details section to add information to the Transfers (IAM and Mob) and Lifetime Animals Performance (IAM only) reports, and easily track them:
Transfer Between Farms in AgriWebb
Another option is to create a fantasy farm with a name such as "Lost Animals." In the transfer record, under the Transfer Details section, click Select Transfer Type > Transfer between farms in AgriWebb > Select farm to transfer to > click on the desired farm. Follow the same steps mentioned above.
✅ Pro Tip
One of the advantages of allocating missing animals to a specific paddock is that you can easily see how many animals have been lost and filter the Animal Lifetime Performance Report to see the total cost of those animals.
We also recommend that transfer records occur on fixed and recurring dates (e.g., January 1 or July 1) to help you easily search and track this type of record.