Cycles and planning

A cycle gives Pasture Manager a planning unit for work and output on one pasture. The record holds a start date, expected production date, actual production date and status. Its Species and Breed text can carry the team’s chosen production classification, but planning must still follow the linked pasture and the actual task history. The cycle’s label should not replace the detailed evidence recorded by operators.

Begin with a pasture that has a reviewed location and availability. Create the cycle in Planned, then connect assigned work and later production to that same cycle. The Breeding Cycles screen brings stage, pasture and intake-period filters together with a chronological list and production evidence. Pasture Manager can use it to spot a cycle whose dates have moved without losing the earlier operating context.

• Plan timing. Enter the start and expected production dates before assigning the next field task.
• Follow stage. Use the recorded cycle status to distinguish Planned, Planted, Growing, Harvesting and Closed work.
• Keep output connected. Link each produced quantity back to the cycle whose work yielded it.

A cycle status is a summary of work, not a substitute for task completion or a measured result. A cycle can have a planned production date and still require inspection or feed work. Actual production timing should come from what the team records after the event. The manager checks whether the tasks and production history support the status before closing the cycle.

Agree what starts a new cycle on an existing pasture and whether overlapping cycles are allowed. Decide who enters the expected date, who updates the actual date and which evidence supports movement into Harvesting or Closed. Use one convention for the Species and Breed text fields so reports do not split one activity across inconsistent names.

The team should also agree how to respond when the pasture becomes Restricted during an active cycle. The status of the pasture and the status of the cycle answer different questions. Pasture Manager reviews both before approving another task. Production Reviewer needs the same cycle identity when accepting the result.

Choose one paddock with a planned cycle and a target production date. Assign an inspection task and a feeding task to named team members. Follow the cycle through its recorded stages while checking that both tasks still point to that paddock. Enter an actual production date only when the field event has occurred. Have Production Reviewer inspect the related quantity and grade before the manager closes the cycle.

Now move the expected date and review the cycle list again. The changed plan should remain distinguishable from the actual production date. This rehearsal gives the manager a practical way to explain a delay without treating a forecast as a completed result.

• Cycle Board — Open cycles grouped by their recorded stage for manager review.
• Cycles Near Production — Cycles whose expected date calls for a check against actual field work.

See pasture planning and production review. Set date and status conventions during implementation.