Inputs

Input stock identifies the input name, lot number, unit, quantity on hand and expiry date. Stock Clerk maintains that record so Farm Manager can review availability before approving work. A task’s input use identifies the lot, quantity and application date. This keeps consumption attached to the operation that required it rather than recording a field total with no accountable task.

Field applications carry a related but distinct history. They identify a field, applicator, input name, quantity, unit and date. Farm Manager can read these alongside the field task and input use. The shared field and date help the team investigate a discrepancy, while the stock lot and task references explain where the consumed quantity came from.

• Lot position. Keep current quantity, unit and expiry with the input stock lot.
• Task consumption. Link each used quantity to a lot and a particular field operation.
• Application record. Record the field, person, input name, quantity, unit and application date.

Agree one unit convention for each input and decide how to handle a lot whose unit differs from the field application’s unit. Establish how Stock Clerk updates quantities on hand and how managers review any stock correction. An expiry date is a decision input: the clerk should check it before releasing a lot for use. If purchases or equipment readings live elsewhere, agree the import or connection that supplies them.

For example, a manager approves a Feeding task on a crop cycle. The clerk checks the intended lot, its expiry and available quantity. The manager approves the eligible task with the intended lot and quantity. The approval records task consumption and reduces the lot balance once. The operator checks that use and enters the separate field application under the named applicator. The manager compares the records by unit, date and field activity.

Choose a lot with a known unit and quantity. Record a task on a field and cycle, then have the clerk check the lot before manager approval. Check the resulting input use and lot balance. Add the corresponding field application with the same field, date, input and unit. Confirm the Stock Clerk can trace the use back to the lot and the Farm Manager can trace the application back to the field.

Repeat with a lot near expiry and a quantity that exceeds its on-hand amount. The team should stop and resolve the stock decision before considering the field work ready. Check that reports preserve the unit when comparing consumed quantities across different inputs.

• Input lots by expiry — Review dated lots with their current unit and quantity.
• Input use by task — Trace consumed quantity from a task to its input lot.
• Field input applications — Review what was applied to a field and who recorded it.

See input use and field work.