FARMDATA Wiki

Web-based organic vegetable farm data entry and reporting.

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Compost

Within the compost tab, you can:

Within the report, administrative users can edit and delete compost accumulation, activity, temperature and application records.

Before the compost tab can be used, an administrative user must have entered:

For accumulation records:
- compost pile(s)
- compost materials (i.e. materials added to piles)
- compost units
- for each material and unit used, conversions for that material to pounds and cubic yards
For activity records:
- compost pile(s)
- compost activities other than those pre-supplied with FARMDATA
For temperature records:
- compost pile(s)
For application records:
- compost pile(s)
- fields
- tools (tillage implements)

To enter a compost accumulation record:

select the date
select the pile added to
use the "Add Material" button to add each material. For each material:
- select the material
- enter the amount added to the pile
- select the unit
enter any comments
click "Submit"
confirm data correctness by clicking "OK", or "Cancel" to modify any aspect of the compost accumulation record

To enter a compost activity record:

select the date
select the activity
use the "Add Pile" button to add each pile that the activity was performed on. For each activity:
- select the pile
if the activity is "Combining", you must add at least two piles:
- all piles are combined into the first pile listed in the table
- all other piles listed become inactive
enter any comments
click "Submit"
confirm data correctness by clicking "OK", or "Cancel" to modify any aspect of the compost activity record

To enter a compost temperature record:

select the date
select the pile
use the "Add Temperature Reading" button to add each temperature reading taken. You must enter at least one temperature. FARMDATA will automatically calculate the average temperature of the pile.
enter any comments
click "Submit"
confirm data correctness by clicking "OK", or "Cancel" to modify any aspect of the compost temperature record

To enter a compost application record:

select the date
select the field that the compost is applied to
select the percentage of the field spread
select the pile that the compost is taken from
enter the number of tons of compost in each spreader load
enter the number of loads spread
select the incorporation tool
select the incorporation timing
enter any comments
click "Submit"
confirm data correctness by clicking "OK", or "Cancel" to modify any aspect of the compost application record

To run a compost report:

select a date range
select a pile (or All)
select a field (or All) - note that the field selection does not affect which accumulation, activity and temperature records are shown
click "Submit"
FARMDATA will then display separate tables of compost accumulation, activity, temperature and application records that satisfy the selected parameters. If you select a single field, the total tons of compost applied to that field and the average tons per acre are displayed after the compost application table.
administrative users can edit and delete compost accumulation, activity, temperature and application records
- to delete a compost record, click the "Delete" button next to that record
- to edit a compost record:
  - click the "Edit" button next to that record
  - in the resulting page, modify an aspect of the record that needs to be updated
  - click "Update Record"
if desired, use the "Download Report" button following each table to download that table as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file that can be opened as a spreadsheet.