Set up semen and straw batches

Why use this guide

Use this workflow before recording an AI service from controlled farm stock. Farmlync keeps two linked registers:

• the sire catalogue records the breeding identity, registration, supplier and genetic information; and
• straw batches record the physical units held for that sire, including batch, semen type, available quantity, location, expiry and cost.

Adding a sire does not add stock. Receiving a straw batch does not record a service. A successful service against a selected tracked batch deducts one straw and preserves the breeding-linked stock movement.

Semen inventory is separate from ordinary Inventory products and from Manage → Add from library.

Before you start

Have the supplier or collection documentation available. For each sire and delivery, collect:

• registered or supplier sire name;
• breed and registration number;
• supplier, AI/stud code and country when available;
• genetic merit value, merit type and evaluation date when used;
• exact straw batch number;
• whole number of straws received or physically on hand;
• semen type;
• labelled expiry date;
• precise tank/canister/goblet location; and
• cost per straw when known.

Creating, importing, editing or deleting semen records requires the breeding-record permission normally held by Owners, Managers and Vets. Select the intended farm before adding anything.

1. Open Semen Stock and search first

Open Operations → Inventory → Semen Stock.

The page has Sires and Straw Batches. Search Sires by name and enable Show inactive when the sire may have been retired. Select a sire name to filter the batch list to that sire, or use the separate sire filter above Straw Batches.

Search before creating. Duplicate sire identities make batch selection and pedigree evidence harder to interpret.

2. Add one sire

Choose Add Sire and complete the form:

Control	Valid entry and purpose
Sire Name *	Registered or supplier name, up to 200 characters.
Breed *	Select the matching breed; maximum stored length 100 characters. Do not substitute an informal cross description for a known catalogue breed.
Registration Number	Optional official identifier, up to 50 characters.
Supplier	Optional stud, AI company or supplier, up to 200 characters.
AI / stud code	Optional provider code, up to 50 characters.
Country	Optional short country code/label, up to 10 characters.
Genetic merit value	Optional numeric evaluation. Enter only the number.
Merit type	Optional index name such as PLI, EBI or Terminal Index, up to 50 characters.
Evaluation date	Optional date of the evaluation.

Choose Add Sire to save only the identity, or Add & Create Batch to continue immediately into the physical receipt.

Use Edit for a genuine identity correction. Mark a sire inactive when it must disappear from new selection while its history or stock remains. Deletion is for mistaken/obsolete records and is blocked while a child batch still has available quantity.

3. Import several sires

Choose Import when the supplier provides a larger list:

1. Download the current template/schema.
2. Upload the CSV and map its columns.
3. Review parsed sire name, breed, registration, supplier, AI code, country and genetic-evaluation fields.
4. Commit only after correcting the displayed row errors.
5. Read successful and failed counts; a large failure set shows only the first 40 row reasons and the number omitted.

Farmlync skips a duplicate with the same registration number, or the same name when no registration number is present. The import creates sire identities, not physical straw stock.

4. Add the physical straw batch

Choose Add Straw Batch. If the sire is missing, use Sire not listed? Add new sire, save it and return to the batch form.

Control	Valid entry and purpose
Sire *	Select the correct active sire identity.
Batch Number *	Supplier/collection identifier, 1–50 characters. Use the value printed on the batch rather than inventing a Farmlync number.
Quantity (straws) *	Whole number of at least 1. Enter the count physically received or verified.
Semen Type	Optional: Conventional, Sexed (Female), Sexed (Male) or Beef. A service can inherit it from the batch.
Expiry Date	Optional farm-calendar date from the label. The form warns when expired or within 90 days.
Storage Location	Optional, up to 100 characters. Record enough detail to find the straw, such as Tank 2, Canister 1, Goblet B.
Cost per Straw	Optional positive amount in the farm currency. Leave blank when unknown; zero is not accepted as a recorded cost.

Choose Add Straw Batch. The batch is then available to the AI-service picker, subject to its balance and expiry checks.

5. Verify the new inventory

Find the batch under Straw Batches and compare it with the physical flask and supplier evidence.

Display	What to check
Batch #	Exact supplier/collection batch; semen type appears beside it when saved.
Sire	Correct sire name and breed.
Qty Available	Whole-straw balance. Low means one or two; Out means zero.
Expiry	The expiry day remains valid; Soon means within 90 days and Expired means before the farm’s current date.
Storage	Correct tank/canister/goblet location.
Cost/Straw	Correct optional cost in the farm currency.

The summary above the batch table covers only the currently loaded page, not every matching batch on the farm. Clear the sire filter and inspect other pages before using it as a complete inventory count.

6. Record a controlled AI service

When insemination actually occurs:

1. Open Farm → Breeding → Record → Record Service.
2. Select the animal and actual farm-local service date/time.
3. Choose Artificial Insemination.
4. Under Select Semen Straw, choose the physical batch. The option shows sire, breed, batch, remaining quantity and expiry.
5. Confirm the inherited sire, semen type and locked straw-batch number against the straw used.
6. Complete the performer, optional heat link and notes.
7. Review animal readiness and mate-risk information, then choose Record Service.

Selecting a batch does not consume it. A successful service save deducts one straw, records the movement with the service and changes the animal’s breeding state. Cancel/Close leaves both breeding history and stock unchanged.

Use Manual entry (no straw deduction) only when no Farmlync batch represents the real straw used. It records sire and batch details without creating a sire, receiving stock or decrementing a controlled batch.

The picker currently retrieves up to 50 available batches. If a valid batch is not shown in a larger inventory, find and verify it on Semen Stock rather than selecting a different sire/batch.

7. Check the service and stock movement

After saving:

1. Open the animal’s breeding history or Breeding → Services and confirm the service.
2. Return to Inventory → Semen Stock.
3. Confirm the selected batch decreased by one.
4. Check the resulting low/out/expiry status.
5. Review the animal’s next pregnancy-check work. A recorded service means Bred; it is not proof of conception.

If the service is rejected because the batch is unavailable, exhausted or expired, inspect the actual batch. Do not substitute another batch or manual identity merely to complete the form. The current tracked-batch expiry check uses the time at which the service is saved; this can also reject a truthful historical service when its real batch has expired since the event.

8. Reconcile a physical count

Use Edit on the batch when a physical recount differs from Farmlync or when its type, expiry, location or cost needs correction.

• Quantity available must be a whole number of zero or greater.
• When the quantity changes, Why is the count changing? is required and accepts up to 500 characters.
• Use the actual reason: flask recount, discarded straws, failure or another evidenced correction.

Farmlync stores the previous count, new count, actor and reason in the batch movement trail. A location, cost, expiry or semen-type edit without a quantity change does not create a count correction.

The update uses the version you opened. If another user changed the batch or a service consumed a straw, Farmlync rejects the stale correction. Reload, physically recount and submit a new correction only if still needed.

9. Retire or delete safely

• Deactivate a sire when it must not appear in normal new selection but past services or batches must remain understandable.
• Delete a straw batch only when it is a mistaken/obsolete record and its operational consequences have been resolved. Do not use deletion as an unexplained stock adjustment.
• Delete a sire only after reviewing every child batch. Farmlync blocks deletion while a non-deleted batch has available stock and removes depleted child batches when the sire is deleted.

Both deletion paths use concurrency versions. If Farmlync reports that the record changed, reopen it and make the decision from the latest state.

Completion checklist

• The sire identity matches supplier/registration evidence.
• The exact batch exists on the correct farm.
• Available straws match the physical count.
• Semen type, expiry, storage and cost are correct when known.
• The intended batch appears in Record Service.
• A real AI service deducts exactly one selected straw.
• Any count correction has a meaningful reason and is verified after save.

Continue with Breeding and reproduction, Semen Stock and Record a breeding service.