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A product of Cosmic Consulting www.cosmicconsulting.com.

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South Windsor, CT

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FlockFiler Pro Export to LAMBPLAN Module v1.5.0 (free)

FlockFiler_ExportLAMBPLAN_150.zip (0.3MB)
for FlockFiler32 and FlockFiler64 installations - last updated Nov. 7, 2018

Features

How to Install

Installation instructions are provided for FlockFiler32.

Installation for FlockFiler64 is the same procedure. Just use FlockFiler64 instead of FlockFiler32 in the following instructions.

Update to the latest version of FlockFiler32. This supplemental file has been tested to work with FlockFiler Pro 1.3.0.

If you are updating from v1.4.0 or later of the LAMBPLAN export module, start up that module and push the "Archive Settings" button on the screen to save your LAMBPLAN export settings. This step will save you the trouble of reentering your settings individually into the new file.

Quit FlockFiler32 if it is currently running.

Download the file: FlockFiler_ExportLAMBPLAN_150.zip (0.3MB).

Uncompress this zip archive and move the "FlockFiler_ExportLAMBLAN.ffp12" file into your "FlockFiler32" folder. It should sit next to your FlockFilerCentral.ffp12, FlockFilerLiteData.ffp12, and FlockFilerProData.ffp12 files.

Start FlockFiler Pro. The new file will be found automatically when FlockFiler is started.

Navigate to the sheep form.

A new entry in the File menu, "Export to LAMBPLAN...", is now displayed when you are browsing the sheep Form or List.

Prepare your FlockFiler Pro data to provide LAMBPLAN IDs and other critical information needed for the export.

Choose "Export to LAMBPLAN..." from the File menu to use the new Export to LAMBPLAN module.

If you have updated from v1.4.0 or later of the LAMBPLAN export module, push the "Restore Archived Settings" button on the screen if it is available to read your LAMBPLAN export settings from the previous installion of the module. This button will only be available if you had pressed "Archive Settings" before updating this file.

Preparing Your FlockFiler Pro Data

Because of the specific requirements of the LAMBPLAN program, your sheep records need additional info that FlockFiler Pro does not require. In particular, every FlockFiler Pro record that you export to LAMBPLAN must have both a 16-digit LAMBPLAN ID and a Sex specified.

XML and Pedigree Master

The FlockFiler Pro Export to LAMBPLAN module can generate two different types of export files. One is an XML-based data file and is designed to be sent directly to the folks in Australia. It follows the new standard developed by Sheep Genetics for software to use to submit to their service.

The other export file is a spreadsheet format file (.CSV) that can be imported directly by Pedigree Master (which runs only under Microsoft Windows). The FlockFiler Pro LAMBPLAN Export module can generate two files CSV files corresponding two different Pedigree Master data tables (Main and Mating). You can then use Pedigree Master to submit your data to Australia. Note that Pedigree Master does not generate the standard XML-based data file, but uses a proprietary format for its data submission to Australia.

Data Exported and Conversion Recipe from FlockFiler Pro Data

LAMBPLAN info in FlockFiler Pro: Normal vs. Keywords

Most of the routine information in FlockFiler Pro can be converted to the data submission format of LAMBPLAN without you doing extra work. When you need to enter LAMBPLAN information that does not have a natural place in FlockFiler Pro, the convention used by the LAMBPLAN_Export module is to enter it into a corresponding Description or Note field with an accompanying identifying keyword so that the LAMBPLAN_Export module can find and interpret the information you provided.

LAMBPLAN-specific information is entered using a dedicated keyword followed by value for the LAMBPLAN field. For example you can put 

LAMBPLAN_NKWR: 3
into the Description field of a Log entry to specify that you assigned a score of "3" for the LAMBPLAN field of "neck wrinkle visual score" on the date of the log entry. The LAMBPLAN_Export module will determine the age of the sheep and automatically assign this to the appropriate LAMBPLAN age stage so that your data submission for this value might be, for example, for the hogget value ("HNKWR").

When providing a keyword followed by a value, you need to have the "LAMBPLAN_keyword: value" sequence occur on its own line in the text field. The text field can have any other information before or after the keyword line.

Keyword Locations

In general, LAMBPLAN keywords that do not have a specific age stage categorization can be placed into the any one of the Core Text Fields. These are the sheep Description field, sheep Note field, and any Log entry for that sheep with Category of "Birth" (no dates are required on the Log entry). The only significant exception to this is the LAMBPLAN_ID keyword. That cannot be in a Log Entry. If the same keyword appears multiple times in the Core Text Fields only the first one encountered will be used. The order of searching is sheep Description field, sheep Note field, and then any "Birth" Log entry Descriptions with the earliest Log Entry Date (or earliest record creation date) ones checked first.

Being able to put the LAMBPLAN keywords into a Log entry has a few advantages. You can free up the sheep Description and sheep Note fields for your free-form text without the visual clutter of these keywords on the Basic form and sheep reports. You can hide this specially targeted information from any reports by checking the "Is Private Note?" box on the Log entry. You can use the "Append Phrase to Description" feature of the Log form to automatically type out the LAMBPLAN keywords for you.

Information associated with an age stage or with a specific category of data collection (weight, shorn fleece, body condition, fecal egg counts, etc.) will have their supplemental LAMBPLAN keywords stored in the Note field of the additional data record. For example you would put 

LAMBPLAN_CURV: 74
on its own line in the Note field of the Fleece record to document a measurement of 74 deg/mm for the fleece fiber curvature on that fleece. If you prefer, you can add the units after the number just as a note to yourself. 
LAMBPLAN_CURV: 74 deg/mm
Any text after the number on the same line is ignored when the LAMBPLAN_Export module is reading the data so the units provided above are purely cosmetic. You need to be sure to be using LAMBPLAN-compatible units for all values you submit.

LAMBPLAN ID

The Export to LAMBPLAN module has some flexibility for where you put the 16-digit LAMBPLAN ID. It looks in the following four places in the FlockFiler Pro sheep record (order of precedence).
  1. Description field
  2. Note field field
  3. Tag(s) field
  4. Import ID field

In the Tag(s) field, the LAMBPLAN ID can occur by itself on any line. If you do not want the LAMBPLAN ID to be picked up and used in the ID and/or Name field, put it on the second or later line of the Tag(s) field. Only the top line of that field would be used in the ID and/or Name calculation.

In the sheep Description or sheep Note fields, the LAMBPLAN ID must be entered in a specific way on its own line. You must prefix it with the label "LAMBPLAN_ID: ". Thus if one of the lines in your Description or Note field is
LAMBPLAN_ID: 0199992014141234
then the Export to LAMBPLAN module will find it. The space after the colon is optional, but the "LAMBPLAN_ID: 0199992014141234" phrase must appear on its own line. You may add hyphens and write it as
LAMBPLAN_ID: 019999-2014-141234
to separate it visually. This "LAMBPLAN_ID: " prefix is only needed for the Description or Note fields. You would enter the ID directly into the Tag(s) or Import ID fields (with optional hyphens there too).

Generating LAMBPLAN ID values for your current sheep records

You can enter LAMBPLAN ID values manually on each record, import them from another file, or generate them automatically for many records using a calculation formula and the "Replace Field Contents..." feature of FlockFiler Pro.

To use the "Replace Field Contents..." feature, you will need to be browsing only those sheep records that you want to alter. This feature will automatically edit a field on many records simultaneously so you have to be careful to avoid making mistakes that would be difficult to fix. The formula you use to fill in a LAMBPLAN ID will vary according to which field you are using to store your LAMBPLAN IDs into FlockFiler Pro and how you prefer to fill in the last 6 positions of the LAMBPLAN ID. If you use the internally-assigned FlockFiler Pro Record ID value to generate the last six (or last 4 digits) instead of using a Tag, you can be sure that the calculation will generate a unique value for each sheep. If you use one of the tag fields of FlockFiler Pro, you will have to ensure that you have entered a unique value into the tag field and that you have not left the tag field blank for the calculation to generate a unique LAMBPLAN ID.

Here are some examples of calculations that generate LAMBPLAN IDs in the 16 character format with some different choices for how to generate the information in the LAMBPLAN ID.

Calculation that uses Record ID for last 6 characters: 
"01" & /* 2-digit breed ID code */  
"3456" & /* 4-digit farm ID code */
Right("0000" & Year(Birthdate); 4) & /* will be 0000 if Birthdate is empty */
Right("000000" & _kp_SHEEP_id; 6) /* use last 6 digits of auto-generated Record ID */
Calculation that uses 2-digit birth year and 4 digits of Record ID for last 6 characters: 
"01" & /* 2-digit breed ID code */  
"3456" & /* 4-digit farm ID code */
Right("0000" & Year(Birthdate); 4) & /* will be 0000 if Birthdate is empty */
Right("00" & Year(Birthdate); 2) & /* will be 00 if Birthdate is empty */
Right("0000" & _kp_SHEEP_id; 4) /* use last 4 digits of auto-generated Record ID */
Calculation that uses 2-digit birth year and top line of Tag(s) field for last 6 characters: 
"01" & /* 2-digit breed ID code */  
"3456" & /* 4-digit farm ID code */
Right("0000" & Year(Birthdate); 4) & /* will be 0000 if Birthdate is empty */
Right("00" & Year(Birthdate); 2) & /* will be 00 if Birthdate is empty */
Right("0000" & GetValue(Tag(s);1) ; 4) /* use last 4 characters of top line of Tag(s) field */

If you want to store your LAMBPLAN ID values in the Tag(s), Description, or Note fields, you should take care to avoid replacing information already in these fields with the LAMBPLAN ID (unless you want to lose the preexisting information). This can be accomplished by writing a calculation that appends the new LAMBPLAN_ID to the existing information in that field onto a new line, e.g. to append to the Description field you would use something like the following 

Description & "¶" & "LAMBPLAN_ID: " & "0134562015151234"
where "0134562015151234" is where you would put the calculation formula you use to generate the LAMBPLAN ID. The Tag(s) field could be done similarly and more simply since the ID value does not need the "LAMBPLAN_ID: " prefix unlike the Description or Note fields. 
TagIDs & "¶" & "0134562015151234"
If you want to prepend the information so that it appears as the first line of the field instead of the last, put the FileMaker Pro field at the end of the calculation like in the following example. 
"LAMBPLAN_ID: " & "0134562015151234" & "¶" & Description

SEX

SEX comes from the FlockFiler Pro Sex field. R and W are coded as 1 (Male). E is 2 (Female). LAMBPLAN does not have a specific code for wether, but the conversion will generate a value of 0 in the LAMBPLAN "TESTICLES" field (count of testicles) for wethers.

NICKNAME

Automatically generated from the Alternate Label (if provided) or the top line of the Tag(s) field (or the Scrapie Tag ID field) plus the Name field.

REGDID (XML) or REG_NUMBER (Pedigree Master)

These are taken directly from the FlockFiler Pro "Registry ID" field.

GROUP (text), BGROUP (1-9), GRP (0-999 used by Pedigree Master)

The XML-based format has two places where you can specify the birth group of the sheep: GROUP and BGROUP. GROUP is a text label for the group. BGROUP is a value from 1-9. Both of these are optional, but if you have more than one group of sheep born in a calendar year (with birth dates in each group spanning no more than 42 days), it is expected by LAMBPLAN that they be designated as being in different birth groups.

Pedigree Master uses a numeric value, GRP, for the birth group. This is completely separate from the BGROUP value used by the XML-based format.

The "Group/Subflock" field of FlockFiler Pro field is used to specify the birth group for the LAMBPLAN data. It is done by using a specific notation in the value you enter for the Group/Subflock field. The notation is
[BGROUP] [GROUP] PM[GRP]
If the BGROUP is 2, the GROUP is "Special Flock", and the Pedigree Master GRP is 21 then you would enter
2 Special Flock PM21
for the Group/Subflock. You can separate the leading BGROUP and trailing GRP terms using spaces, commas, colons, slashes or other types of word separators. Thus you could write
2: Special Flock/ PM21
instead to specify these three things in the FlockFiler Pro Group/Subflock field.

All three pieces are optional. If you only want to specify the BGROUP, then enter a simple number from 1-9 in the Group/Subflock field. If you only want to specify the GROUP, leave off the first number and the "PM" part at the end. If you only want to provide a value for Pedigre Master, just enter "PM21" into the Group/Subflock field.

If you do not want the birth group to be specified from the FlockFiler Pro Group/Subflock field, you can opt out of this by choosing "Do not use" on the menu in the FlockFiler Export to LAMPLAN module. No GROUP, BGROUP, or GRP values will collected for the export.

LAMBPLAN requires a GROUP value for the mating records. If you export mating records, you must also specify the GROUP for your sheep.

DOB

This will be taken from the FlockFiler Pro Birthdate field.

SIRE and DAM

The LAMBPLAN IDs you specified for the Sire and Dam records of the sheep will be used here. If you specified a Sire or Dam in FlockFiler Pro. If you want to specify the ID of the sire or dam directly and not via the corresponding FlockFiler Pro record, you can enter LAMBPLAN_SIRE: or LAMBPLAN_DAM: into one of the Core Text Fields for that sheep, e.g.

LAMBPLAN_DAM: the ID
This may be useful in cases of embro transfer if you have entered the dam that carried the lamb to term (the recipient) as the FlockFiler Pro Dam of the lamb instead of the genetic dam. The dam specified in the keyword will take precedence over the ID in the related Dam record. Alternately specifying a SIRE using the LAMBPLAN_SIRE: keyword is necessary if the sire is a syndicate.

BT and RT

These are numeric values specifying the birth type and raised type of the sheep. These are generated directly from the Birth Type and Raised Type fields in FlockFiler Pro.

FOSTER

The LAMBPLAN field FOSTER is filled in using LAMBPLAN ID of the sheep specified in the "Raised By" field on the FlockFiler Pro Advanced sheep form.

TESTICLES

This is automatically assigned from the FlockFiler Pro Sex field to be 2 for rams, 0 for wethers, and blank for ewes. If you want to specify a different value, put it in either the Description or the Note field preceeded by "LAMBPLAN_TESTICLES:". For example you can specify that the male sheep has one testicle via LAMBPLAN_TESTICLES: 1 on its own line in either the Description or Note field.

Weight Measurements

These are all LAMBPLAN weight measurements at different age stages. These are automatically chosen from the weight measurements you have entered into FlockFiler Pro based on the age of the sheep on the day the measurement was taken. Only one weight measurement is chosen for each age stage. If there is more than one measurement taken during an age stage, the measurement date closest to the middle of the age stage is used.

The carcass weight is taken to be the FlockFiler Pro weight measurement for the sheep that has the same weight measurement date as the Carcass date.

If you have not entered a birthdate for the sheep, you will need to designate each LAMBPLAN weight for that sheep manually. This would also be the case if you have multiple measurements in an age stage and want to specify which one to use insead of letting the automatic system decide. To manually specify a weight measurement for a LAMBPLAN age stage, you enter a keyword into the Note field for that weight measurement. The format of the keyword is "LAMBPLAN_STAGE:" plus the code of the LAMBPLAN age stage. Thus if you want to manually designate the weight measurement taken during the "weaning" age stage which is coded by LAMBPLAN as "W", you would enter

LAMBPLAN_STAGE: W
into the Note field on that weight measurement.

While standard weight measurements are automatically selected by the LAMBPLAN Export module to fit each of the LAMBPLAN stages, the "M" stage (marking) does not have an age range defined so you will have to designate that weight measurement manually in the Note field with

LAMBPLAN_STAGE: M

Measurement Dates

All dates in Pedigree Master are named with "*DDMM" instead of "*DATE".

These dates are automatically filled in corresponding to the dates of the weight measurements selected for each stage. If there is no weight measurement in a stage, the date from a different type of measurement fitting that stage will be used. These may come from measurements of fecal egg count, condition score, scrotal circumference, carcass scans, or other evaluations (in that order of precedence).

Subgroups

All groups in Pedigree Master are named with "*GRP" instead of "*GROUP". Also the Pedigre Master groups stop with AGRP.

The "*GROUP" fields designate the subgroups of the birth group for the sheep. The subgroups each have values 1-9. You specify these indirectly in FlockFiler Pro using Log entries. When a group of sheep is assigned to a subgroup, document this with a Log entry for those sheep and specify the subgroup in the Description field (on its own line) using
LAMBPLAN_SUBGROUP: n
where n is a value from 1 to 9. You can use any Category for the Log entry. "Handling" may be a good choice. For example, on 6/25/2014, you separate 20 lambs into a subgroup that you will call subgroup number 3.

  1. Find the 20 lambs so that you are browsing just that set of records.
  2. Create a Log entry that applies to all 20 sheep.
  3. Enter a Start Date of 6/25/2014.
  4. In the Description field, put
    LAMBPLAN_SUBGROUP: 3
    on its own line.

To make it easier to enter the LAMBPLAN_SUBGROUP: keyphrase, you can use the "Append Phrase to Description" feature of the Log entry form. Add a new phrase via the Edit Phrases button. Add the phrase "LAMBPLAN_SUBGROUP: " (without the quotes) into the pop-up window. After closing that window via the Close button, you will have a new entry into the list of phrases available via the "Append Phrase to Description" menu. Whenever you need to assign a subgroup on a new Log entry, type in the Start Date then pick "LAMBPLAN_SUBGROUP: " from the menu and type in the number. The same technique can be used to enter any of the LAMBPLAN_ keywords into a Log entry Description.

Fleece measurements

LAMBPLAN measurements on shorn fleeces are gathered from the FlockFiler Pro Fleece records. Like the weight measurements, the fleece measurements are automatically assigned to a LAMBPLAN age stage. If for some reason you want to override the automatic age stage assignment, enter "LAMBPLAN_STAGE:" into the Note field followed by one of the age stage codes used by the LAMBPLAN fleece fields (P, Y, H, A, A3, A4, or A5).

The FlockFiler Pro fields Shearing Date, Grease Weight, Clean Weight, Yield, Staple Length, and Fiber Diameter are used for the LAMBPLAN fields *FDATE, *GFW, *CFW, *YLD, *SL, and *FD where * is the age stage code. Additional LAMBPLAN fleece measurement fields can be specified in the Note field of the Fleece record each on a separate line using any of the following keywords followed by the measurement value. 

LAMBPLAN_CEM: coarse edge measurment
LAMBPLAN_CURV: fiber curvature
LAMBPLAN_CURVESD: fiber curvature standard deviation
LAMBPLAN_FCF: fiber comfort factor
LAMBPLAN_FDCV: fiber diameter coefficient of variance
LAMBPLAN_FDPF: fleece prickle factor
LAMBPLAN_FDSF: spinning fineness
LAMBPLAN_SS: staple strength

Body Condition Scores

LAMBPLAN body condition scores are gathered from FlockFiler Pro Body Score measurements. The age stage is automatically determined from the date of the measurement. If a previously analyzed type of measurement, e.g. weight, has already set the date of measurements for that LAMBPLAN age stage, the body condition score must be within 14 days of that date to be accepted as part of that age stage.

If you want to specify that a measurement record for the condition score is the one for a specific LAMBPLAN age stage, put "LAMBPLAN_STAGE:" followed by the age stage code (W, E, P, Y, H, A, A3, A4, or A5) into the Note field of the measurement record. Thus you might designate a record as being in the post weaning stage by putting the keyword "LAMBPLAN_STAGE: P" into the Note field of that measurement record.

STATUS (XML-based file)

The LAMBPLAN STATUS field has three values "CU" for cull, "CO" for commercial, or "D" for dead. It is left empty otherwise. FlockFiler"Pro fills in this value by first looking at the Location (General) field. If that field says that the sheep is Deceased, then STATUS will be "D". If the FlockFiler Pro Removal Reason has the words "Cull" or "Culled", the STATUS will be "CU". Otherwise the automatic calculation will be blank for STATUS.

You can specify an explicit value for the STATUS field by putting a keyword and the STATUS code into either the Description or Note fields on its own line.
LAMBPLAN_STATUS: CO
for example would designate that the STATUS of the sheep should be commercial.

STATUS (Pedigree Master)

Pedigree Master has a STATUS field different from the LAMBPLAN one. It has values like: Current, Sold, Reference, Missing, Dead, Culled, or Unknown. When FlockFiler is calculating the value for the Pedigree Master STATUS field, any animal whose LAMBPLAN ID does not have the Flock ID of the farm is considered to be Reference. Also any animal with a FlockFiler Pro Record Status of "Reference" is given a STATUS of Reference. If the Location (General) field states the sheep is Deceased, then STATUS will be Dead. If the Removal Reason contains the word "sold", then the STATUS will be "Sold". If the Removal Reason contains the words "cull" or "culled", then the STATUS will be "Culled". If the Removal Reason contains the word "missing", then the STATUS will be "Missing".

LAMBEASE

You can specify a numeric value from 0 to 5 for LAMBEASE by putting a keyword into either the Description or Note field of the sheep.
LAMBPLAN_LAMBEASE: 1
on its own line would designate a score of 1 for LAMBEASE.

CM

The conception method has a value of 1 (Natural) by default. You can specify a different value for CM in one of two ways. In the case of AI, the Breeding Activity record of the Dam around the time of conception can be used to assign the CM as AI (with a numeric value of 3) if the Breeding Activity is of type "AI". If you want to assign the value of CM directly or if you want to assign it to any value other than 1 (Natural) or 3 (AI), you will need to put a keyword in to the Description field or Note field on the sheep record directly. Alternatily this can be on a Log Entry for the sheep with the Category of "Birth". To enter the sheep as being the result of ET use LAMBPLAN_CM: 2
Note that the XML-file based format and Pedigree Master apply different meanings for values above 3. Be sure to use the codes appropriate for your export target.

RECIP

If you specified a CM value of 2 (ET) as described above, you probably want to specify who was the recipient of the embryo transfer since the Dam on the sheep record is the genetic dam (and the Raised By field goes into the LAMBPLAN FOSTER field). Specify the RECIP by putting "LAMBPLAN_RECIP:" in the same place you put the LAMBPLAN_CM keyword but on a separate line and followed by the LAMBPLAN ID of the recipient ewe.

Fecal Egg Counts

XML-based submission provides for 3 categories of fecal egg count measurements (uncategorized, strongyle, and nematode). Pedigree Master allows for only one (uncategorized).

For the purposes of the XML-based file, you can designate that a measurement is for strongyle by putting the word "strongyle" in the Note field of that measurement. Similarly put "nematode" for measurements where the egg count should be clasified as nematode. Lacking any info to the contrary in the Note field, the measurement will be considered uncategorized.

The automatic analysis for the export will examine the date of the measurement and place the measurement into the appropriate LAMBPLAN age stage. Since LAMBPLAN only allows for one date for measurements within an age stage, the date field for that age stage is shared by weight measurements, fecal egg counts, body condition scores, scrotal circumference, and scanned carcass measurements. LAMBPLAN assumes that all types of measurements during an age stage are done on the same day. This of course is at odds with FlockFiler Pro which lets you document the dates that each different type of measurement was made and does not limit you to one measurement during each age stage.

Since it is more important to accurately date weight measurements to track growth over time, the weight measuremnt date takes precedence and the fecal egg counts measured within 14 days of a LAMBPLAN weight measurement will be assigned to the same date as the weight measurement. If no weight measurement is being used for that age stage, the exact date of the fecal egg count will be used. If multiple categories of fecal egg counts are provided within the same time frame, the date will come from either the uncategorized, strongyle, or nematode in that order.

You can put a LAMBPLAN_STAGE keyword into the Note field of the measurement to designate that measurement for a specific LAMBPLAN field. This is particularly useful if you have taken many measurements and want to direct the LAMBPLAN Export module to use a specific measurement for the LAMBPLAN age stage. For example, to designate that a fecal egg measurement is for the yearling age stage and that it is for strongyle, put "LAMBPLAN_STAGE: Y" into the Note field for that measurement along with the word "strongyle" on a separate line in the Note field. Note that for the fecal egg counts, the age stage abbreviations go from "W" to "A". There is no "B", "A3", "A4", or "A5".

Carcass measurements

Carcass measurements in LAMBPLAN can be measured directly on the carcass of the sheep after slaughter (CDATE, CFAT, CEMD, and CEMW) or measured via scans on the live animal at different times (CF, EMD, and EMW).

The LAMBPLAN field CDATE is the Date field under Carcass under the Size tab on the sheep Measuring form. The LAMBPLAN field CFAT is filled in using the "Backfat" field.

For scanned measurements on specific dates, enter any or all of the following into the Description of a Log entry with the scan date as the Log entry date.

LAMBPLAN_CF: value
LAMBPLAN_EMD: value
LAMBPLAN_SCANNER_ACCREDITATION_NUMBER: value

Mating

The LAMBPLAN Export module automatically generates mating information from the FlockFiler Pro Breeding Exposure and Breeding Activity records. Breeding Activity is used to generate AI records. Breeding Exposure is used to generate natural mating records. (ET records are not yet supported in the mating section of the LAMBPLAN Export module.)

If you opt to export mating records, LAMBPLAN requires that you specify a birth management group for any ewe involved in mating. Thus you will need to ensure that each ewe has a birth management group assigned via the FlockFiler Pro Group/Subgroup field.

For the XML-based file, the following LAMBPLAN fields are exported.

For natural matings, the following fields are also exported.

For the Pedigree Master mating file, the following fields are exported.

Pedigree Master requires that mating records be imported from a separate spreadsheet than the main database records. If you opt to export mating records, the FlockFiler Pro LAMBPLAN Export module will create a separarate CSV file containing the mating records. This is not needed for the XML-based file since that accommodates mating records along with all of the other information in the same file.

Other

LAMBPLAN provides for the collection of many additional sheep evaluations at different age stages. These are accommodated by placing corresponding keywords into Log entry records for that sheep with the Log entry date entered as that of the measurement/evaluation.

The following other measurements are accommodated in this fashion. 

LAMBPLAN_BBA: value (bare breech area visual score)
LAMBPLAN_BCOV: value (breech cover visual score)
LAMBPLAN_BDWR: value (body wrinkle visual score)
LAMBPLAN_BRWR: value (breech wrinkle visual score)
LAMBPLAN_CCOV: value (crutch cover visual score)
LAMBPLAN_CHAR: value (fleece character visual score)
LAMBPLAN_COL: value (fleece color visual score)
LAMBPLAN_DAG: value (dag score)
LAMBPLAN_DEST: value (destination code)
LAMBPLAN_DUST: value (fleece dust visual score)
LAMBPLAN_FACE: value (face cover visual score)
LAMBPLAN_FEET: value (feet visual score)
LAMBPLAN_FLROT: value (fleece rot visual score)
LAMBPLAN_LEGS: value (legs visual score)
LAMBPLAN_NKWR: value (neck wrinkle visual score)
LAMBPLAN_SCORER: value (visual scorer code)
LAMBPLAN_SITE: value (measurement site code)
LAMBPLAN_SSTRC: value (fleece staple structure visual score)
LAMBPLAN_URINE: value (fleece urine stain score)
LAMBPLAN_GRADE: value (grade score)
LAMBPLAN_MULESED: value (animal has been mulesed: Y or N)
LAMBPLAN_WEATH: value (fleece weather damage score)

Syndicates

If you want to define a LAMBPLAN syndicate, create a Log entry common to all of the rams in the syndicate and put

LAMBPLAN_SYNDICATE: syndicate ID
into the Log entry Description.

Use the LAMBPLAN_SIRE: keyword in one of the Core Text Fields a sheep record to specify the sire as a syndicate ID.

Visual Scores (<visual-alt>)

In the XML submission format, LAMBPLAN provides an "alternative visual score section". If you want to submit data for this section you do so using one or more Log entry records for the sheep. The date of the Log entry will be taken as the date of the visual score (the date is required). Put a special LAMBPLAN_VISUAL: keyword onto a separate line of the Log entry Description for each visual trait that you measure on that date. You can add an (optional) LAMBPLAN_STAGE: keyword on a separate line if you want to specify the age stage.

The LAMBPLAN_VISUAL: keyword is different than other LAMBPLAN_ keywords used by the FlockFiler Pro LAMBPLAN Export module in that the region after the colon has three distinct parts.

LAMBPLAN_VISUAL: scorer [trait] value
The scorer is optional. The trait must be enclosed in square brackets to distinguish it from the value being assigned.

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