FarmWorks Support - Frequently Asked Questions

Please select the FAQ below

What are the system requirements for running FarmWorks by Shearwell Data?

System Requirements

Any new computer that is on the market now will be able to run our software. If you have an older computer then check it against the list below. If it matches or betters these specifications then you will have no problems running our programs.

Windows 98 Second Edition, ME, 2000, NT or XP
A Pentium 350 Mhz processor
32MB of RAM
100MB of free disk space
A Graphics card capable of 800 x 600 screen resolution with 256 colours
An Internet connection is required to:

Use any of the 'Data Transfer' options from within the program,
(other than the Data Transfer using the Psion Workabout)
Email Shearwell Data Ltd

These are minimum requirements and it should be noted that the program will run faster on a higher specification computer.

I've got my FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD, so how do I get started?

Install FarmWorks By Shearwell Data from the CD. The program will run as a demonstration for a month to allow you to use and assess it. You might like to enter a few animals and use the program as a "play farm" for a short while. If you do this, then when you are ready to start using the program for real you will need to wipe the play data out by doing a full reinstallation for FarmWorks By Shearwell Data from the CD again.

How do I install FarmWorks By Shearwell Data for the first time?

You do a full installation from your FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD.
Before installing FarmWorks By Shearwell Data, please go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Regional Settings and make sure that the regional settings on your computer are set to the correct locale; for UK users this would be English (United Kingdom).
Please disable any Anti-Virus software that may be installed on your computer as a precaution before you install FarmWorks By Shearwell Data. Most people simply need to right click the anti-virus icon at the bottom right of the screen and choose Disable. After installation click that button again to re-enable the anti-virus software. If you need any further help please contact your hardware supplier.
Insert your FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD into the CD drive. If your computer has Autorun activated, then the FarmWorks By Shearwell Data installation will start automatically. If Autorun is not activated and installation does not start automatically, click on the Start button, then click on Run. Click on Browse, pick the CD drive in the Look In drop down list, open the FarmWorks directory, and choose Setup.exe. Then click Open and click OK.
Please read through the License Agreement and click Next through each of the screens to start the install. Follow all screen instructions carefully and wait until all processes have finished and all icons have disappeared from the taskbar. Then remove the CD from the drive and store it carefully. If you are instructed to restart your computer, then you must do this before you open the program.

I've installed my FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD, now what do I do?

You will find a FarmWorks By Shearwell Data icon on your desktop. Double click on this icon and the program will open and ask you to fill in the details of your holding. You can also set up a password that you will have to enter to open FarmWorks By Shearwell Data again. If you decide not to set up a password now you can always do so later if you change your mind.

I have just opened FarmWorks By Shearwell Data for the first time and I can't see the whole screen. What should I do?

Check the screen resolution. Right-click the desktop and click Properties; under the Settings tab there is a slider that changes the resolution of the screen. FarmWorks requires a minimum of 800 x 600; if you can't see some of the FarmWorks windows it's likely yours is set to 640 x 480. We recommend changing your resolution to 800 x 600, but FarmWorks also has an option to only change it when it starts up if you prefer, under Setup > Options > General.

 

I don't feel happy about going straight into keeping my real records. How can I practise first?

You may want to use the program as a "play farm" for a short while to learn how it works. If you go down this route then enter a few farm and animal records, and play with them. When you're happy you know what you are doing then do another Full installation (rather than Upgrade) and start again.

What should I do with my play farm?

Probably the best thing to do is to enter one other holding, a market, an abattoir, and buy a couple of medicines. Enter a few home born animals and a few purchased ones. Choose either the cattle or sheep side of the program, or work in both. Then use the Animal Records screens to send animals to market, record their sale or return them. Send some to the abattoir. Treat one or two of them with the medicine you have bought. Calve some of them. Send some of them to grasskeep and bring them back again. Use the Farm Records screens to calculate your stock totals on various dates and to work out your extensification averages. Use the Reports screens to generate a herd register, a movement book (you'll find both of those under Reports > Cattle > Movements) and a treatment report. Make a BSPS claim, a suckler cow claim and a slaughter premium claim. Look round all the other screens, explore and use the screens. Look at the warning screens that come up when you open the cattle side of FarmWorks By Shearwell Data. Go to Setup > Options and see how you can configure your copy of FarmWorks By Shearwell Data to suit your needs. Please DON'T use the BCMS wizard until you are making real records for your real farm (DEFRA wouldn't like it). For more advice click on how to enter data , see below.

How do I remove my play farm data so that I can start keeping my real records?

Install FarmWorks By Shearwell Data again. Because the installation wizard will know that you have already installed FarmWorks By Shearwell Data it will suggest that you should choose Upgrade so that you will keep the data. But you specifically don't want to keep the data you have entered so you should override this and choose to do a Full installation.

I am ready to use the program for real. I have either not used it as a "play farm" or I have done a full reinstallation and wiped out the play data. What should I do first?

You will need to fill in your login details to start with. Please make sure these are accurate and are exactly the right format, e.g. UK123456 with no space between UK and the numbers. The main holding number cannot be changed once any animals have been recorded as being moved onto the farm. Decide when you want your FarmWorks By Shearwell Data records to begin - your Zero Day - and keep this date in mind. You do not have to enter this date anywhere.

Can you give me some advice about how to enter data?

Choose either Cattle or Sheep in the screen that is now displayed. You will be taken to the main screen with the FarmWorks By Shearwell Data menu bar at the top. Choose Farm Records and then enter all the details you can under the headings displayed.
All holdings from which you purchase animals, or to which you send animals to grasskeep or sell animals, must be entered in the Holdings screen. Markets and abattoirs must be entered in their screens. It is important to enter the holding numbers of all holdings, markets and abattoirs, as all movement records in the program depend on them. Much of this information is on animal passports, but if in doubt get the information from the holding, market or abattoir. Your movement book will display on the names of the places your stock move from and to and their holding numbers, because you might well be moving stock to or from two different farms with the same name. So you can see it is important to take a little trouble to get the holding numbers correct.
Enter your farm vet and the medicines in your lockup if you want to keep your medicine records in FarmWorks By Shearwell Data. Make entries in other Farm Records screens to suit your needs. If you keep animals of only a few breeds then go to the Breeds screens and choose Select Commonly Used Breeds. Click on the breeds that you use and using the > button add the animals to the right hand side of the window and click Save. This will speed animal data entry.
Now choose the Animal Records tab in the menu bar and enter your stock (Farm Records stays the same whether you are working with cattle or sheep, but obviously you need to choose the appropriate section of the program to enter your stock).
Once you have decided on your Zero Day enter all animals on farm on your Zero Day in the Add Current Animals screen.
You must enter the Herd ID exactly as it is on the cattle passports, including "UK" if it is on the passport.
For UK tags don't enter the check digit or any leading zeros in the Tag Number box, just the number. For example, if the tag number is "700012" you should enter "12", or if it is "00265" you should enter "265". The program will enter the check digit and leading zeros as necessary.
You can select a breed by typing the first letter of that breed e.g. type 'a' for Aberdeen Angus. If you have more than one breed beginning with the same letter, simply press the letter again. Or use the mouse and select from the dropdown list. In the same way you can select the sex of the animal by typing in the first letter e.g. 'h' for heifer. Otherwise, use the mouse and select from the dropdown list.
Use the calendars to enter dates - click on the month and a list of months will be shown, click on the year and go up or down as necessary - or type in the date using your selected date format (the default for UK users is dd/mm/yyyy).
Where a date of birth is not known or the new registration certificates show the date of 11/11/1111 enter 01/01/1994 (change the year of birth according to how old you think the animal is).
Enter all the information you have on your animals, so the herdbook is as accurate as possible. The most efficient and error free way to enter animals is with a barcode scanner. We supply these at £169 + carriage and VAT.

I've entered my animals. Where do I go from here?

If you haven't done so before, now is the time to look at all the screens and see all the things that you can do with FarmWorks By Shearwell Data.
When you open FarmWorks By Shearwell Data warning screens are displayed for time sensitive actions. They are there to remind you about things that may need doing now. If you don't want to see them each time you open FarmWorks By Shearwell Data, go to Setup > Options > Warnings to disable them. You can enable them again at any time.
Use Setup > Options to configure your copy of FarmWorks By Shearwell Data to suit your needs..
Remember that animal ages are updated every time you open FarmWorks By Shearwell Data. If you leave the program running the ages of animals will not be updated and may not be accurate for the current day.
Now go to Animal Records > Animal Details where you will see your animals displayed in a grid.
You may want to sort the animals in the grid. Do this by clicking the column name in the grid that you want to sort by e.g. date of birth or age. You may want to select an animal to change something that has been entered about it, do this by clicking in the small grey box to the left of the animal's number in the grid. Or you can type the animal's tag number in the Tag Search field beside the grid and when you press Enter on the keyboard the animal will be selected. Or you can click into the Tag Search field and scan the animal's passport with the barcode scanner. Whichever method you have used the animal's entry in the grid will go blue and its details will be displayed in the bottom half of the screen.
Once you're happy with working with the grid you are ready to go ahead and record all your farm events in the appropriate screens.

How do I upgrade my earlier version of FarmWorks By Shearwell Data to the latest version I have been sent?

You do an Upgrade installation from your new FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD.
First of all make sure you have an up to date backup of your FarmWorks By Shearwell Data data.
Insert your FarmWorks By Shearwell Data CD into the CD drive. If your computer has Autorun activated, then the FarmWorks By Shearwell Data installation will start automatically.If Autorun is not activated and installation does not start automatically, click on the Start button, then click on Run. Click on Browse, pick the CD drive in the Look In drop down list, open the FarmWorks directory, and choose Setup.exe. Then click Open and click OK.
Once you have chosen to install FarmWorks By Shearwell Data the installation wizard will suggest that you should do an Upgrade installation to keep your data. Only override this (by choosing Full) if you want to destroy all your data.
Follow all screen instructions carefully and wait until all processes have finished and all icons have disappeared from your taskbar. Then remove the CD from the drive and store it carefully. If you are instructed to restart your computer, then you must do this before you open the program.

What does a barcode scanner do?

In either the Add Current Animals screen or the Purchase screen, the barcode scanner will enter an animal's herd ID, tag number, date of birth and breed from the bottom barcode on its passport. It will not enter its sex because the passport only differentiates between male and female whereas FarmWorks By Shearwell Data requires you to choose bull, steer, heifer or cow. Using the barcode scanner is the most efficient and error free way to enter animals into the program. Connect the barcode scanner, click or tab into the Barcode Scan field on the screen and then scan the bottom barcode on the animal's passport.
Once you have entered your animals the barcode scanner will select them for sales or recording any other events. Click or tab into the Tag Search field on the screen and then scan the top barcode on the animal's passport. If the animal is in the grid displayed it will automatically be selected, and you can immediately scan the next passport to select a second animal in addition to the first one.

How do I connect the barcode scanner to my PC?

(Using the default PS/2 connector) The barcode scanner comes with a Y shaped connector. Disconnect the connector from the scanner. Disconnect the keyboard from your computer. Connect the keyboard plug into whichever socket on the Y shaped connector is appropriate. Connect the barcode scanner into the appropriate leg of the Y shaped connector. Then connect the third leg of the Y shaped connector into the socket on your computer from which you had unplugged the keyboard. Reboot your computer.

I have a laptop. Do I need a different barcode scanner?

If your laptop has a PS/2 port (commonly used for an external mouse) then the barcode scanner will work with no problems. If you do not, we can supply a USB adaptor that will get you up and running, which we sell for £20.

I have lost my password. How can I get into FarmWorks By Shearwell Data again?

Contact Shearwell Data and we will be able to help. There is a standard charge of £12.50 plus VAT for this.

I'm having problems entering valid all numeric cattle tags. What should I do?

Enter the UK herd id in the Herd Number box (including "UK"), Tab or click into the Tag Number box and enter the digits after the check digit and the zeros. FarmWorks By Shearwell Data will automatically insert the check digit and the right number of zeros. For example if the tag is UK123456 100001, then enter "UK123456" in the Herd Number box, then Tab or click into the Tag Number box and enter "1". The box will then display "100001" automatically.

My demonstration period has run out. What should I do?

If you want to continue to use FarmWorks By Shearwell Data you must register your copy (see below).

My demonstration period has run out. Will my data have been lost?

No, your data is just hidden until you have registered your copy of the program.

How do I register my copy of FarmWorks By Shearwell Data?

To purchase FarmWorks by Shearwell Data please either send us payment by cheque made payable to Shearwell Data Ltd, or ring Accounting on 01643 841611 with card details to hand. Please note we can activate your account immediately when payment is taken by card, but there will be a few day's wait if payment is by cheque. For software pricing information please click here.

To register FarmWorks by Shearwell Data please ring Support on 01643 841814/5. We will need to know the following information:

  • Your Herd Number
  • Your Holding Number
  • Which part(s) of the program you wish to use: Cattle, Sheep and/or Flock.

Only the part of the program you register for will be available for use. Records you have made in a section you have not activated will remain intact on your computer, but access is restricted.

We will provide you with a 15-digit key that is linked uniquely to your Herd and Holding number. You can use this code if you wish to install FarmWorks on another machine, and also if you need to do a full reinstall, so please made a note of it somewhere safe. Simply enter the key when prompted at the registration screen (the letters will automatically come out in capitals) and click Register.

How important is backing up?

Very important. If your records are important to you, you should have more than one backup, preferably both on your hard drive and on floppy or CD. If you use FarmWorks By Shearwell Data to keep statutorily required records then backing up is absolutely essential. Do it regularly, do it often. Go to File > Backup Data and explore the options.
If you choose Backup to floppy, make sure you have at least two sets of floppies that you use alternately. Always empty floppies before you backup to them.
If you choose Backup to named file, you can either accept the folder offered to you by the program or choose to save the file anywhere you think fit.
If you need to send your data to us, use the Backup to named file and email to support option.
The safest option is to choose Backup to NLMD Database Server. The National Livestock Management Database holds farm records on a server here at Shearwell Data, meaning a safe, reliable offsite backup that is immune to anything that could happen to your home PC. To explore more about the NLMD visit www.NLMD.co.uk and register for free.
You can also automatically backup every time you exit FarmWorks By Shearwell Data. To set this option, go to Setup > Options > Automatic Backup, where there is a full explanation.

What about restoring from a backup?

Go to File > Restore Data. You can restore from floppy, from a named file, from NLMD or from one of your automatic backups, just as you choose.

I typed the animal's tag number into the Tag Search field and pressed enter. The animal selected has the right tag number but the wrong herd id. What do I do?

If you have more than one animal with the same tag number and you type the tag number into the Tag Search field FarmWorks By Shearwell Data will find the first animal with that tag number. If this is not the right one you should deselect it by clicking anywhere in the grid itself, then type the correct herd id as well as the tag number into the Tag Search field. This will select the right animal.

I have entered £500 in a price field, or 450kg in a weight field and FarmWorks By Shearwell Data won't accept it. What should I do?

Enter weights and prices as numbers only and FarmWorks By Shearwell Data will put in the units. When you record the slaughter or sale of animals at abattoir or market, enter the full price, and not the pence per kilo. FarmWorks By Shearwell Data will do the calculation.

I want to view or print a report with my animals sorted in a particular way. I have sorted the animals in the grid the way I want them to appear but the report shows them in a different order. How can I get the report right?

To sort animals in reports you will need to choose the appropriate Report Sort Options before you click View Report.

I only want a report on some of my animals. How do I do that?

To view or print a report on a subset of your herd or flock, choose the appropriate group by breed, sex, management group and so on, then click on the Select All Animals button (not available on all screens). Only those animals will be in the grid, and they will be highlighted. Then choose the appropriate Report Sort Options before you click View Report.

I want to send several animals to market/grasskeep/abattoir at once. How do I select more than one animal in the grid?

Most grids allow you to select more than one animal at a time (one or two of them don't, e.g. Delete). To select more than one animal use any of the three methods of selection. If you are selecting them with the mouse, select the first one and then hold down the Ctrl key while you click beside the next and subsequent animals. If you use the Tag Search field, enter the first number and press Enter, type the next number and press Enter, and so on. If you are using the barcode scanner click in the Tag Search field and scan the first passport top barcode, then the second passport, and so on.
If you want to select most of the animals in the grid then it might be quicker to check the Select All box and then deselect the ones you don't want.

I want to download and compare my cattle data with CTS Online. How do I go about doing this?

DOWNLOADING

Under Data Transfer > Import from CTS/APHIS choose the first option. If you have not already done so you must fill in your CTS User Id and password and click Save. Then FarmWorks by Shearwell Data Ltd. will automatically connect to CTS and download any animal data you do not already have.

It is likely you may need to enter some extra information as CTS Online does not contain complete animal records.

COMPARING

Open Data Transfer > Validate using CTS/APHIS and click the first option. You may need to enter your CTS User Id and password if you haven’t already. Clicking Save will automatically connect to CTS and compare your records.

How do I find out what my SMTP server is?

Please note: you will only need to fill in this option in Setup > Options if you wish to email a backup to support using the FarmWorks backup screen. If you use Outlook Express or Outlook as your email program, open it and click on the Tools tab. Select Accounts and click on Mail. Select the email account that you will be using for your outgoing emails and click on properties. Select Servers, and the details of your outgoing SMTP server will be provided. Make a note of this and your outgoing email address.
Click here to visit our BCMS Wizard help page.

 

I am having trouble making a connection through the BCMS Wizard/Downloading animals from CTS. What should I do?

Go to Setup > Options > BCMS Settings and check what you have entered, often problems are caused by the password or user ID being incorrect.
If you are still having trouble you may have a system that requires you to be on line before you open the FarmWorks By Shearwell Data BCMS wizard. Try getting on line first, and make sure your connection has been made before you open the wizard.

Also connections can be prevented by security software installed on your PC. If you have a firewall installed and it does not recognise FarmWorks by Shearwell Data Ltd then it will prevent it from accessing the internet; you would get something like a 'time out' from within FarmWorks. If you add FarmWorks as an exception in the firewall program then this will rule this out as a source of the problem. Please consult your security software help files or documentation for help with this.

If you are still having problems with your BCMS setup please contact support on 01643 841814/5.
Click here to visit our BCMS Wizard help page.

What can I do if I have entered an incorrect record?

There are some errors that are easily corrected: dates of birth or purchase, breed, dam or sire tag, weight and so on.
Other errors are not easily amended like this. This is why we have the Delete option (under Animal Records > Delete Record). There are two types of deletion. First, you can completely delete the animal concerned (Complete deletion). You can then re-enter it, but you will have to re-enter everything to do with that animal. Second, you can do a Partial deletion. This only deletes things related to an animal AFTER a specified date. So if, for instance, on the program you had accidently sent an animal to abattoir and wanted to undo this, choosing partial deletion then specifying the day BEFORE the movement would remove any trace of it happening.

Alternatively there is the option of sending a backup of your data to us with details of the errors and we will correct them for you. We make a charge for this based on the time it takes us to make the corrections. The charge is £25 per hour, with a minimum charge of £12.50, plus VAT.
If in doubt contact support for advice on 01643 841814/5.

I bought some of my stock a long time ago. I no longer have all the information on where they came from. How can I enter these animals?

If you don't know the holding numbers of some of the places where you purchased some of your current stock, particularly old cows, then you must enter these animals through the Add Current Animals screen. You will be required only to enter the name of the person or place you bought the animals from.