Release 234 - 28/09/2022

Introducing Seasons

In this update, we are pleased to be improving the way that we organise your data into seasons. Previously, the date of a record determined the season. Now, a season will be linked to a crop and all records related to that crop, regardless of its date, will fall within that crops season. This helps organise data, especially within financial reports where activities may have happened before the official season started or after the official season ended.

Click here for the Seasons Video Guide

 

Managing and switching between seasons

The season that you are actively working in can be changed through the season selector. This season is shown in bold text and is referred to as the ‘Selected Season’. When navigating throughout the website, the season selector will always display in the upper toolbar and this ‘Selected Season’ will be linked to any new records you create. 

Within the season selector, you will notice a ‘Manage Season’ link which will allow you to open the ‘Manage Season’ popup. Only Administrators and Standard role users will have this functionality. 

This allows you to create new seasons. While this has been done automatically for any crops you already have, going forward, a new season will need to be created each year. This popup also allows you to delete seasons, providing that the season does not already contain records.

Along the list of seasons, you will notice a series of ticks. This allows you to highlight what you consider is the ‘Current Season’. When you do this, you will see the word ‘Current’ within the season selector to remind you. This is for reference only and it should be noted that it is the grey ‘Selected Season’ that controls which season you are actively working in.

Default season dates for crops

Within the site settings screen you can choose your default season dates. This saves you time by pre-setting the ‘Date From’ and ‘Date To’ when creating new crops. It is worth noting that this only pre-sets these dates. You can create crops and records outside of the default season dates. These records will still be linked to the ‘Selected Season’ that was chosen at the time of creating that record.

Day to day working with seasons

To put this into practice, in the example below we are creating a spray plan for the season 2022. The ‘Selected Season’ in the season picker determines that this record will be linked to the season 2022 when it is saved. It is worth noting that regardless of the date used in the plan, this plan will always be linked to season 2022. This is the same for all records.

You will notice that when adding crops to a record, the selection only shows crops from the ‘Selected Season’. It is not possible to mix crops from different seasons. The season is also indicated in the upper area of the picker. 

Reports, dates and seasons

The reports work in a similar way to before but now show data for the ‘Selected Season’ without you having to select the season dates. For example, the dates are empty by default when loading the activity report. This will show all data for the ‘Selected Season’ regardless of the date of each records. Alternatively, you can choose to limit the data in the report by choosing a ‘Date From’ and ‘Date To’.

It is here that seasons show their benefit. Even by selecting the date ‘Date From’ of three seasons ago, only records within the ‘Selected’ season will show. This allows you to show records that were linked to the ‘Selected Season’ but fell outside of the season dates. For example, an activity record that prepared the ground before the season started.

Other reports, such as the Spray Plan Report, will automatically set the date filters to today’s date. Similarly, only records that match the filters dates and are within the ‘Selected Season’ will show. You can easily change the ‘Selected Season’ at any time whilst reporting. 

Frequently asked questions

Q. I am unable to select a season. Why is the selector locked?

A. The selector is locked after entering an ‘Add’ or ‘Edit’ screen by design. For example, adding a new plan or editing an inspection. This prevents creating a record with crops from one season, switching the ‘Selected Season’ before saving, and then adding more crops to the record. This would result in a record with crops from two or more seasons.

To unlock the drop down, you will need to return to the overview screen/previous screen and change the ‘Selected Season’ before creating the record. The season selector will always be locked when editing a record. 

Q. How can I change a season that a crop belongs to?

A. Once a season has been selected for a crop, it is not possible to change it. You will need to ensure the correct ‘Selected Season’ is chosen before saving the crop. If the crop has been added to the wrong season by Muddy Boots, please use the contact information below to let us know.

Q. How do I select a season in the iOS app?

A. Currently the ‘Manage Season’ popup can only be accessed through the website. However, you can continue to create crops within the app. An appropriate season will automatically be created for you during the sync.  

Q. What is the difference between ‘Current’ season and ‘Selected’ season?

A. Marking a season as ‘Current’ in the ‘Manage Season’ popup is for your reference only. This is shown in the season selector by the word “Current”.  The ‘Selected Season’ is the season that has been chosen in the drop down. It is shown in a grey background colour. This is the season that will be linked to crops, plans, activities etc as you create them. It is also the season that determines what data shows on the overview screen and within reports.

Q. I have added seasons for one site, but they are not showing on another site?

A. Seasons are specific to the site they were added on. This is also true for the default season dates within site settings. Therefore, seasons need to be added for each site at the start of the year as required.

Introducing Cropping Planner

To compliment the change to seasons, we’ve also added a new piece of functionality called the ‘Cropping Planner’. This gives you an overview of your different seasons (typically two years prior, the current year, and a future year) so you can see what was planted, where and when. In addition to this, you’ll be able to copy crops from one year to the next saving you time when entering your information.

Click here for the Cropping Planner Video Guide

Other Improvements

• Fixed the ‘Set as default operator’ not working on certain activities
• Improved precision on the Adjust Stock screen
• Improved the behaviour when clicking the ‘back’ button after merging a field

Have your say on these features and any upcoming ones on our UserVoice forum.