How to use Vache

Your farm at a glance — herd numbers, 30-day milk, feed runway, local drought outlook, and anything that needs attention.

1. Check the KPI tiles first: herd size, 30-day milk totals, and open alerts.
2. Watch "Feed runway" — it estimates how many days of feed remain at current consumption. Under ~30 days, plan a purchase.
3. The drought widget compares recent local rainfall to the 30-year average for your farm's location — set your farm location in Settings for this to work.
4. Use the article shortcuts at the bottom to jump into the Dairy Library.

• 💡Most numbers here are clickable — they take you to the page where the underlying records live.

The register of every animal — ear tags, RFID, breed, status, and smart-collar pairing.

1. Add animals one at a time with "Add a cow", or in bulk with "Import herd from CSV" (download the template, fill it, upload).
2. Click any row to open the cow's record — health events, breeding history, and milk curve live there.
3. The RFID column shows the tag scanned in from your CSV or reader; the Collar column shows whether a smart collar is paired and reporting.
4. Use the status filter to separate active, dry, sold, and deceased animals.

• 💡Ear tag is the key the rest of the app uses — SMS milk entry matches on it, so keep tags unique and simple.

Daily milk recording — an AM/PM grid per cow with day totals.

1. Pick the date at the top (defaults to today).
2. Type each cow's litres into the AM and PM columns — totals update as you go.
3. Press "Save" once per session; saving replaces that day's entries with what's on screen.
4. Click a cow's name to see her full yield curve and every recorded session.

• 💡No computer in the parlor? Register your phone in Settings → SMS milk entry, then text e.g. "123 12.5" and it lands here automatically.
• 💡Entries from SMS show source "sms", robot/parlor imports keep theirs — you can always tell how a number got in.

Heats, inseminations, pregnancy checks, and expected calvings — logged in batches.

1. Use "Log batch events" to select several cows and record heats, AI services, or preg checks in one go.
2. "Recent heats" lists cows seen on heat — schedule AI within ~12 hours of a heat for best conception.
3. "Open pregnancies" tracks confirmed-pregnant cows and their expected calving dates.
4. Anything you log with a future date appears under "Upcoming events" so nothing gets missed.

• 💡Log every heat even if you don't inseminate — the pattern reveals silent-heat cows and helps time the next service.

Ration plans, who's on which plan, daily feeding logs, and feed-store inventory.

1. Create a ration under "New feed plan" — name it and set target kg/day.
2. Use "Assign plan to cow / group" so the system knows what each animal should be eating.
3. Record what was actually fed each day under "Log daily feed".
4. Keep "Feed inventory" updated when stock arrives or is used up — it drives the dashboard's feed-runway estimate and the low-feed alert.

• 💡Logged-vs-target gaps show up in reports — a herd consistently under target usually explains a milk dip before anything else does.

Smart collars, milk robots, scales, and gateways — pairing, live telemetry, and health.

1. Pair a device with "Pair a device": choose the type, give the serial, and (for collars) map it to a cow.
2. Copy the generated Device ID into the device's configuration — that's what it authenticates with when posting telemetry.
3. Watch "Live telemetry" to confirm data is arriving after setup.
4. Use the summary chips to spot trouble: offline devices haven't reported recently even if marked active; faulty ones need attention.
5. From the table you can remap a collar to another cow, change a device's status, or unpair it entirely.

• 💡A collar that stopped reporting usually means battery or range — check "Last seen" before assuming the device is dead.

Everything the system flagged — health anomalies, low feed, drought risk, device silences.

1. Newest alerts are at the top; each names the cow or system that triggered it.
2. Click through to the underlying record to act on it.
3. Acknowledge alerts you've handled so the list stays meaningful.
4. Tune what triggers and at what thresholds in Settings → Alert rules.

Monthly summaries of milk, feed, health, and breeding — exportable for the bank, vet, or co-op.

1. Pick the report and period you need.
2. Review on screen, then use Export to download a file you can print or send.

• 💡Set your milk price in Settings to see revenue estimates alongside volumes.

Official aid for dairy farmers — drought relief, credit, subsidies, insurance, and training — filtered to your farm's country.

1. Set your country in Settings; the directory then shows only programs you can actually apply to.
2. Filter by category with the chips: drought, feed, credit, extension, subsidy, insurance.
3. "Apply at …" opens the official application portal; "Full details" shows eligibility and benefits first.
4. Know a program we don't list? Use "Suggest a program" and it'll be reviewed and added.

• 💡The directory updates itself: a monthly scan researches new programs for your country, and programs that end are removed automatically.
• 💡Always confirm deadlines on the official site — application windows can close early when funds run out.

Your subscription — Free vs Pro, prices in USD with your local equivalent shown underneath.

1. Compare the Free and Pro columns; Pro unlocks premium articles, all courses, and the full toolkit.
2. Hit Upgrade to pay by card (auto-renews monthly) or M-Pesa (you'll get a renewal link each month).
3. Your purchases (courses, farm plans, AI designs) are listed on the planning hub and stay yours regardless of plan.

The doorway to farm planning & design — library, courses, marketplace, AI design, tools, and consultancy.

1. New to planning a dairy? Start with the Dairy Library's Planning and Design topics, or take the "Designing your first dairy" course.
2. Buying ready-made: the Marketplace sells complete, build-ready barn plan PDFs.
3. Want it custom? "AI design" drafts a layout from your numbers; "Consult" books a human expert.
4. Your purchases appear here once you're signed in.

Field-tested articles on every dairy topic — health, milking, breeding, feed, design, finance, and more.

1. Tap a topic chip to see just that category; "All topics" brings everything back.
2. Articles marked Pro need a Vache Pro subscription (or are included with a purchased course).
3. Course chapters appear under their course's own topic chip.

Structured, self-paced courses: dairy design, herd health, feeding on a budget, and dairy business.

1. Open a course page to see every chapter and what you'll have by the end.
2. Buy once for lifetime access — or subscribe to Vache Pro and get all courses included.
3. Chapters read like articles; each ends with a concrete deliverable to complete before the next.

Complete, build-ready dairy plan PDFs sized by herd — priced in your currency.

1. Browse plans by herd size and climate; open one for the full specification.
2. Buy with card or M-Pesa; the download unlocks immediately and stays in "Your purchases".
3. Want the plan built? Every plan page links to our Build-Out consultancy.

Describe your herd, land, and climate — get a preliminary barn layout and equipment list drafted by AI.

1. Fill in herd size, site dimensions, climate, and milking preference.
2. Generate, review the draft, and regenerate with tweaks until it fits.
3. Export the PDF (one-time fee) to share with builders — or take it into a consultation for human refinement.

Book a human expert — from a quick review to a full build-out engagement.

1. Pick the tier that matches your stage; prices adjust to your region.
2. Fill the request form — attachments (sketches, photos, plans) help us prepare.
3. Paid tiers go straight into the review queue; Build-Out starts with a quote.

Free calculators: cubicle counts, parlor sizing, and manure storage.

1. Pick a calculator and enter your herd numbers.
2. Results update live — adjust inputs to compare scenarios.
3. Each tool links to the library article explaining the math behind it.

Farm identity, team access, SMS milk entry, and alert rules.

1. Farm profile: name, country (drives currency and aid programs), units, timezone, location (drives the drought widget), and milk price (drives revenue estimates).
2. The 5-question operation profile tunes dashboard defaults — update it as the farm changes.
3. Team: invite colleagues by email and assign a role (owner, manager, vet, farmhand, viewer).
4. SMS milk entry: register your phone in international format (+254…), then text milk records straight to the system.
5. Alert rules: toggle each rule and adjust thresholds.