It has been a very busy time for AMTS. There are always ongoing projects, exploration of new ventures, continuing program development, things like that. Rarely have we had so many projects come to fruition in one month as now.
At the beginning of the month (October 4) Sam Fessenden started working for AMTS. The last 10 days have been filled with getting him set up and scheduled. Sam has brought new eyes to the program, a fresh perspective on the model, an additional brain to pick for answers, and a fresh face in the office. If you missed it, you can read more about him here
New Website
We have been working to update our website for months. All the design meetings, trial sites, and testing has finally finished with the site going live earlier this week. The new site has all the information of the old website and the Ruminations blog with the addition of many nifty new features. Most import feature to the new website is the addition of a user managed subscription service. Some content is only available to registered users; now the site registration process is quicker and more user friendly. The big plus with the new website is that the program can be downloaded, purchased, and license key activated by the user without waiting for response from AMTS to process the license. Welcome to 2016.
New Version of AMTS.Cattle™.Pro
Concurrent with the website upgrade is the release of a new version of AMTS.Cattle™.Pro. There are some exciting additions to the interface, a new report utilizing historical data, improved functionality, a new feedbank, equation updates, incorporation of the web-based licensing system, and bug fixes.
We have added a navigation Management Console that will help new users get started with moving through the program. Experienced users will appreciate the guidance the system offers in assisting seldom performed tasks. The Management Console disappears after opening a farm but can always be brought back up by pressing “Home”.
Another very useful addition to the program is the Tree. This tool is specifically geared to users with wide screens. Its use will allow users to see and change Location, Cattle, and Feed inputs without leaving the recipe screen. Users can see the change to output predictions brought about by adjustments in the input parameters dynamically. No more clicking back and forth between input and recipe screens. You are going to like this!
Remember when we introduce the “Make Active” button and explained that it did not yet do anything that you could actually see but that you should click it anyway? It came with our last big update. At the time, we told you that you should treat it like a savings account. The function of the “Make Active” button was to collect data for future use. To remind you: every time you clicked the button in the Recipe screen, ALL information around that recipe was captured and saved. ALL THE INFORMATION: Environmental Influences (Location), Animal (Cattle), Feed analysis and composition (Feeds), and Formulation (Recipe). We had a plan, your job was to collect the data on your farms. The new Captured Data Report utilizes that historical information to provide time specific reports that provide insight to facilitate management decisions. We hope you made your diets active—if not, start today.
We have also expanded the ever handy Reorder function to Locations, Cattle, and Feeds. This makes it easier to get your ducks in the rows you want them.
This release includes a new AMTS Commercial Feedbank. We have broken commercial feeds that are included in the CNCPS library out into their own Feedbank. This allows for a couple things. Now, all the commercial feeds are padlocked. They will not be able to be changed by the user. Secondly, because these feeds are padlocked and will retain the specific Feedname, Source, Source ID, and Mill_ID originally assigned, you will be able to use the reconcile function to update any change in the feed profile. Those changes will then be implemented across all farms in your program using the changed feed as long as it was pulled from the AMTS Commercial feedbank. This will be a real timesaver.
Other changes within the program include implementation of model changes and program performance. If you have any questions or just want to see how some of these changes work, contact us through support@agmodelsystems.com. Tom, Caroline, Vijay, Lynn, Sam, and Mariann will be at the Cornell Nutrition Conference next week. Caroline and Sam will be at ADSA Big Data Discover Conference Nov 1-4, Lynn and Mariann will be at the Penn Nutrition Conference November 9&10, and Tom and Sam will be at EuroTier November 15-18.
This is incidental, we finally finished painting the office, and it looks lovely.