Use Produce or harvest when work on the farm creates something you want to keep track of. You record what was produced and the existing stock it came from. The help calls what you produced the output and what it came from the source.
The new stock gets its own number, while its source keeps its existing number. You can then follow what happens to each and look back at where the new stock came from. Complete the row here before submitting the activity through Post entries.
Record an output from start to finish
Find the stock you used in Current Stock before starting. A lot is a quantity you follow together under one stock number. Each row on this page records one occasion when you produced something from existing stock.
For a new production or harvest record, click Start next entry near the top of this sheet. It takes you to the line after the last one you have used without filling gaps or replacing unfinished work. Return to the original row when you need to finish an existing activity. This link only moves you; it does not save or reserve a row.
If more than one source contributed, click Add another source → to open the next unused Additional sources row. Use the same Activity number there so the contribution belongs to this output. Complete every source before submitting the activity once on Post entries. If a new-entry link says Entry page full — stop, keep the existing rows and do not replace them.
On the next empty row, enter a new Activity number and use Happened on for the date the work happened.
Give what you produced a New stock number, then choose its Stock type and Product / variety.
Count or measure what you produced. Enter that amount in Quantity produced, then choose its Unit so the amount has a clear meaning.
Choose the Source stock number. Read Source unit, then enter Quantity used in that unit. Enter 0 if the source’s own quantity did not decrease.
If more sources contributed, add them on Additional sources using the same Activity number.
Choose the new stock’s Location, Process : stage and Use status to describe its actual place, progress and readiness.
Read Entry check on the main row and every additional source row. When they are ready, choose the completed activity on the next empty Post entries line.
Check that Result says Accepted, then use View Current Stock → to find the new stock and check what remains of each source.
Open Lineage and search the new Stock number to review every recorded source connection.
Leave entry and posting rows in their original order. Have one person enter work at a time so two people do not try to use the same remaining stock together. The development preview provides 200 production rows and 200 additional-source rows; use practice records while reviewing it.
If you have saved usual choices on Stock types, the optional Fill empty starting choices action can prepare some repeated details. Choose a Stock type on each new production row, select one to ten rows, then choose Extensions → Farmer’s Helper — Development → Activities → Fill empty starting choices.
It fills only empty Product / variety, Unit, Location and Process : stage cells where a suitable usual choice is saved. Anything you already entered stays in place, and missing defaults stay blank. Check that the results describe this output. Your row selection stays in place, but the action does not assign numbers, dates, quantities, sources or use status, and it does not post the activity. You can always choose the details directly in the spreadsheet instead.
Posted
Writing a production row saves your draft in the spreadsheet, but it does not yet change the stock totals. When the whole activity is ready, choose it on the next empty Post entries line. Check the result there: Accepted means the new stock and the amounts taken from its sources have been recorded together. The sheet then ticks Posted beside the draft for you.
If the result is Rejected, no new stock has been added and nothing has been taken from its sources. Correct the existing draft, then choose its updated entry on a new Post entries line. Leave the earlier rejected line in place. If a window closes or a confirmation disappears, check the earlier result before trying again; work already marked Accepted should not be entered as another activity.
Activity number
Give each occasion of production or harvesting a number or short label that has not already been used. This labels the work, while New stock number labels what the work produced. Type the chosen activity number directly into the cell and keep it unchanged so that you can find this event later.
Use this exact same number on any Additional sources rows for the event. That tells the spreadsheet that those contributions all belong to this one piece of work.
Happened on
Record the date the work actually happened, even if you are entering it later. In a blank date cell, type @date and choose Date to open the calendar. Double-click an existing date to reopen it, or type the complete date directly. It cannot be in the future or earlier than the stock used as its source. Work that is still planned belongs in Work plan until it has happened.
New stock number
Give what you produced a stock number that has not already been used on Add Stock or Produce or harvest. This becomes its lasting label, used when you add notes, move it or use it in further production. Stock numbers helps you choose the next number or reserve a range. Type the complete chosen number here and keep it unchanged.
Stock type
Choose the form in which you are keeping the new stock, using the choices from the Stock types tab. Stock type helps you recognise what you would find at its location: an individual item, a container or a quantity kept together. Product / variety describes what it is or contains.
If the stock type is set up to follow items individually, give each item its own stock number. That lets you keep a separate history for each one instead of combining several under one number.
Product / variety
Choose the crop, plant, strain, breed or other product you want this output to be recognised as. This answers “what is it?” while Stock type answers “in what form are we keeping it?” The same product can appear under several stock types during production, so a change of form does not necessarily mean that it becomes a different product.
Quantity produced
Count or measure what you produced and enter that amount as a number greater than zero. Choose its Unit alongside it so someone reading the number knows what was counted or measured. Enter this measurement yourself; the spreadsheet cannot safely work it out from the amount taken from a source.
If an accepted starting count or weight was typed incorrectly, use Correct quantity so that the mistake and its repair remain explained.
Unit
Choose how you will measure this new stock, using the Units tab. A unit tells the reader whether the quantity is a count, weight, volume or another measure. Use only the decimal places allowed for the chosen unit.
The new stock and its source can use different units. Read each quantity with its own unit and enter the measurements separately; the spreadsheet does not convert one into the other.
Source stock number
A source is the stock something came from. It can be material used up in the work, or stock that continues to produce without being removed. Choose its stock number so that you name the particular item or lot involved, rather than just the kind of product.
Before using it as a source, its own entry on Add Stock or Produce or harvest must have an Accepted result on Post entries. Put the main source on Produce or harvest. If others contributed, add each of them once on Additional sources using the same activity number. Do not repeat the main source there. Keep those source entries before the later work that uses them, and leave the rows in their original order.
Quantity used
Quantity used is the amount taken out of this source’s recorded quantity. Read Source unit first so you know whether to enter a count, weight or another measurement. Enter 0 only when none of that tracked quantity was consumed. Enter zero rather than leaving the box blank, because a blank is unfinished.
A source can remain available for later work and still lose some quantity in this activity. For example, taking 5 mL from a recorded 100 mL source means entering 5 as Quantity used, leaving the rest for later. Keeping the source record does not by itself mean its Quantity used should be zero.
Measure what was produced separately. The source and the new stock may use different units, and one amount cannot safely be worked out from the other. Enter the actual amount taken from each source; the spreadsheet does not make unit conversions for you.
Location
Choose the place where the new output is now. This becomes its starting location and helps someone find it in Current Stock. It does not move its source, which may remain somewhere else. When this same output moves later, record that event on Move or change stage so that its history stays with its stock number.
Process : stage
Choose the stage the new output has actually reached within your chosen process. A stage describes progress through the work; Location describes a physical place. They may change together, but they answer different questions. This entry establishes the output’s starting stage and leaves the source’s stage alone. Later progress for the same stock is recorded on Move or change stage.
Use status
Use status explains whether the output is ready for its intended use. Choose Available when it is ready, or choose Not ready, On hold or Not assessed when one of those describes the situation. “Not assessed” means readiness has not yet been established; it does not mean the stock has failed an assessment.
All these choices keep the physical quantity counted. Stock that is not available still occupies space and may need attention, even though it is excluded from the amount available to use. Creating a production output does not by itself pass an inspection.
Usable until
Use this only when the stock has a genuine last-use date. Leave it blank when no such date applies. In a blank date cell, type @date and choose Date; double-click an existing date to reopen its calendar. A planned harvest, inspection or next-stage date belongs in your work planning rather than being used as an expiry date.
After the entered date has passed, the stock is still physically counted but its availability shows Past use-by. The date does not record a disposal: if an amount is actually discarded, record that separately on Use or loss.
Recorded by
Choose the person or team making the record, or type a name that is not in the suggestions. Names saved under Other choices → People or teams are offered in the list. This gives colleagues someone to ask about the work. You need to enter the name yourself; signing into Google does not fill this box.
Detail
Write anything someone will need to understand this particular piece of work. Keep it about what happened on this occasion. If you notice something afterward, use Stock notes to give that observation its own date and explanation. Recording a note does not change the amount or readiness of the stock.
Entry check
Entry check is a message worked out by the sheet from your inputs. Read it before posting: it can point to an unfinished field, a repeated reference, an unsuitable date or source use that exceeds what remains. Read the additional-source checks as well, because one unfinished source can prevent the whole activity from being accepted.
A Ready message means the draft passes those entry checks; it is not an inspection or permission to use held stock. It may still include a current-status caution that you need to review. The stock figures change only after Post entries says Accepted. A draft does not reserve a source quantity, so another accepted entry can use that stock before this draft is posted.
When the draft is ready, click Post entries near the top of this sheet. The link takes you straight to the next unused posting line, so you do not need to scroll through earlier work. Choose this completed entry from the list and check that Result says Accepted before treating it as recorded.
Source unit
The spreadsheet fills in this label from the source you selected. Read it before entering Quantity used so that the number has the right meaning. Each additional source has its own unit too. Leave the displayed label as it is and enter only the number in Quantity used.
Source on hand now
Source on hand now shows the source’s current recorded balance. It is the amount before this unfinished activity is posted, not a forecast of what will remain after the quantity you have entered. Another accepted production, use, loss or quantity correction can change it.
Read it with Quantity used and Source unit when checking your draft. The draft does not reserve any of that amount. After Accepted, check the source’s remaining quantity in Current Stock.
Source status now
This shows whether the source is available now, using the labels Available, On hold, Not ready, Not assessed or Past use-by. A caution is a reason to check the situation before proceeding. It does not tell you what the source’s condition was on an earlier date.
A later hold leaves earlier production in the records. It does not put used material back or place every related item on hold. Use Lineage to find what came from the source and Assessment & holds to record any separate decisions needed for that stock.