Help & Getting Started

Welcome to ForagePilot. Follow these steps to set up your farm:

1. Create your account — Sign up with your email address and set a password.
2. Open Fodder Flow — This is your main dashboard. Start by entering your herd size and current feed resources.
3. Add your pastures — Go to Fodder Flow → Pastures & Veld to record your camp sizes, current cover, and utilisation rates.
4. Set your feed inventory — In Fodder Flow → Feed Resources, enter what hay, silage, or supplements you have on hand.
5. Check Supply vs Demand — ForagePilot will show you if your feed supply matches your herd's requirements.

Fodder Flow is your central feed planning hub. It brings together your herd, pastures, and feed resources to show whether your operation is in balance.

Dashboard

At a glance: current herd LSU, estimated grazing days remaining, and a traffic-light warning if you're heading for a feed shortage.

Herd Stock Flow

Record your livestock numbers by category (cows, weaners, bulls, etc.). The system converts all animals to Large Stock Units (LSU) for standardised feed demand calculations.

Breeding Calendar

Track joining dates, expected calving, and weaning events. Helps you anticipate spikes in herd size and adjust feed planning accordingly.

Pastures & Veld

Enter each camp's area (ha), current veld cover, and estimated dry matter yield. ForagePilot calculates how many grazing days each camp can provide.

Feed Resources

Record supplementary feed on hand — hay bales, silage tonnage, concentrates. Set current prices to track feed costs automatically.

Supply vs Demand

The summary view. Shows total feed supply (grazing + supplementary) against total herd demand in tonnes DM and grazing days. Red = shortfall, green = surplus.

Plan your feedlot or finishing operation with precision. Compare multiple finishing strategies to find the most profitable approach.

Herd & Pricing

Enter: number of animals, entry weight, target slaughter weight, current feeder price (R/kg), and target slaughter price (R/kg).

Strategy Inputs

Set feed cost, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for each finishing strategy (e.g., summer pasture, winter drylot, backgrounding + feedlot).

Compare All

Side-by-side comparison of all strategies showing: days on feed, total feed cost, gross margin, and return on investment per animal.

Benchmarks

Compare your strategy inputs against industry benchmarks for your breed and target market. Useful for identifying where your costs are out of line.

Build balanced rations from your available feed ingredients. Useful for formulating backgrounding, growing, or maintenance rations.

How to use it

1. Add your available ingredients (hay, silage, maize, urea, molasses, etc.) with their nutritional values.
2. Set your target: animal class, body weight, production stage.
3. ForagePilot calculates the least-cost combination that meets your protein and energy targets.
4. Adjust ingredient inclusion limits to reflect what's actually available on your farm.

Track health events, treatments, and vaccination schedules across your herd.

Health Overview

Log individual animal or mob health events with date, diagnosis, treatment, and cost. Useful for insurance claims and herd health records.

Vaccines

Set up your annual vaccination programme and track which animals have been treated. Get reminders when boosters are due.

Track growth performance of your livestock with weigh-in records and ADG calculations.

Weigh-ins

Record weigh-in dates and weights for individual animals or mobs. ForagePilot automatically calculates average daily gain between weigh-in periods.

Track income and expenses related to your livestock operation.

Transactions

Log purchases (livestock, feed, vet costs) and sales (animals, produce). All amounts in Rands.

ForagePilot calculates a running gross margin for your operation, helping you understand profitability across seasons.

For agricultural advisors, consultants, and farm managers who manage multiple farms.

Adding a client

1. Go to the Clients tab.
2. Click + Add Client.
3. Enter the farm/client name and contact details.
4. Each client gets their own isolated data — plans, rations, and livestock records stay separate.

Switching between clients

Click a client card to switch context. All modules (Fodder Flow, Finishing, etc.) will show that client's data until you switch back.

ForagePilot offers three plans:

• Starter (Free) — Core Fodder Flow and Finishing tools. Single farm only.
• Pro — All modules including Ration Builder, Health, Performance, Finance, and Client Management (up to 10 clients).
• Enterprise — Unlimited clients + priority support.

Payments are processed securely via PayFast. Your card details are never stored by ForagePilot.

How to upgrade

1. Go to the Subscription tab.
2. Select your plan and click Subscribe.
3. Complete payment on PayFast's secure page.
4. Your account upgrades automatically within minutes.