2021-12-27 16:20:47 +01:00
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# Managing Assets
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All the important and valuable things on your farm are represented as "Assets"
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in farmOS. Asset types include Land, Plants, Animals, Equipment, Structures,
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etc. Assets can be accessed from "Records > Assets" in the toolbar.
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Assets can be archived, so they do not show in farmOS unless you specifically
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want to see them. For example, when you are done harvesting a "Plant" Asset,
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you can mark it as "archived" to hide it in your Asset lists. Archived records
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can be retrieved using the "Filters" options on Asset listing pages.
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Assets can be designated as "locations", which will cause them to show up in
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the "Locations" hierarchy (available from the toolbar). It also allows other
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Assets to be moved to them. For example, a "Plant" or "Animal" Asset can be
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moved to a "Land" Asset. The hierarchy of location Assets is determined by
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their "parent" field relationships.
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For more information on Asset location, refer to the
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[location logic](/model/logic/location) section of the
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[farmOS data model](/model) docs.
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Assets can also be cloned by selecting one or more in a list and clicking the
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"Clone asset" button that appears at the bottom. This will clone the Asset
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record(s), but will not clone the Logs that are associated with them.
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2022-09-27 20:21:30 +02:00
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Assets can be assigned to one or more person(s) in farmOS using the Asset's
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*Owner* field. Users can view a list of all Assets assigned to them by
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navigating to their profile and then clicking the "Assets" tab.
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2021-12-27 16:20:47 +01:00
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For more information on Asset records, refer the [Assets](/model/type/asset)
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section of the [farmOS data model](/model) docs.
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## Asset types
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farmOS comes with a number of Asset types, summarized below. Additional types
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can be added via modules.
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### Land
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Land Assets represent the fields, properties, beds, paddocks, etc that are
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being managed. They can be mapped and arranged hierarchically to make
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navigation easier, and they can be referenced by Logs to record events,
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activities, inputs, observations, etc. If you perform soil tests, these
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can be stored as "Lab test" Logs associated with land Assets for easy
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access.
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### Plants
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farmOS can be used for very fine-grained crop planning and record keeping. It
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can be used by large or small operations, nurseries, seed producers, breeders,
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and home gardeners.
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The Plant Asset type can be used to represent groups of plants (eg: a field of
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corn, or a group of seedlings), or it can be used to represent individual plants
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(eg: in the case of nurseries).
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When you create a plant Asset, you will need to define what **crop/variety** it
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is. Crops/varieties represent the various **types** of plants you grow. These
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can be very general crop names (eg: "Broccoli") or very specific breeds or
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varieties (eg: "Belstar F1 Organic Broccoli"). Your Crops/varieties taxonomy
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can be managed/organized as a hierarchy in Administration > Structure >
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Taxonomy.
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Plants are the specific Asset you are growing, whereas crops/varieties are terms
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used to categorize and define plant types. You may have multiple plant Assets of
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the same crop/variety. Consider the following example:
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> 1 pound of red lettuce seed was purchased and seeded 4 times over the course
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> of 8 weeks (every two weeks).
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In this example, there would be 4 plant Assets with a crop/variety of "Red
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lettuce":
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- 2017 Red lettuce planting 1
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- 2017 Red lettuce planting 2
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- 2017 Red lettuce planting 3
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- 2017 Red lettuce planting 4
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The way you name your Assets is up to you - this is just an example. Including
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the year at the beginning and the planting number at the end is helpful when
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you are trying to distinguish plant Assets from one another.
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[Seeding](/guide/logs/#seedings) and [Transplanting](/guide/logs/#transplantings)
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Logs can be created in reference to plants.
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If you are direct seeding into the field, you may only use the seeding Log. If
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you are purchasing starts from another grower, you may only use the
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transplanting Log. If you are starting your plants in a greenhouse and then
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planting them out in the field, you may use both a seeding and transplanting
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Log.
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Together, seeding and transplanting Logs allow you to keep track of where a
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plant has moved throughout its life. For more general information on tracking
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the location of Assets in farmOS, refer to the overview of
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[movements and location](/guide/location).
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### Animals
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farmOS can be used to manage animal/livestock records.
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When you create an animal Asset, you will need to define what **species/breed**
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it is. Species/breeds represent the various **types** of animals you manage.
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These can be very general names (eg: "Cattle") or more specific breeds (eg:
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"Jersey cattle"). Your Species/breeds taxonomy can be managed/organized as a
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hierarchy in Administration > Structure > Taxonomy.
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Animal Assets can be used to represent either individual animals, or multiple
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animals (as a head count inventory, adjustable via Logs). This is useful in
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cases where animals don't need to be tracked individually, for instance with
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flocks of birds or heads of cattle, where individual tracking/tagging is not
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necessary for record keeping purposes.
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For more information, see the guide to [inventory tracking](/guide/inventory)
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in farmOS.
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Animals can also be organized into groups using the "Group" Asset type. This is
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useful if you always manage certain animals together, as a herd or flock, for
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instance. It is also possible to assign animals to more than one group. This can
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be used in different ways to help manage large numbers of animals in farmOS.
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> Q: Should I use inventory or groups for my animals?
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This comes down to whether or not you need to maintain separate records for
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individual animals. If you do, then create a separate animal Asset for each
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animal, and you can optionally organize them into group Assets after that. If
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you don't need individual animal records, you can create a single animal Asset
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and use the inventory features to track a head count over time with Logs. Or,
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you could do both! Perhaps you have a herd (group Asset) with some individual
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animals, and some larger groups of animals (head count). It's just a matter of
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how granular you need to be with your record keeping.
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Animals can be moved from place to place in farmOS using movement Logs. You
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can also filter your animal list down to a set of animals, select them all, and
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create a combined movement Log for all of them at once. Or, you can move the
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group Asset that contains animals (eg: a herd), and all the animal locations
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will be updated along with it. This is a great way to manage grazing records as
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you move animals from paddock to paddock.
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For more general information on tracking the location of Assets in farmOS,
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refer to the overview of [movements and location](/guide/location).
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[Medical](/guide/logs/#medical) and [Birth](/guide/logs/#births) Logs can be
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created in reference to animals.
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### Equipment
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farmOS can be used to manage equipment Assets on the farm.
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[Maintenence Logs](/guide/logs/#maintenance) can be recorded alongside
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equipment.
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When you are creating Logs in farmOS, you can also reference the equipment
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Asset(s) that were used to perform the activity. In combination with the
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"Assets" field on Logs, this allows you to distinguish which Assets
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**received** the action, and which equipment Assets **performed** it. These
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"equipment use" Logs will appear on the equipment Asset record in farmOS.
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Suggested uses:
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* Use activity Logs to record equipment use.
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* Keep track of equipment location via movement Logs.
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* Record oil changes, repairs, and inspections with maintenance Logs.
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* Track fuel usage or machine hours with input or observation Logs.
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### Structures
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Structure Assets can be used to represent buildings, greenhouses, and other
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permanent or movable structures on the farm.
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Like equipment Assets, [maintenence Logs](/guide/logs/#maintenance) can be used
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to record when upkeep/repairs are performed.
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Greenhouses can be represented as structure Assets, with Logs used to record
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activities and observations within them. This can be very powerful, especially
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when combined with sensors, data streams, notifications, and custom modules
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that communicate with actuators to automate fans, ventilation, and irrigation.
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### Water
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Water Assets can be used to represent fixed water features like lakes, ponds,
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and streams, or they can be used to represent fixed or movable irrigation
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systems. Equipment and Structure Assets can be used similarly, so it is up to
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you to decide how you prefer to organize things.
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### Material
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Material Assets can be used to track inventory of various materials.
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For more information, see the guide to [inventory tracking](/guide/inventory)
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in farmOS.
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### Seed
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Seed Assets can be used to track seed inventory before it is used to create
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Plant Assets (via seeding Logs). Seeds share the same **crop/variety**
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taxonomy with plant Assets.
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### Compost
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farmOS can be used to manage all types of compost production activities. A
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generic "Compost" Asset type is provided, which can be used with various Log
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types to record activities, observations, inputs, harvests, etc. These compost
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Assets can be used to represent a compost pile,
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[windrows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrow_composting),
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[vermicompost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost),
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[compost tea](https://soiltest.uconn.edu/factsheets/composttea.pdf),
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or any other form of production.
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### Sensors
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In addition to manually-entered records, farmOS also provides a framework for
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receiving data from automated environmental sensors. The Sensor Asset type can
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be used to represent individual sensor devices, which can provide one or more
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[Data streams](/model/type/data_stream).
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A "Basic" data stream type is provided, which stores data in the local database.
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Add-on modules can be written to integrate with other data storage systems, or
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provide custom sensor integrations.
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It is possible to assemble your own sensors with inexpensive components and
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send their data to farmOS without any soldering or programming.
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### Groups
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Groups are a special type of Asset in farmOS, which are used for organizing
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other Assets, so they can be managed together.
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This provides a lot of flexibility in managing and organizing your Assets.
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Logs can reference the group Asset, instead of all the individual members.
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One example where this is useful is managing herds of animals. Each herd can
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be represented as a group Asset, with animal members. A movement Log can be
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used to move the whole group, instead of referencing animal Assets
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individually.
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You can also use groups to organize equipment, plants, or any other Asset type.
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It's even possible to have groups within groups, to create a hierarchy of group
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membership.
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Group membership is assigned to Assets via Logs, in very much the same way that
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[location](/guide/location) is. You can assign Assets to a group via the
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"Group" and "Is group assignment" fields on Logs. These specify that any
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Asset(s) referenced by the Log will become members of the group at the time of
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the Log.
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Therefore, Assets can also change their membership over time, moving from one
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group to another. One example where this is useful is in managing cattle: you
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may have a group of mothers with calves, a group of weaned calves, and other
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groups of steers, heifers, etc. As a calf grows up, weans, and perhaps has
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their own calf, they can be moved from group to group, and the full history of
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their group membership is saved as Logs.
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For more information, refer to the [group membership logic](/model/logic/group)
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section of the [farmOS data model](/model) docs.
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