Give each field one stable identity that links its crop, inputs, observations and harvest lot. Write the farm's field name, the LPIS reference and the map together, and mark the treated boundary when work covers only part of a parcel.
Set up e-Crops for your fields
The e-Crops workbook (V5.3, Excel) is on Crop Recording. The programme is simple to use, but Excel must be loaded on your computer for it to work. The workbook can also be uploaded to the Google platform and used in the cloud, so farmers can fill in information in real time from a phone.
e-Crops comes loaded with 40 fields. They can be 40 individual fields or 40 parcels that are treated in exactly the same way, with the same crop each year and the same fertiliser and agrochemical inputs. If you have more than 40, the instructions ask you to e-mail Teagasc with the number you need.
Rename each worksheet tab to a field name. You can give each tab a colour, for example one colour per crop. Drag the tabs so fields with similar crops sit together, save, then click the first field of a group, hold Shift and click the last one.
Name fields so staff and contractors find them
Add structures, beds or management blocks to the list when the work needs more detail than a whole parcel, and describe each one so someone outside the regular team can find it. Give contractors the same references the farm office uses, and match the contractor's field name to your location reference before you file the application record.
Write down every change to a field name or boundary, and explain splits, mergers and rented blocks added during the season. Keep earlier seasons linked to the map used at the time, so the rotation can still be followed.
Keep the crop plan apart from completed work
Enter the intended crop, variety and field allocation as a plan. When planting happens, enter the actual date and the seed or planting-material reference supplied, and note any change from the original order. Mark cancelled or changed plans, show any undrilled area, and separate the sprays and fertiliser that are still planned from those already applied. The wheat-seed guide covers the planting-material questions.
Fill in one field and copy it to the others
Group the fields by crop type and an identical record, such as one herbicide at one rate on all winter barley, needs typing only once: the programme fills it into every field in the group. If you fill in the records at the end of the season instead, complete one field in full, including dates, product, PCS number and costs, then copy the block and paste it into the next field. The blue cells are locked and cannot be copied; they recalculate on their own.
Before you paste, compare the two fields. The crop may be the same while the area, treatment date, product quantity or contractor differs, and a wrongly copied date distorts the order of events even when the totals look right. After a grouped entry, look through the affected sheets and clear the group selection before you do anything field-specific.
Make a practice copy of the workbook to learn tab renaming, sample entries and the summary checks, and never leave practice rows in the real record: a demonstration row must not become evidence that a treatment happened. Keep a working backup before bulk changes or troubleshooting.
When e-Crops does not calculate
If the blue cells do not calculate, check that the input type is selected in column D. A non-numeric character such as €, L or kg in column F or G stops the calculation. Put explanatory words in a notes field, not in a cell that should hold a number. If the gross margin is missing, fill in sown area, tonnes produced, straw value and land rental value. If the workbook behaves differently from the instructions, ask Teagasc rather than changing its formulas to match a screenshot.
Keep the pesticide detail behind an input total
The DAFM pesticide application record lists crop or situation, location, area or tonnage, product, PCS number and operation details separately. The fields are set out in the spray-record guide. A crop-cost total alone does not reproduce that history, so link the detailed entry to the field rather than replacing it with one yearly "sprays" figure.
For each purchase or operation, write down the quantity, unit, price basis and total cost, and check whether a price is per package, kilogram, tonne or hectare before you work out a cost. Keep the product quantity separate from the invoice charge, because the amount bought may be larger than the amount used if stock is left over. On a pesticide line, keep the product as sold and its PCS number, and do not mistake the water volume for the product volume: treated area, product rate and water volume go in separate columns. Keep the contractor's returned record and settle any mismatch in location before you file it.
Keep your spray records in one place. Free to start.
Pesticide purchase, store and usage records under SHAS
The Bord Bia scheme asks growers to keep three linked pesticide records. A store inventory shows the substances and quantities held, with a second copy kept outside the store. Each purchase is recorded with the supplier's name and address, brand name, PCS number, quantity and date of receipt, and an invoice carrying these details is enough.
The usage record covers every pesticide used on site, including sub-contractors' applications, and is kept for 3 years. It holds the product name, PCS number, location, crop or substrate, area or tonnage treated, application rate, date applied, pre-planting or harvest interval, first permissible harvest date, justification for use and operator name. The pesticide usage record has to correspond with the harvest record.
A fourth record covers products leaving the farm. For each pesticide returned for disposal or refund, keep the name of the company or contractor that took it (or the licensed disposal company), the brand name and PCS number, the date, and the quantity in kilograms or litres. Empty containers are triple-rinsed, crushed or pierced to prevent re-use, stored and labelled pending disposal, and then disposed of through a licensed waste contractor or the supplying company, with records kept. Surplus spray mix is stored pending safe disposal.
The scheme sets these store requirements: the store is dedicated and of appropriate size, away from the areas where harvested produce is collected and sorted, from living quarters, fuel and waste. It is of sound, enclosed, fire-resistant structure and locked, with access restricted to authorised people. It can contain the volume of liquid inside it plus 20%, for example with trays or bunding. A list of emergency telephone numbers hangs in the store and in at least one other place. All pesticides stay in their original packaging; after a breakage, the label information is kept or copied onto the new container.
Carrying pesticides between sites has its own rules. Never carry them in the cabin with people, pets, animal feed or fresh produce. Carry liquids in a container or bund large enough to hold the liquid if it leaks. Take PPE in a separate sealed container, and bring a first-aid box with eyewash and a spill kit for small spills. The store entrance carries permanent signs, with internationally recognised symbols where needed, that show the store's location and the precautions for working nearby.
Spraying equipment records
Spraying equipment must be in good repair and calibrated at least annually, and the calibration records are kept. Boom sprayers wider than 3 m, orchard sprayers and blast sprayers are inspected and certified by a registered DAFM inspector at least every 3 years; a new sprayer needs no certificate until 5 years after purchase. Protective clothing and respiratory equipment follow the manufacturer's recommendation and are stored when not in use in a separate enclosed area, away from chemicals, food produce and other contaminants. Respiratory equipment must be clean, in good repair and available to staff who spray.
Link harvest to the growing location
Under the Bord Bia Sustainable Horticulture Assurance Scheme, harvest records are kept for every production unit (field, orchard, polytunnel or plot). Each record gives the product harvested, the harvest date (or the date of first harvest), a batch code or other identifier, the field or growing structure, and the total quantity harvested from that unit for reconciliation. Harvested product and containers stay off the ground, reusable harvest containers are kept clean and used only for harvested product, and product is not left in the field or growing unit overnight. Where knives or secateurs are used for harvesting, a system must notify the grower of loss or damage, and records are kept.
For grain or another crop outside this scheme, ask the buyer or your adviser which lot numbering they expect. Write down where each lot was stored and how lots were combined or split, and which harvest lots made up each weighed load. If lots are combined, keep every contributing reference; if a batch is divided, carry its origin into each new identifier.
For repeated picking, note the dates and blocks that supplied each lot. If two blocks fill one packing batch, record both origins and the quantity each gave, and if part is rejected, record the rejection and the accepted quantity left. Harvested, accepted and dispatched totals are different stages, so keep the links between them instead of one final sales figure. Never fill in a missing field origin from the crop usually grown near the store; ask the buyer or adviser how to treat a lot you cannot identify. The pre-harvest guide covers the last-application check before release.
Close the season and protect the file
When you correct an entry, keep the original field references and documents behind it, and note who settled the question and which source supports the correction. Link each total to its field, operation and lot documents.
Store the finished season workbook under its own clear name, and save the blank version again under a different name as the template for next year, with field names and details already filled in. Teagasc also suggests mailing yourself the workbook as an attachment, so a web e-mail account holds a permanent copy if your computer fails.
Next step
Match each field operation to its product, area and date using the Irish spray-record sheet.