This will be the first step in creating a report. The name entered will be how the report can be found and reviewed later. All drafts and final reports can be found under the Report Listing Page. Select NEXT to continue with data entry.
This information can be found at the top of Rapid Assessment Methodology (RAM) datasheet.
Producer Name: The name can be a person, ranch, or allotment but is not required.
Pasture Name: If a pasture is not available, the name of the area, meadow, or canyon can be use. The name is to help identify where the assessment took place and used to locate the transect for future assessments. This entry is required to continue.
Date of Survey: The date of the assessment is important for additional assessments to be taken. To compare multiple records, the additional assessments need to be taken around the same time. This entry is required to continue.
Collector Name: Although this entry is not required, it helps to identify if any anomalies occur and if additional training of collectors is needed.
Transect Number: This information is only required if multiple transects were taken from the same area or pasture.
Pasture Size: Pasture size is a required to estimate a stocking rate.
GPS Coordinates: The information helps supplement Pasture Name and helps to easily find the transect starting point for additional assessments. It is not required to continue with data entry.
Heading: This is the direction in which the transect was taken with every 90 degrees representing a cardinal direction (e.g. North 0°, East 90°, South 180°, and West 270°). In order to compare multiple records of the same timeframe and transect location, the same transect line needs to be assessed. Thus, a heading direction assists in repeatability of the assessment.
Once the required information is entered, selecting SAVE TO DRAFT or NEXT will allow moving to the next steps of data entry.
Each assessment reading is called a ‘Hit’. These can be found on the RAM datasheet. Each row contains 10 hits and data entry aligns with the datasheet for 100 readings or Hits. The first box is Land Cover Name, the second is Height (in Inches), the third is forage species (Species 1 for entry; grasses only), and the fourth is other species (Species 2 for entry).
Hit 1-10: Add Land Cover Name, Height, Species 1, and Species 2 (optional) to Save and move to next Hit. After Hit 10 a new row will appear and the process continues until at least 50 Hits have been recorded. If a new row fails to appear, select ADD NEW ROW to continue.
When a sufficient amount of data has been entered, select SAVE TO DRAFT or NEXT to continue with the next steps of data entry.
Both a landscape and ground level photo is required. A landscape photo is a picture taken down the length of the transect, while a ground photo is taken from above looking down. These photos help to corroborate the transect data and are an excellent visual representation of changes over time. Photos must be less than 4 MB in size and in a JPEG, PNG, or GIF format. Once uploaded, you can resize the image for the report. Once completed, select NEXT to continue.
Additional assessments such as Dot Tallies or fecal counts, and Comments can be added to supplement the report. From the protocols in RAM (hyperlink to Monitoring Procedures Page), vegetation clips need to occur along the transect and within cages. A known hoop or quadrant size (hyperlink to Table 1 of procedures page) is required to calculate forage production. To enter dried clip and cage weights in grams refer to the RAM protocols. Once the required information is entered, select SAVE TO DRAFT or GENERATE REPORT.
Congratulations! A report has been created for you. You can view or download your report immediately by selecting ‘View Report’ or ‘Download PDF’, or select GO TO MY REPORTS to view all other reports that have been created on the account. An example of the report can be found below.
