Location Edit Window

This window is where you make changes to you locations. See Core Concepts or below to learn more about locations.

• Location Name. The name of the location as it will be seen throughout Fusion.
• Manager. You may have different people responsible for each location. You can use this field to keep track of who manages the location.
• "Inventory-Only" Location. Check this field if you are only using this location to track cattle for inventory purposes. You will not be able to use functionality such as feeding and chuteside jobs with this location, but you will only be billed for a portion of the location's headcount.
• Note. This field is used for any notes you want to add about this location.

After a location has transitioned, this window will show the transition date in the lower left of the window.

What is a Location?

In Fusion, a location (or yard) is a physical place that is fully equipped to operate as a standalone feedlot. It has its own pens, feeding system, chuteside setup, and everything else needed to run independently including its own lots, feed mill, water meters, trucks, and unique attributes like pricing and dry matter values. It is designed for the scenario where animals arrive at a yard and stay there until they're ready to leave the feedlot (i.e. you can't move lots between locations). Fusion tracks inventory levels separately for each location so you can't have one feed mill serving two different locations.

Fusion allows any number of regular locations, as long as you meet two key requirements. First, all these locations need to belong to the same entity, and second, they should be connected via a local area network, not through the internet. If you're not meeting these criteria, you can still use Fusion at other locations, but they'll need their own server. If you're not sure whether a particular yard qualifies, reach out to us before you proceed, and we'll help you figure it out.

Most locations you create will reflect locations you actually own and operate. It is also possible to designate locations as "inventory-only". This is useful when you are tracking animals that you own but don't physically take care of. We only charge for a portion of the headcount for these types of locations, but the following features will not be available:

• Syncing with a feed truck.
• Bunk Call/Feed Delivery window.
• Mix Load window.
• Manual Feed Entry window.
• Daily Feed Sheet window.
• Sync Machines window.
• Total Feed Dump report
• Chuteside Jobs

Should I Always Create a New Location For Another Yard?

Generally speaking, the answer is yes. When you have two separate yards as outlined above, it is usually a straight-forward decision to treat them as separate locations in Fusion.

However, if the yards are geographically close enough for you to share infrastructure, the decision may not be so easy. Would it better suit your situation to treat the second yard as an extension of the first? Use the chart below to see what the ramifications of each option will be, based on your current infrastructure and what you want from Fusion.

Consideration (I Have... or I Want...)	Scenario A Make Them Separate Locations in Fusion	Scenario B Treat Them as One Location in Fusion
I have a feed mill at each yard	Works well	Works well
I have one feed mill which both yards share	This will not work well. All incoming inventory would be recorded at the location with the feed mill, but used inventory would be recorded at both locations when fed. Fusion tracks inventory separately at each location so the only work around would be to constantly create inventory offsets for every commodity to move it between locations.	Works well
I have a micro machine and/or water meter at each yard	Works well	Works well
I have one micro machine and/or water meter which both yards share	This will not work well. Same issue as sharing a feed mill.	Works well
I want to track feed, drug, and input inventory separately for each yard	Works well	Will not work. You could duplicate all your drugs, inputs, and commodities, naming them for the yard they would be used in to attempt a pseudo "sub-location" inventory tracking, but it would be a hassle.
I want the feed, drug, and input inventory for both yards to be tracked as one yard	Works fairly well, but some manual work will be involved in some cases where you would need to collate two reports in Fusion.	Works well
I want to have separate pricing and other attributes like dry matter for each yard	Works well	Will not work. Attributes can only be set on a per location basis.
I want to use the same pricing and other attributes like dry matter for both yard	Works well	Works well
I have different feed trucks for each yard	Works well	Works well
I want to share feed trucks between the two yards	Can work, but a truck can’t take a load made at one yard to another yard. It must be empty when it switches yards.	Works well
I don't want lots or animals to move between yards	Works well	Works well
I do want lots and animals to move between yards	Will not easily work. Lots cannot change locations. Animals can only move between yards if they are out cohorted from one and in cohorted into another. Treatment history can be kept, but it won’t be possible to get a closeout report covering the animal’s life in both yards.	Works well
I want separate chuteside job definitions, rations, and/or feeding protocols for each yard	Works well	Works well
I want the same chuteside job definitions, rations, and/or feeding protocols at both yards	Works well	Works well
I want to use GPS features when feeding	Works well	Will not work well. Fusion is expecting all pens that are GPS mapped to be within roughly 1/4 mile of each other.
I want to use the same number system for pens at both yards	Works well	Will not work. You will need to adjust pen names at the second yard so they are different.
I want to use a different number system for pens at each yard	Works well	Works well
I want to use CCIA or NLIS with different premise IDs for each yard	Works well	Will not work. Fusion will report all animals as if at the same premise.
I want to use CCIA or NLIS with the same premise ID for both yards	Works well	Works well
I want to export separate information for each yard to third parties like Benchmark	Work well	Does not work. The data will can be exported, but not as separate yards.
I want to export combined information for both yards to third parties like Benchmark	Work well, although the third party will receive it as separate exports and will need to combine it on their end.	Works well
I want Fusion's interface to work well	Works well	Workable, but sometimes clunky. Users at one location will always see everything from both yards. For example, when choosing a pen they will be choosing from the list of pens from both yards. Or when bulk adding inputs, they’ll have to deal with all the pens from both yards.
I want general reporting in Fusion to work well	Works well. You’ll be able to report on each yard separately and, where available, on both together.	Works well, but you will not be able to report on each yard separately. This includes reports like the Yard Sheet report, the Health Summary report, the Morbidity Insights report, etc.

Don't make this decision hastily. Once you've started using one scenario you can't simply delete what you've done and switch to the other scenario. Feel free to contact our support team if you want additional guidance.

Setting Up a New Location

Consider the following things when you are setting up your second location. It is often easiest to use the Fusion Setup Assistant window when doing this. This list assumes you've already created the location itself.

• Users. You may need to create new user accounts for the employees at the new location.
• Commodities/Ingredients. You need to add a beginning ingredient attribute for dry matter, NEM, and NEG for each ingredient at the new location. You may also want to set up pricing attributes although that can wait until you send your first invoices. If you are using the location specific settings such as inventory threshold and markup, you will need to edit each commodity and add these settings for the new location.
• Trucks. You'll need to create trucks for each feed truck at the new location.
• Water Meters. If there are water meters at the new location, they need to be created, associated with an ingredient, and have the first reading entered.
• Drugs. If you are using the location specific settings such as inventory threshold and markup, you will need to edit each drug and add these settings for the new location. You may also want to set up pricing attributes although that can wait until you send your first invoices.
• Inputs. If you are using the location specific settings such as inventory threshold and markup, you will need to edit each input and add these settings for the new location. You may also want to set up pricing attributes although that can wait until you send your first invoices.
• Chuteside Job Definitions. If you plan to have location specific jobs, you will need to first edit your existing jobs and assign them the current location. Then create new jobs for the new location, assigning them as well.
• Pens. You will need to create new pen records for the new location. Don't forget to set their display and drive orders.
• Rations. If you plan to have location specific rations, you will need to first edit your existing rations and assign them the current location. Then create new rations for the new location, assigning them as well.
• Feeding Protocols. If you plan to have location specific protocols, you will need to first edit your existing protocols and assign them the current location. Then create new protocols for the new location, assigning them as well.
• Lots. If the new location already has cattle in it, you need to create the lot records for any existing lots. Only the most basic information is necessary to start with.
• GPS Mapping. If you are using GPS, map out the new location.
• Computers, Peripherals, and Networking. Ensure that all necessary computers, peripherals, and networking are installed, setup, and running well at the new location. It is possible (and recommended) to feed with Fusion acting as a dumb scale head for a few days at the new location prior to transition. Doing this tests most of the feeding system and networking in real life situations and can be done while you are still setting things up, ensuring a smooth transition day.
• Transition Assistant. The last step is to use the Transition Assistant, which is found in the Fusion Setup Assistant, to transition the yard. This works slightly differently depending on whether the new yard is empty or not. Contact our support team for details and for a transition code which you will need to make the transition.

You will not be able to use the new location until it has transitioned.

Getting Here

You can open this window by creating or editing a location from the Locations List window.

Related Topics

• Core Concepts
• Location List Window