Getting Started
A brief tour of Tower Grove Feed
The buttons on the left side of the home page take you to general information about the Tower Grove Feed website. To login, click the “Go to Log In” button in the center of the home page. Once you are on the login page you can enter your user ID and password. If you don't have a user ID, use 'demo' as both the ID and the password. Click the “Log In” button. If you are with a university, you might wish to log in to our model university area. Use 'modu' as both the ID and the password.
After logging in, you will be in the Workshop, where you have access to all features of Tower Grove Feed. (Note that if you have recently been logged in, you may be taken to the last page you were on.) In the Workshop, you will see a list of formulas that have been provided as part of the sample database. These are real formulas, and you may wish to experiment with them. There are several tabs for navigating to other areas. Click on any tab or link to view the corresponding data. Navigation may also be done with the browser Back button or the grey “Back” button at the top of the page.
To examine or change any formula, click the formula name, say Finisher 1 Barrow, and you will see detailed information about the formula in the Workbench.
At the top of any of the three the Workbench pages, you will see summary (header) information about the formula, including a fields that show the results of the last run of the least cost solution. You may change the data in fields that control the least cost solution. Click the “Save” button to save your changes.
The first time you enter the Workbench to work on a particular formula, you will see a list of nutrients that have been selected for that formula and their minimum & maximum restrictions. These restrictions are the requirements of the diet that the formula solution will specify. You may use the drop down list to see other sets of nutrients (such as all nutrients of available for the species -- each formula is for just one species). Also, you may use the input box to the right of the “Contains” button to enter any characters, then click the “Contains” button to restrict the list of nutrients to those that contain the characters entered. (The contains may be applied to either the nutrient name or code - use the drop down box to the left of the "Contains" button.)
Next, click on the Ingredients tab (the lower one -- the one below the formula header information) to see the ingredients selected for the formula with their minimums, maximums, and costs. Again, you may use the drop down list to see other sets of ingredients (such as ingredients on the short list for the species). And, you may use the input box to the right of the “Contains” button to enter any characters, then click the “Contains” button to restrict the list of ingredients to those that contain the characters entered. (The contains may be applied to either the ingredient name or code - use the drop down box to the left of the "Contains" button.)
For both nutrients and ingredients, you may click on the select box or add a minimum or maximum to include that nutrient or ingredient in the formula.
Finally, click on the Ratios tab to review nutrient or ingredient ratios.
You may want to make changes to the minimums and maximums on the nutrient screen, to the minimums, maximums, and costs on the ingredient screen, and to the ratios. We suggest making small changes until you become more familiar with the program.
In all cases, on all pages, be sure to click the “Save” button to save your changes.
Now click the “Solve Formula” button to least-cost the formula. The outcome will be displayed in the area just below the Formula Name. If successful, “Optimal solution reached” will be displayed. Otherwise, an error message will be displayed, and nutrients or ingredients that may be causing the problem will be highlighted with a different background color.
You may print the formula solution by clicking the “Print” button.
You may add your own formulas by going back to the Workshop and clicking on the “New Formula” button. (Don’t forget to click “Save”.)
To examine or change any ingredient, click on the “Ingredients” tab (the one nearest the top of the page).
From the Ingredients page, click on any ingredient name to see more information about the ingredient. Or, click on the Nutrients link to see the ingredient’s composition. You may also click on the “Formulas” link (if available) to see a list of formulas that the ingredient is used in. (And then click on the formula name to go to the WorkBench for that formula.)
Feel free to browse among the ingredients, trying out the various links. You may use the input box to the right of the “Contains” button to enter any characters, then click the “Contains” button to restrict the list of ingredients to those that contain the characters entered. (The contains may be applied to either the ingredient name or code - use the drop down box to the left of the "Contains" button.)
You may add your own ingredients by clicking on the “New Ingredient” button.
To return to the list of formulas in the WorkShop, click on the “Formulas” tab. To return to the last formula viewed on the WorkBench, click on the “WorkBench” tab.
To examine or change Nutrients, Species, Levels, Ingredient Types, Level Defaults, or your user profile click on the “Setup” tab.
The Setup page starts with a list of Nutrients. Click on a nutrient name to see more information about the nutrient. Or, click on the “Formulas” link (if available) to see a list of formulas that the nutrient is used in. You may add your own nutrients by clicking on the “New Nutrient” button.
From the Setup page, click on the “Species” tab to view a list of Species. Click on a species name to see more information about the species. Or, click on the “Formulas” link (if available) to see a list of formulas that the species is used in.
The Species page starts with a list of nutrients that have been selected as worth tracking for that species. Some of the nutrients may also be selected for the “Short List”. (The “Short List” is a selectable list on the formula WorkBench.) You may select or deselect as appropriate. You may use the input box to the right of the “contains” button to enter any characters, then click the “contains” button to restrict the list of nutrients to those that contain the characters entered. (The contains may be applied to either the nutrient name or code.)
Click on the “Ingredients” tab to see a list of ingredients that have been selected as available for that species. Some of the ingredients may also be selected for the “Short List”. (The “Short List” is a selectable list on the formula Workbench.) You may select or deselect as appropriate. You may use the input box to the right of the “Contains” button to enter any characters, then click the “Contains” button to restrict the list of ingredients to those that contain the characters entered. (The contains may be applied to either the ingredient name or code - use the drop down box to the left of the "Contains" button.)
Click on the “Upd Species” tab to change the Species name or code. Be sure to click the “Save” button to save your changes.
From the Set Up page, click on the “Ing Types” tab to view a list of Ingredient Types. Click on an ingredient type name to see more information about the ingredient type. The “Sort Sequence” is used on the formula batch reports. Click on the “New Ingredient Type” button to add a new ingredient type.
