Blend types define the “rules” for making a blend. It is important to note that the setup of a blend type significantly affects how a blend is made and calculated. There is no limit to the number of blend types that you can create in agrē, but at least one must be defined prior to making your first blend.
Blend Types also save you time when making a blend. For example, if your company makes dry and liquid blends, or if you use different sized blenders, you can set up specific blend types for each blend before you make the blend. You can also setup blend types that use different default products for nutrients, e.g. one blend type that defaults to a "slow release" source of Nitrogen, and another for a "fast release" source.
What you'll find:
I want to read the white paper (with lots of screenshots) on Blend Type Setup (dry, liquid, scaled, & volumetric).
There are several tabs of information on the Add Blend Type window, but as with most things in agrē, you don't always need to fill out every field on every tab. You can fill in just the basics and then complete the rest of the information as needed.
To complete the Blend Type tab
* indicates a required field
Navigate to Blending > Manage > Blend Types.
The Manage Blend Types window opens.
Click Add.
Click the Blend Type tab.
The Blend Type tab is selected by default.
Blend Type Tab
In the Blend Type Code* box, enter a unique code for the blend type.
For example, “D” could represent a dry blend, and “L” could represent a liquid blend.
Ensure the Active? check box is selected.
Active is selected by default. If you clear this check box, this blend type is unavailable for blends. You can leave the blend type flagged as inactive until you're ready to use it.
In the Description* box, enter a unique description for the blend type. For example, “Dry Blend” or “Liquid Blend”.
(Config U) In the Location* box, enter the retail location for this blend type.
Location is used to specify where the blend products will come from (i.e. whose inventory will be going down?) and for restricting access if you have chosen to use location based security.
In the Blend Name Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating the blend name.
In the Detail Name Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating the detailed blend name (i.e., the guaranteed analysis).
In the Unit Price Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating the blend unit price
This is only for the blend unit price. The blend total price will always be rounded to 2 decimal places.
In the Main Units* box, enter the main unit of measurement for the blend.
The selected unit defines how blends of this blend type are measured and priced. Once the blend type is in use, you cannot change the main unit.
In the Main Units Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4).
For example, if your main unit is MT (metric tonnes) and you specify “2” decimal place, then your blend quantity is rounded to the first decimal place (e.g., 6.47 tonnes). If you specify “0,” then your blend quantity is rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g., 6 tonnes).
Note
You can enter Volume Units if you require a blend that is determined by weight (e.g., tonnes) but has a volume measurement for the application rate or scale unit, and where each product has a different volume per weight conversion (e.g., litres per tonnes).
For example, the main units are tonnes but the rate or scale units are determined using litres. All products used in these blend types must have the main units (e.g., tonne), the volume units (e.g., litre), and their conversion factors defined on the Manage Products window.
In the Volume Units box, enter the volume unit of measurement for the blend if applicable.
In the Volume Units Decimals box, enter the number of decimal places to use for the volume unit, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating a volume unit type.
Note
If you enter Volume Units, the Allow Suspensions? check box appears at the bottom of the tab.
Rates and Measurement
In the Field Measurement* box, enter the unit of measurement for the application area (e.g., acre or hectare).
Enter the singular (e.g., acre), not plural (e.g., acres), measurement because it is used with rates (e.g., lbs/acre) and costs (e.g., cost/acre).
In the Field Measurement Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating a field measurement.
In the Nutrient Rate Units* box, enter the unit of measurement (e.g., lbs or kg) used to measure the nutrient requirements per field measurement (application area).
For example, if the field measurement is “acre” and the nutrient rate unit is “lbs,” then the nutrient requirements is measured in “lbs/acre.”
In the Nutrient Rate Units Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating a nutrient rate.
Note
An exception to blend name precision (number of decimal places) may occur if the number of decimals defined as the precision is 0 and a blend name value is less than 3. If that is the case, then one decimal place will be used.
For example, if the precision is set to zero and the blend name is 12.25 - 6.91 - 4.27 - 2.57, then you would expect a blend name of 12 - 6 - 4 - 2 (remember that values are rounded down). However, because the value of a nutrient is less than 3 (the last nutrient has a value of 2.57 lbs/acre of sulphur) losing even 0.57 of such a small amount would significantly affect the guaranteed analysis.
As a result, for values less than 3, at least one decimal is retained and the result would be 12 - 6 - 4 - 2.5.
In the Nutrient Rate Units Conversion* box, enter the number of nutrient rate units, such as lbs or kg, equal to one main unit of the blend.
For example, if the main unit of measurement is metric tonnes then the conversion factor for a kilogram nutrient rate unit is 1, 000 (1,000 kg equal one MT).
In the Application Rate Units* box, enter the unit of measurement (e.g., lbs, kg, or L) used to measure the application rate of the blended product per field measurement (application area).
For example, if the field measurement is “acre” and the application rate unit is “lbs,” then the application rate is measured in “lbs/acre.” Typically, the application rate unit is the same as the nutrient rate unit, but not always. In a liquid blend, for example, you may measure the nutrient requirements in “lbs/acre” but use a application rate of “litres/acre.”
In the Application Rate Units Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating a application rate.
In the Application Rate Units Conversion* box, enter the number of application rate units, such as lbs or litres, equal to one main unit or one volume unit (if applicable) of the blend.
Note
If you entered Volume Units, the Convert Application Rate Units to/from Liquid? check box appears.
Select the Convert Application Rate Units to/from Liquid? check box to specify that the application rate conversion use the volume units rather than the main units.
For example, if the application volume conversion is selected, and if the volume unit type is “litres” and the application rate unit is “litres,” then the conversion value identifies how many litres (application rate unit) are in a litre (volume unit type), which in this case is 1.
Blend Type Details
Note
If the nutrient makes up less than 3% of the blend, it will have at least 1 decimal place by default (even if you enter 0 here).
Tip
Due to rounding, if you are reducing the number of Unit Price decimals you may want to consider increasing the number of Main Unit decimals to a maximum of 4 to provide more accuracy.
In the First Filler Product box, enter the filler product you want to use for the blend type.
Filler products are only used for the blend name or calculation method when the guaranteed analysis is exceeded.
Note
Products are displayed in the Filler Product box if:
∙ they are active, blendable, inventory products
∙ the blend type’s main unit is a valid unit for the product (set up in Manage Products)
∙ the volume unit, if specified, is also a valid unit for the product
In the Secondary Filler Product box, enter the filler product you want to use.
Enter the Threshold value for when to start adding the secondary filler (both product and threshold can be changed when blending).
e.g. if Threshold = 25%, the second filler will be added after the first reaches 25% of the blend weight.
Tip
Click Add Product to add a new product.
Check Allow Nutrient Max Option? to set maximum NPKS values instead of minimum NPKS values.
Select the Allow Suspensions? check box if this is a liquid blend type using suspensions.
The Suspension Nutrient box appears. Suspensions refer to products added to liquid blends (e.g., clay) to ensure the blended products remain dissolved. Suspension products must be active, blendable, inventory products (set up in Manage Products) and be included in the Nutrient table. The blend type’s main unit must be a valid unit for the product (set up in Manage Products), and the volume unit, if specified, must also be a valid unit for the product.
In the Suspension Nutrient box, enter the suspension nutrient.
Tip
If the nutrient you want to add to the blend isn't in the drop down list, you'll need to create it and then associate it with a product before you can blend with it.
In the MFM Conversion box, enter the conversion rate between the agrē blend type Main Units and MFM Blend Units.
Example for a dry scaled blend type: if the agrē blend type Main Units are MT, enter 2204.6226 as the conversion factor.
(Config C) Select the Project to which all blends made with this type should be associated.
(projects associated with blend commodities [46-0-0, 11-52-0, etc.] are not carried over to blends)
You can specify the nutrients to include in blends of this blend type; define where the additional nutrients appear in the blend name and their order; and define default products for the nutrients.
Nutrients can have more than one default product.
By default, N-P-K are included in every blend type and are always the first three nutrients in every blend name, followed by any additional nutrients that you define.
If you specified a suspension nutrient, that nutrient must be included in the Nutrient table.
To complete the Nutrient Defaults tab
Click the Nutrient Defaults tab.
In the Nutrient column, enter additional nutrients that you need for the blend type.
You can add as many nutrients as needed. If you specified a suspension nutrient, that nutrient must be included in this column.
Tip
If the nutrient you want to add to the blend isn't in the drop down list, you'll need to create it and then associate it with a product before you can blend with it.
Tip
When adding a new nutrient, select the Add this blend nutrient to existing blend types? check box if you want to add this nutrient to all existing blend types as an additional nutrient. Clear the check box if you want to add this nutrient to the agrē database but not to all of your blend types.
In the Nutrient Order column, enter the numbers that represent the order of your nutrients (i.e., the order of the nutrients in the blend name).
The default nutrients N-P-K are always the first three nutrients in every blend name, followed by any additional nutrients that you define.
In the Default Product column, enter a product to use for each nutrient.
Default products are automatically selected when making a blend of this blend type with their associated nutrients. The products you enter must contain their associated nutrients (as set up in Manage Products).
The blend type’s main unit must be a valid unit for the product (as set up in Manage Products), and the volume unit, if specified, must also be a valid unit for the product.
Tip
Click Add Product to add a new product.
Click in the More column and then click [...] to select additional default products for a nutrient.
The Blend Type Default Products window opens.
Only products containing the selected nutrient are listed in the drop-down list.
When all default products have been selected, click Update.
The Blend Type Default Products window closes.
In the Required? column, check the Required? box for each nutrient that should always be listed by default when making a blend.
Nutrients specified as Required? always display in the blend name (even if the value is 0) in the order specified.
Nutrients not specified as Required? can still have a nutrient order, but will not be listed by default when making a blend (they can be added manually).
Values greater than 0 will be included in the blend name.
Check Blend Name: Include All Nutrient Codes if you want all the nutrient codes (N, P, K, S, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn etc.) in the blend to be included in the blend name.
Tip
Click Remove Nutrient to remove a nutrient from the list.
You can define the batch sheet layout defaults for a blend type, which determine the information that is collected and printed on the Blend Batch Sheet reports.
Note
You can override some of the defaults specified on this tab when you make a blend and print the Batch Sheet.
To complete the Batch Sheet Settings tab
* indicates a required field
Click the Batch Sheet Settings tab.
Main Units and Volume Units are carried over from the Blend Type tab
In the Scale Units* box, enter your scale’s unit of measurement.
For example, if you’re measuring a dry blend, your scale may measure in pounds or kilograms; if you’re measuring a liquid blend, your scale may measure in gallons or litres.
In the Scale Units Conversion box, enter the number of scale units equal to one main unit or one volume unit (if applicable) of the blend.
In the Scale Units Decimals* box, enter the number of decimal places to use, to a maximum of four decimal places (0-4), when calculating a scale unit on the batch sheet.
For example, if you specify “1” decimal place, then your scale units quantity is rounded to the first decimal place (e.g., 1544.4 kg). If you specify “0,” your scale units quantity is rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g., 1544 kg).
Select the Convert Scale Units to/from Liquid? check box to specify that the scale units conversion use the volume units rather than the main units (i.e., to convert the scale measurement from weight to volume).
This check box appears if you entered Volume Units on the Blend Type. For example, if scale volume conversion is selected, and if the volume unit type is “kg” and the scale units is “kg,” then the conversion value identifies how many kg (scale units) are in a kg (volume unit type), which in this case is 1.
In the Quantities are expressed as field, choose Product Quantity or Scale Stops
In the Enter Values per field, choose by Blend (adjust the amount of the entire blend) or by Batch (adjust the amount of each batch).
In the Adjust field, choose to adjust the Rate of the product, or the Field Size.
Under Blender Type, select whether to use a Scaled/Metered or Volumetric blend type.
The information required next depends on your selection.
In the Max Blend Size (in main units)* box, enter the maximum size of the blend (e.g., maximum size in tonnes).
The maximum size of the blend is determined by the size of your blender or mixing tank. agrē uses this value when determining the number of batches and the sizes of the batches necessary to complete a total batch. For example, if you specify a total batch of 15 tonnes (or 7500 gallons) and your maximum batch size is 6 tonnes (or 3000 gallons), agrē determines that 3 batches of 5 tonnes (or 2500 gallons) each are needed to get the total tonnage.
In the Max Volume Size (in vol units) box, enter the maximum size of the blend (e.g., maximum size in tonnes).
This box appears if you entered Volume Units on the Blend Type. The maximum size of the blend is determined by the size of your blender or mixing tank. agrē uses this value when determining the number of batches and the sizes of the batches necessary to complete a total batch.
Note
If you specify maximums for both blend size and volume size, agrē ensures that the limit is the first maximum reached; in other words, neither maximum is exceeded.
Select Show Worksheet on Batch Sheet by default if you want a specified area on the printed reports to write the blend actuals by default.
Select Show Percentages on Batch Sheet by default if you want to display the blend product percentages on the Blend Batch Sheet reports by default.
Select Show Blend Notes by default if you want to display the blend notes by default.
Select Force Equal Batches by default if you want to force equal batches of the blend by default.
In the Product column, enter the default products that you want to use for this blend type..
In the Product Order column, enter the numbers that represent the order of your products (i.e., the order in which the products are introduced into the blend).
For example, enter “1” to specify the product to be blended first.
Any product not in the table is placed second last (providing there is a specified “last” product to be used).
Tip
Click Add Product to add a new product.
Tip
Click Remove Product Order to remove a product from the table.
In the Conversion Factor* box, enter the number of units used in the bin final factor equal to one main unit of the blend type.
This conversion factor represents the conversion between the unit type used to calibrate the blender’s final factors and the blend type’s main product unit. For example, if your final factors are calculated using kg/minute and your main unit type for the blend is in tonnes, then the conversion factor is 1000 (1000 kg in a tonne).
In the Maximum Dial* box, enter the maximum dial setting (rpm) that is allowed by your blender.
When agrē calculates the batch settings, it takes the maximum dial setting into consideration and does not assign a dial setting higher than this number.
In the Max Throughput Per Hr box, enter the maximum amount of blended product (in main units) that can be output per hour.
When agrē calculates the batch settings, it takes the maximum throughput setting into consideration and the dial settings are adjusted to ensure that the maximum throughput is not exceeded.
Specify the default Max Blend Size (in main units) (optional).
As the maximum blend size for volumetric blenders is the capacity of the vehicle/container into which the blend is being loaded and this capacity may not be consistent with all customers, you can leave this field blank.
Select Show Blend Notes by default if you want to display the blend notes by default.
Check Force Equal Batches by default if that is how your company prefers to calculate batch size.
The products on the printed batch sheet will be shown in ascending order by bin name.
You can set the default status for each item to be displayed or hidden on the Price Sheet report.
Note
You can override all of the defaults specified on this tab when you make a blend and print the Price Sheet.
To complete the Price Sheet Defaults tab
* indicates a required field
Click the Price Sheet Defaults tab.
Check Show Product Unit Prices to display prices by default.
Check Show Price Prices Per Acre to display $/acre by default.
Check Show Product Quantities to display quantity by default.
Check Show Notes to display the notes by default.
You can optionally define the base blend charge as well as the surcharges for products and services for a blend type, which determines the information that is collected and printed on the Blend Price Sheet reports.
Note
Once you've made and saved a blend using a blend type, you won't be able to change the Blend Charge Product to a different one. You will be able to change only the price of the Blend Charge Product.
A product charge associated with this blend type, if defined, is the base blend charge per main unit of the blend. If you specify a product charge, you can also specify surcharges, if desired. Surcharges are added to the base blend charge and are also billed per main unit of the blend.
You can select whether the blend charge (base blend charge and surcharges) is shown on the Make a Blend window, price sheet, invoices, and statements, or any combination of these.
Surcharges based on the number of products in the blend are added to the base blend charge.
Note
The number of products does not include the products on the Additional Products tab.
Define Number of Products surcharges if your blend charge scheme is based on the number of products that you are mixing. Instead of having one flat rate regardless of how many products are mixed into the blend, you can define several rates. If the number of products is not listed, agrē uses the charge associated with the next lowest number.
For example, you may want to charge a fee of $5.00 for blending three products and a fee of $7.00 for blending five products, entering only these two values in the table.
In this case, a blend using one or two products has no surcharge; three products has a $5.00 surcharge; four products also has a $5.00 surcharge because, although not explicitly defined, the surcharge of the next lowest number (i.e., three) is used; and five or more products have a surcharge of $7.00.
Surcharges based on the product type (set up in Manage Products) are added to the base blend charge. In other words, if any of the blend’s additional products (on the Additional Products and Quote Details tab) are of this product type, then this surcharge is added to the base blend charge.
Define this surcharge when you want to attach various blending charges to your blends. For example, you might want to set up a charge for delivery or for customer spreading.
Note
The surcharge is applied only once even if more than one product of a product type is in the blend.
To complete the Blend Charges tab
Click the Blend Charges tab.
In the Blend Charge Prod box, enter the product charge associated with this blend type, if applicable.
Press the TAB key.
The base blend charge per main unit (set up in Manage Products) associated with this product and the blend charge options appear.
Note
Products are displayed in the Blend Charge Prod box if:
∙ they are active, non-inventory products.
∙ the blend type’s main unit is a valid unit for the product)
If you want to display charges on the Make a Blend window, a price sheet, an invoice and statement, or any combination of these, select the representative check box: Make a Blend Window, Price Sheet, Invoice & Statement.
By default, agrē does not display blend charges.
Note
If your growers normally prepay their blend charges, there is a config option that can be set behind the scenes by Tronia to have the blend charge listed by default with the other commodities when a blend is Saved as Itemized Products on a Work Order, .
This feature is intended solely for the purpose of determining the total value of a blend (including blend charge) and thus the amount the customer needs to deposit in prepayment funds.
When later linking blend purchases to products on work orders, the Blend Charge will not be drawn down, nor will any special blend charge pricing be transferred to an invoice. This means that the Blend Charge product row (and thus the entire Work Order) will never be flagged as complete; it will remain as Active until manually flagged as closed.
In the Number of Products, column, enter the number of products to which you want to assign a charge.
In the Surcharge column, enter the amount to charge (with a maximum of four decimal places; e.g., 5.0075) for the number of products that you entered.
In the Product Type column, enter the product type to which you want to assign a charge.
In the Surcharge column, enter the amount to charge (with a maximum of four decimal places; e.g., 5.0075) for the product type that you entered.
Tip
Click Remove Surcharge to remove a surcharge from the table.
Use the Edit Blend Type window to change existing blend types. You cannot change the main units if the blend type has been or is in use on blends.
To edit a blend type
Navigate to Blending > Manage > Blend Types.
The Manage Blend Types window opens.
In the Blend Type list, select the blend type to edit and then click Edit.
Edit the data on each tab as needed.
Note
Once you've made and saved a blend using a blend type, you won't be able to change the Blend Charge Product to a different one. You will be able to change only the price of the Blend Charge Product.
Click Save.
Once you delete a blend type, it cannot be undone. Blend types that have been used to make saved blends cannot be deleted.
To delete a blend type
Navigate to Blending > Manage > Blend Types.
The Manage Blend Types window opens.
In the Blend Type list, select the blend type to delete and then click Delete.
Note
If the Delete button is not available, the blend type you selected has been used and cannot be deleted.
Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
You can quickly add a new blend type similar to an existing one by copying and renaming the existing one, and then changing the details.
To copy a blend type
Navigate to Blending > Manage > Blend Types.
The Manage Blend Types window opens.
In the Blend Type list, select the blend type to copy and then click Copy.
In the Blend Type Code box, enter a unique code for the new blend type.
In the Blend Type Description box, enter a unique description for the new blend type.
Click Save.
The Copy Blend Type window closes and the new blend type appears in the Blend Type list on the Manage Blend Types window.
Edit the new blend type, if needed.