What

1
Whats this mean-Tips to Get Started

• Mike Sporcic

2
Booting the Porgram

• Booting (double clicking the short cut) the
  program takes a little time.
• If it doe not boot the first time close it and
  start it again.

3
Booting cont.

• You should see a splash screen that indicates the
  program has started

4
Delay in Refresh

• There are times when you may have the program
  running and you click on your email or some other
  program for a while, when you go back to WEPS
  running in the background, it may take 10 seconds
  or so to refresh the screens.
• This is normal and is related to the MS operating
  system memory sharing.

5
Deleting File Delay

• Deleting Run Files inside WEPS take a few
  moments. (WEPS allows you to delete more that one
  file at a time).

• In this case I have 5 runs to delete.
• If you highlight and Click delete, it will take
  WEPS time before another button will work.
• In this case 20 sec.

6
Read the Screens

• Dont assume you know what the model is doing.

• Dont panic, most things are fixable
• In this case I needed to reconvert or edit this
  management file because an error was saved in the
  first conversion of Skel files.

7
Errors Lead to Error Reports (sometimes)

• When you started WEPS for the first time you were
  asked for your name and email.
• When an error is encountered WEPS will try to
  send message to the WEPS ARS team in Manhattan,
  KS.

• Try to describe what you were doing when the
  error message occurred. Then press the send
  button.

8
Loading Converted RUSLE Mgt Files

• Sometimes when loading a templated converted mgt.
  file, you will get an error message.

• Some RUSLE files, especially perennials, were
  build in RUSLE as partial rotations.
• In this case I used the Arrow Button on the main
  interface to load this mgt.
• It failed to load.

9
Loading Converted RUSLE Mgt Files, cont

• If you open the management editor (pull down
  arrow), and import that same mgt file, the editor
  will read it.
• This is a 2yr partial run stored as a 1yr
  complete run in the a. management directory. The
  Years in Rot. states 1, but the file has year 1
  and 2 listed.
• The file name also had 10yrs listed in its name.

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Loading Converted RUSLE Mgt Files, cont
Additional operations are required to complete
the partial rotation.
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Converting RUSLE Files
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Fixed SKEL file
Is there a Date Issue?
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What you getThe fall chisel plow is out of
place.It should be at the end of the rotation
and all of the dates moved back to show only 4
year Tt.
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Number of years problem
15
Fixed FChisel date and Harvests operations
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Ratoon and Nurse Crops (RUSLE file shown)

• This is an irrigated Alfafla/Oat,hay(3), 3cut,
  diskspring, CMZ05 RUSLE rotation. Note that the
  first Veg file is spring seed Alfalfa and Oats
  harvested as silage. And that the second Veg
  file is a harvest to yr 2 regrowth file for the
  Alfalfa. Then comes the Alf.
• All harvest in this file are Harvest hay, legume.
• WEPS has converted this based on the oat silage
  and not the alfalfa.
• Alfalfa was not the planted crop, oats was.
• This file will require editing to use in WEPS.

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Ratoon and Nurse Crops, cont

• Users will need to edit the file to add
  irrigation, harvest of the silage oat crop and
  calling in the ratoon alfalfa file.
• All you get is the oats planted.

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Ratoon and Nurse Crops, cont

• The edit will look like this when the file is
  fixed.
• Crop was changed from Oat, spring to Oat, spring,
  hay
• A harvest was added for the Oats
• Alfafla, released growing crop was added
• Irrigation was added

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What does this do?

• The biomass adjustment factor is used to adjust
  the yield and residue produced for the run. The
  question is whether you want to Save the new
  adjustment factor in the oats, FC, st, pt, disk,
  fcult, Z1, current mgt file.

20
What does this do?

• When you finish a calibration run, consider if
  you would like to save this to a Local Crop
  Template. In the case shown WEPS reduced the
  yield by 48. Saving this file to a local
  template may make good sense.

Use the Save As button to place it in the Local
Directory.
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Restoring a Run

• You might be temped to look in File on the
  toolbar. Look in Run instead.

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What to do with a Warning
Great, now what do I do? Warnings are not the
end of the world or the WEPS run. WEPS is
telling you the Peas did not grow to maturity. I
thought it was the Wheat that did not grow.
Lesson to me, read the note.
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Stop that Warning
In this case the crop database said that the Peas
needed 90 days to grow the crop. My management
run in MCREW was set from 4/25-7/15. Counting on
my fingers and toes I get only 80 days.
Solution Add a few days to the grow time in the
spring or before harvest.
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What to do with a Warning
In this case I was running an Oat crop for spring
hay. WEPS is telling me that the oats did not
mature before we harvested. In this case that is
fine.
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What does this mean?
Save to current management, means the run behind
the box will be changed to use the edit you just
made. WEPS will use the change in the next run
with what is in MCREW if you say yes. It does
not change the template data base file.
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These must mean undo and redo
Nice try but, I dont think so! Its only taken
me 6 month to figure it out. These buttons move
the whole rotation one year forward or one year
back. This is not Larrys misunderstanding it is
mine!
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This must mean we have a fork in the road?

• Again good guess, but wrong!
• Use this one to adjust the yield values from the
  Crop database. Once set they will be used to
  make a calibration run on the project screen
  (interface).

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Translation Files from SKEL files

• WEPS tries to match up Oper and Crop names as it
  brings in a RUSLE. Make the best match you can.

• If you get this you should let me know so I can
  add the operation and crops needed.

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Selecting a new soil directory takes time

• Changing any of the folders may take 10-15
  seconds on our machines. Just go slow and only
  click once until you find out if it is actually
  doing something.
• Field Offices may change there soil DB to a
  location on the servers. They may decide to move
  a copy of the mdb file to the WEPS soils
  diretory.

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Calibration of Forage Crops

• Forage Crops (and other crops too) can be
  calibrated, IF we harvest the crop only once.
• Multi-cut crops like Alfalfa can not be
  calibrated since we harvest them more than one
  time each year and multiple years.
• Cover Crops that are not harvested can not be
  calibrated.
• You will need to change the biomas adjustment
  factor in the management editor. It is set to
  1.0 when you start.
• If the yield of a forage crop is to low try
  increasing the number say 1.25 and make a rerun.
• If the yield is to high try lowering the value,
  say to 0.75.

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Man and Soil Pulldown

• When you click the black arrow on the pulldown
  you see a list of the directories with two main
  folders, Current Project and Templates.
• The switches, open and close directories.
• This one shows the Template Management
  directory open. I have two CMZ available to use.
• My current Project directory does not have any
  mgt in it yet.

Switch, a down position indicates it is open
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Man and Soil Pulldown

• I have now opened the CMZ 01the a, Alf and
  Brome, and 1 yr Alf and Brome subdirectory.
• You now can select the any management listed in
  the subdirectory.
• There is now one mgt listed in the Current
  Project subfolder because I selected Canola from
  the template list.

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Project Folder Mgt

• The WEPS will continue to accumulate files in the
  Project folder until you delete, move, or save
  them somewhere else.
• The File command on the main interface allows you
  to delete the run, management, and soil ifc
  files.
• It is very important to clean out the junk. A
  good habit is to delete any remaining files after
  you have a good run you want to keep

Remember WEPS make a copy of all the files you
used to create in the Run File Directory itself.
If you save the good run to a server directory,
you can remove all the information left in the My
docs Project directory.
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Project Folder Mgt

• You can also delete, copy, and move items using
  Windows Explorer.
• The Canola Mgt listed in the model is stored at
  C\Documents and Settings\michael.sporcic\My
  Documents\WEPS_Project
• Always leave the .ini file in the project folder

35
Default Configuration

• The first five directories can be specified to a
  different location.
• This may come down to only the Management
  Templates as a user configured item

36
Default Configuration
The soil directory can be changed if the user
wants to use the .mdb Toolkit soil maintained on
the service center server. This one is pointed
to the subdirectory where the program is loaded.
The WEPS data maybe moved in future to accomidate
Windows 7 (not Office 7).
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Default Configuration
Several things under the Miscellaneous tab can be
turned on or off.
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Default Configuration
Email can be entered or changed from the Email tab
All remaining screens Config items are locked and
should not be changed.
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Questions?
Medicine Hat, AB, Canada Summer 2009 (Based on
the WW growth from another picture) Round Bales
Do Blow, but can they fly?