This article will teach you how to renew your membership dues on the Grassroots system. While memberships run on a rolling calendar based on the date you pay, most of us have been in the habit of paying on January 1st. As a result lots of members need to renew now!
The good news is that it’s super easy to renew your membership dues. Follow these steps now to get it done!
Members need to record a breeding certificate when they sell bred ewes or use their ram to cover ewes owned by another member. If you’re not sure when to use this form, refer to the registry rules. While you can use the paper form to do this, the Grassroots system makes it much simpler. This post will provide instructions for recording a breeding certificate online.
Step by Step Instructions to Record a Breeding Certificate
Hover your mouse over the pancake stack in the upper right corner of the window.
Click Service Certificates.
Select the ram that covered ewes that you do not own.
Enter the dates the ram was with the ewes.
Click the orange Next button in the lower right corner of the window.
Search for the owner of the ewes using their name or member number.
Click on the applicable owner.
Select the ewes that your ram covered by ticking the box(es).
Click the orange Next button in the lower right corner of the window.
Confirm that the list is correct, then click the orange Submit button in the lower right corner of the window.
Retain a copy of the Service (Breeding) Certificate that automatically downloads to your computer for your records.
That’s it! You don’t need to mail anything and the Breeding Certificate is recorded with the registrar. You can watch the video below for a walk-through of the process.
Today’s post will help nonmembers find breeders and sheep for sale. If you aren’t a member of SCHSB yet, don’t worry! You can still use our Grassroots Registry system to find sheep for sale and to find breeders in your state or region. Then you can contact the member listed for more information.
Did you know you can get a Mobile App for Grassroots? Yes! You can finally manage your flock while you’re on the go. Now you can do everything while you’re in the barn with newborns, loading stock for the auction, or making observations out on the pasture.
The app is packed with powerful tools to manage your animal data through your phone. You’ll be able to do all these tasks while sitting on the tailgate or standing next to the lambing pen:
See animal information, view full pedigrees and show results.
Log births, report deaths, record sales, flag animals for sale
Add images and select those you wish to appear in the new Grassroots Online Registry
Keep notes on individual animals or groups of animals
Update all of this to your breed registry on the go
Download the App
Grassroots collects a subscription fee of $18.99 per year.
After you install the app, be sure to refer to these directions. Your username and password on the initial sign-in are NOT the same as what you use to log in to the Grassroots website. This little technicality really stumps lots of folks, so remember that!
Once you’re all set up, you can get started right away. If you have questions, please contact us.
This article will teach you how to record deaths of sheep on the Grassroots system. This process is very easy to do. It’s important to clear out sheep that have died or been butchered. Doing so means that you will have an accurate list of sheep available. This makes it much easier to select sheep for breeding, to list for sale, or to perform a check mate. Don’t worry, those sheep will not disappear from the database. You can still find them using the search feature, and they will appear in the pedigrees of their offspring.
Also, keeping your flock list up to date makes it possible for SCHSB to get a more accurate estimate of the number of active sheep in our database. This is extremely important to ensure that the population isn’t falling to levels that would demand further conservation efforts.
The good news is that it’s super easy to record sheep deaths. Spend a little time reviewing your records and then clean up your flock list!
Click the pancake stack on the upper right corner of your dashboard.
Click Deaths.
Tick the box next to any sheep that is deceased.
Click the orange Next button.
Check your list, then click the orange Submit button.
That’s it! If you need help, contact us. Please note that it can take up to 14 days for processing, during which time those deceased sheep may seem to be invisible. We promise, they are still there!
Here is a video that walks you through recording deaths:
This article will teach you how to record you lambs, a process called birth-notify, on the Grassroots system. This is a new process for us, because our old system only allowed us to record lambs when we registered them. Most of us probably record birth information for our lambs when they are born or soon after using a notebook, spreadsheet, or software. We decide later which ones to register, and in our old system, this is when we would finally go to the computer.
The birth-notify feature allows our members to record this information in the system with no transaction fee, rather than on paper, in a spreadsheet, or in separate software. Members can still decide later which lambs to register and then pay the fees. You can also register and transfer simultaneously.
While members can still follow the same procedure of only entering the lambs you’ve decided to register, there are several benefits to recording all lambs, even those left unregistered. First, you can tag those birth-notified sheep for sale in the system, so you can sell them as unregistered if desired, and their pedigrees are still visible and searchable. Second, by recording all lambs, your ewes’ production records will be more accurate, and you can easily share them with potential customers. Finally, by recording lambs earlier, you are less likely to mix up lambs later. That means you avoid parentage issues.
The good news is that it’s super easy to birth-notify your sheep and it’s a free benefit for our members. If you have lambs on the ground now, you should get started now!
Click the pancake stack on the upper right corner of your dashboard.
Click Births.
Fill in the birth information (date of birth, conception type, number born, etc.).
Select the sire and dam from your flock, or search for them in the system if they are owned by another member. If you rented a ram or purchased bred ewes, you must send in a breeding certificate before you can register the lambs.
Decide if you want to log all births from this lambing or not. You are not required to do so, but we recommend that you do.
Click the orange Next button.
Fill in the information for each lamb you wish to birth-notify. All fields are required except Alt. No., Individual Name, Weight, and Scrapie. We strongly suggest you include an accurate weight if known.
Select the transaction you wish to use. You can Notify for free, register for $8.00, or register & transfer for $16.00.
Click the orange Add To List button.
Check your list, then click the orange Next button.
Tick box to acknowledge the declaration statement, then click the orange Submit button.
If you chose to only notify lambs, you are done!
If you chose to register any lambs, select your method of payment. We strongly suggest you use Paypal to complete payment immediately.
That’s it! If you need help, contact us. Please note that it can take up to 14 days for your birth-notified lambs to appear in your list of sheep.
Here is a video that walks you through birth-notifying your lambs:
This article will teach you how to list sheep for sale on the Grassroots system. This process replaces the old “Classifieds” section of our website. We all know how useful it is to list our sheep for sale in a place where people are looking specifically for St. Croix sheep. SCHSB’s new registry system offers even more functionality, because potential buyers can look at the pedigrees of the specific sheep you are offering for sale.
The good news is that it’s super easy to list sheep for sale and it’s a free benefit for our members. If you have sheep you want to sell, you should follow these steps right now!
This article will teach you how to help people find your farm on the Grassroots system. When the system went live, member information was set to private. Unfortunately, that makes it hard for people to find and contact breeders. We all know how useful this feature is. It’s like free advertising to people looking for our St. Croix sheep.
The good news is that it’s super easy to update your Data Protection settings. You should do it right now! You will be sure to sell your sheep much easier if you allow people to see at least some of your contact information.
Confirm that all your contact information is correct. If not, please update it.
Click the dropdown in the Data Protection field.
Select the amount of data you want to be visible. If you don’t want to allow people to see everything, you should at least allow them to see an email, website address, or phone number. Otherwise, they won’t know how to contact you.