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This is a full asset-register-style working paper for a farm's livestock and growing crops. It lets you record acquisitions and valuation movements, at either fair value or cost, category by category, handle disposals (and, for crops, harvesting), reconcile each category back to the trial balance, and it feeds a companion summary and the accounts disclosure note automatically.

Table of contents 

When should I use this template?

Use this where the Biological Assets Register / Capital Herd approach has been chosen as the valuation method for a farm's livestock and/or growing crops, rather than the simpler Agricultural - Livestock Reconciliation With Average Pricing template. It gives a full breakdown by animal group or crop line, with cost/depreciation or fair value movements, rather than a single account-level average cost.

Before you start

  • Decide, category by category, whether you will value that category at fair value or at cost, and, if cost, whether the assets are depreciated. This choice is independent per category (for example, a dairy herd held at depreciated cost, growing crops held at fair value).
  • Confirm the categories you need are mapped to the right nominal codes. The template covers Dairy, Beef, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry, Horses, two general Other livestock categories, and the crop categories Oats, Oilseed rape, Potatoes, Forage, Peas, Wheat, Barley and Other crops.
  • Check the farm is not also using the Agricultural - Livestock Reconciliation With Average Pricing template for the same livestock. The two are alternative valuation approaches, not intended to be used together for the same stock.

Background

FRS 102 lets a farm measure biological assets such as livestock and growing crops either at fair value less costs to sell, or at cost less any depreciation and impairment where fair value cannot be reliably measured. This template's category-by-category Fair value or Cost choice mirrors that.

Steps

  1. At the top of the register, every category with a trial balance in the current or previous year is listed automatically, showing its net book value for the current and prior periods and a tick box to show or hide that category's detailed breakdown table below.
  2. For each category you want to complete, choose Fair value or Cost from the valuation dropdown (defaults to Cost).
  3. If you choose Cost, a second question appears: "Are the assets depreciated?" (Yes/No).
  4. Add a row for each asset or lot: date, description, an attached document if needed, quantity and price per unit. Acquisition cost is calculated automatically from quantity multiplied by price per unit, or you can enter the acquisition cost directly if quantity and price are not meaningful for that line.
  5. Depending on your choices:
    • Fair value: enter the opening fair value (for assets already held at the start of the year) and any revaluation for the period. The closing fair value is calculated.
    • Cost, depreciated: enter brought-forward depreciation and, if needed, override the depreciation charge for the year (otherwise calculated automatically using the straight-line or reducing-balance method and the years or percentage you enter). Net book value is calculated.
    • Cost, not depreciated: enter any impairment. Net book value is simply cost plus or minus impairment.
  6. Tick Disposal for any asset sold or otherwise disposed of during the year, and enter the disposal date and the disposal quantity and proceeds (or disposal fair value, in fair value mode). The template works out from the figures entered whether it is a full or partial disposal, and calculates the profit or loss on disposal.
  7. For growing crop categories only, tick Decrease from harvesting instead of Disposal when a crop is harvested. The value is written off the same way a disposal would be, into a profit or loss on harvest.
  8. Check the reconciliation indicator shown against each category's total. It compares the calculated net book value or fair value to the trial balance and flags any difference, with the two figures and the gap between them.

What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?

Each category's net book value or fair value, and the underlying cost/depreciation or fair value movements, flow straight into the Summary of Biological Assets / Capital Herd template, which is a read-only roll-up of this register. The same figures also populate the Capital Herd disclosure note in the accounts automatically, wherever this register holds data for a category.

What rolls forward next year?

  • Assets that are fully disposed of, or fully written off through harvesting, drop out of next year's register entirely.
  • Assets partially disposed of carry forward only their remaining quantity, cost and depreciation (or fair value).
  • Assets still held roll forward as normal: this year's closing fair value becomes next year's opening fair value, and for depreciated cost assets the accumulated depreciation carries forward while the depreciation charge for the new year is recalculated from scratch.

Where the data comes from

Dates, quantities, prices and valuation choices are entered manually from the farm's own livestock and crop records (herd records, purchase and sale invoices, and management's own fair value or impairment judgement). The template compares its own totals to the trial balance automatically and flags any difference.

Frequently asked questions

Can I value some categories at fair value and others at cost?

Yes. The valuation method, and whether cost assets are depreciated, is set independently for each category.

What is the difference between "Disposal" and "Decrease from harvesting"?

Disposal applies to any category and covers an asset sold or otherwise disposed of. Decrease from harvesting only appears for the growing crop categories, and is used when a crop is harvested rather than sold as a standing crop.

Why does a category I expect not appear in the register?

Only categories with a non-zero trial balance in the current or previous year are shown. If a category you expect is missing, check the account mapping and trial balance for that code.

Does this template connect to the Livestock Reconciliation With Average Pricing template?

No, they are independent approaches to valuing livestock. A farm should use one method or the other for the same stock, not both.