Alpine Summering (Sömmerung) — Ascent & Descent

What is alpine summering?

Alpine summering (Sömmerung) is the traditional practice of bringing sheep and goats to alpine pastures during the summer months. From spring to autumn, animals graze on higher-lying pastures — known as alpine summering.

For the TVD this means: every animal going to the alp requires a departure notification (departure from your farm). When the animals return in autumn, an arrival notification (return to your farm) is needed.

With a larger herd this can quickly mean dozens or even hundreds of individual notifications. This is exactly what Herdy's summering function is designed for: a batch action that saves you hours of work on the agate.ch portal.

Alpine ascent (sending animals to the alp)

The alpine ascent creates the required departure notifications for all selected animals at once.

Step-by-step guide

1. Navigate to TVD > Alpine Summering in the main menu.
2. Click Start Alpine Ascent.
3. Select animals:
   • Select animals individually from your herd.
   • Or select an entire group to mark all animals in the group at once.
   • You can select or deselect individual animals afterwards.
4. Set the destination:
   • Select an existing alpine location (if you have sent animals there before).
   • Or enter a new location with the TVD number or BUR number of the alp.
5. Enter the date:
   • Set the departure date (day on which the animals leave your farm).
   • Optional: Enter an expected return date. This will be suggested later for the alpine descent.
6. Review the summary: Herdy shows you the number of animals, the destination, and the date.
7. Click Submit Alpine Ascent.
8. Herdy creates a departure notification for each selected animal and transmits them to the TVD.

Tracking progress

While the notifications are being processed, you can see the progress:

• Successful — The notification for this animal has been confirmed.
• Failed — There was a problem with this animal. Herdy shows the reason for the error.

Failed notifications can be corrected individually and resubmitted.

Tip: Plan the alpine ascent in Herdy a few days in advance. This lets you review the animal list at your leisure, without being under time pressure on the morning of the ascent.

Alpine descent (bringing animals back from the alp)

The alpine descent creates the required arrival notifications for all returning animals.

Automatic drafts

When you submit an alpine ascent in Herdy, the app automatically creates drafts for the alpine descent — for every animal that went to the alp. You can find these drafts in the notification overview under TVD > Notifications with the status Draft.

If you entered an expected return date during the alpine ascent, it is already filled in on the draft.

Step-by-step guide

1. Navigate to TVD > Alpine Summering.
2. Click Start Alpine Descent.
3. Herdy shows you the animals currently on the alp.
4. Select animals: Mark the animals that are returning. If not all animals are returning at the same time, you can complete the alpine descent in several rounds.
5. Enter the date: Set the arrival date (day on which the animals return to your farm).
6. Review the summary.
7. Click Submit Alpine Descent.
8. Herdy creates an arrival notification for each animal and transmits them to the TVD.

Tip: If individual animals were sold, died, or otherwise departed during the summering period, simply delete the corresponding alpine descent draft. Instead, create the appropriate notification (e.g. a death notification or departure notification from the alpine farm).

Why use the summering function?

The summering function is one of the biggest time-savers Herdy offers compared to the agate.ch portal — especially for farms that summer many animals every year.