DC305 item codes

Definition

An item in DC305 is a named field on each animal’s record, such as LACT (lactation number) or DIM (days in milk). Items are what commands display (LIST ID PEN DIM), filter on (FOR LACT>0) and group by (BY PEN). Item names are short codes, usually up to five characters.

There are two kinds:

Stored items hold a value written to the record, either by an event (FRESH sets FDAT) or by direct entry or a data import (test-day milk).
Calculated items are computed when a command runs, from stored items and today’s date. DIM, DCC, DOPN and DUE are calculated, so they change every day without anyone entering anything.

DC305 ships with standard items. Herds also add user-defined items (body condition, locomotion score, protocol flags, calf serum protein, sensor data). Their names and meanings vary by herd; map them in the herd’s private dc305-vocab page. Item numbers (the internal position of an item) and event codes are also configured per herd, so never carry them from one herd to another.

A third, special kind is the event-date item: an item defined to return the date of the most recent (or nth most recent) occurrence of a given event, for example a sold date or died date taken from the SOLD or DIED event. Its value comes from the event history, not from a field typed in on the cow.

For example, SELDT (“Last sold Date”) and DIEDT (died date, “Date of Event Died”) are calculated event-date items read from the SOLD and DIED event history (seen in a real herd’s item table, Nov 2026). Because sold and dead animals are excluded by default, list them with \D (or \B): LIST\D ID LACT DIM DIEDT FOR DIEDT>-365.

Standard items

Item	Meaning	Kind
ID	Animal’s herd ID (barn number)	stored
EID	Electronic ID (RFID tag)	stored
PEN	Current pen number	stored
LACT	Lactation number (0 = heifer)	stored
BDAT	Birth date	stored
FDAT	Fresh (last calving) date	stored
DIM	Days in milk: today − FDAT	calculated
RC	Reproductive code 0–8 (see RC codes)	stored
RPRO	The same reproductive code as an English word	calculated
TBRD	Times bred this lactation	stored
HDAT	Heat date	stored
DSLH	Days since last heat	calculated
CDAT	Conception date (date of the breeding that resulted in the current pregnancy)	stored
SID	Sire ID (the animal’s sire)	unconfirmed
SIRC	Sire of conception	unconfirmed
DCC	Days carrying calf: today − CDAT	calculated
DOPN	Days open: CDAT − FDAT if pregnant, else DIM	calculated
DUE	Due date to freshen: CDAT + gestation length	calculated
DDAT	Dry date	stored
TDAT	Most recent test date	unconfirmed
VDAT	Date of last vet check	unconfirmed
MILK	Current test-day milk weight, lb	calculated
PCTF	% fat at last test	calculated
PCTP	% protein at last test	unconfirmed
SCC	Somatic cell count at the most recent test	stored
LGSCC	Linear score of the current-test SCC	calculated
CBRD	Breed code	stored
SEX	Sex	stored
AGE	Age in months	calculated
305ME	305-day mature-equivalent milk projection	calculated
DOW	Day of week (1 = Saturday … 7 = Friday)	calculated

Meanings above follow the VAS “Common Items” list. Kinds (stored vs calculated) were confirmed for MILK, AGE, DIM, DCC, DOPN, DUE, LGSCC, PCTF, PEAKM, 305ME, RC, TBRD and EASE (stored number) and MKDAT (stored date) from a real herd’s item table (Nov 2026).

Analysis items

These appear in VAS and Select Sires analysis commands and exist in common setups, but names can vary by herd:

Item	Meaning
DIMFB	DIM at first breeding (some setups: BRED1)
CINT	Calving interval
HINT	Heat (inter-service) interval; 21 ÷ average HINT ≈ submission rate after first service
AGEFB	Age at first breeding
AGEFR	Age at freshening
LCTGP	Lactation group
PRVLG	Previous linear score
LOG1	First-test linear score
DRYLG	Linear score at dry-off
MAXLG	Maximum linear score
PSCC	Previous SCC
SCC1	First-test SCC
PEAKM	Peak milk
W4MK / WMK4	Week-4 milk
CWVAL	Cow value
REM, EVT, EC	Event remark, event, event code
DIEDT	Died date (event-date item, last DIED event)
SELDT	Sold date (event-date item, last SOLD event)
ARDAT	Archive date
PODAT	Pregnancy-check date (example)
XMETR	Count of metritis events (example of a count item)

How to pull it in DC305

LIST ID PEN LACT DIM RC FOR LACT>0          one row per cow
SUM DIM DCC DOPN TBRD FOR LACT>0 BY LACT    averages by lactation
LIST ID FDAT DIM FOR FDAT>-30               fresh in the last 30 days
LIST ID PEN DUE FOR RC=5-6 DCC>220          close to calving

Syntax notes:

Relative dates: for date items, a negative number means days before today. FDAT>-30 is “fresh within the last 30 days”.
Ranges: PEN=1-5, RC=5-6. A reversed range such as RC=3-2 means “not in that range”.
Unset values: DC305 writes 0 for an unset numeric item, so 0 can mean “no value” (e.g. a cow never scored) rather than a real zero. SUM, COUNT and PCT leave zeroes out of averages by default (\Z includes them); filter with >0 when averaging exported data.
Command length: DC305 limits command length after abbreviations and saved-item names are expanded (roughly 230–240 characters). Very long LIST commands may need splitting.
To see how a herd defines an item (its label, type and code values), use ALTER\2 (item definitions).

Typical range

Herd context: any DC305 herd; codes and items vary by herd setup.

Typical values in a US Holstein lactating herd, for sanity checks:

DIM: herd average about 150–200 days.
LACT: average about 2.2–2.6.
TBRD: 1–3 for most cows; pregnant cows average about 2–2.5.
DCC: 0 to about 280 days.
DOPN (pregnant cows): about 110–140 days average.

Common mistakes

Assuming a user-defined item exists or means the same thing in another herd. Look it up in that herd’s setup.
Averaging items with 0 for “no value”. DC305’s SUM skips zeroes unless \Z is set; in exported data, exclude zeros first.
Using current items for history. PEN, RC and MILK are today’s values; historical analysis needs events or saved test-day data.
Comparing calculated items across days. DIM, DCC and DOPN move every day; state the date the report was run.
Treating DOPN of open cows as final. For an open cow DOPN keeps growing; report pregnant and open cows separately.
Mixing heifers into cow averages. Use LACT>0 or LACT=0.