What can we help you find?

Choose your task

How to use the manual

• Choose a task at the top of this page to open the service you need.
• Search with a short question, such as “rent a skid steer” or “pay an invoice”. Choose a result to open the service, or choose How to use it for instructions.
• Tap any help topic to open it. Tap it again to close it. Use Back to help & search to return to the top.
• Turn on Include staff & advanced guides when you need management instructions. Download the full PDF for an offline copy.
• Call 931-316-7606 if you need help choosing equipment or planning a project.

Accounts and records

1. Start with the farm, not a model number

1. Open the main website and tap Chat on your phone or Ask Farmer Surplus on a larger screen. Type: I want 100,000 bushels of total storage.
2. When asked about existing storage, enter 40,000 bushels of empty, usable dry storage. The additional storage gap is 60,000 bushels.
3. Enter corn and say whether it comes in dry or needs drying. For this example, choose drying and 12,000 bushels on a peak harvest day.
4. Describe the bins, dryer and handling equipment you want to keep, the project location and a budget range. Correct any misunderstood number immediately. Start over clears this chat and its planning answers.

2. Understand the preliminary numbers

3. Use the Facility Planner

1. Open the Facility Planner source link in chat, or open Farm Workshop > Tools > Facility Planner. Relevant supplied inputs can travel with the link; review every value and any remaining defaults.
2. Work through Your harvest, Drying & wet holding, Handling & layout, and Your facility plan. Enter acres, yield, the amount kept on farm, existing storage and harvest pace.
3. Set moisture, actual dryer rate, operating hours, downtime, start delay and wet holding. Look for a queue that keeps growing: more wet storage does not repair an undersized drying process.
4. Review truckloads, unloading time, receiving equipment and the slowest active component. Leave room for traffic, maintenance and future expansion.
5. Review the result and save through the options available to your Workshop account. A chat link alone has not created an account-saved plan.

4. Sketch, compare and request a quote

1. Open Design Your Site for a visual layout. Place the selected equipment and check heights, connections, truck routes and maintenance access. Save an editable JSON backup as well as any presentation export.
2. Compare current store products and required options. The chat reference contains 2,614 products from August 30, 2026; old catalog sizes are examples to verify, not confirmed inventory or current prices.
3. Choose Request a quote. Include total and additional bushels, crop, harvest-day volume, moisture, existing equipment, location, timing, budget and desired scope. Mention freight, erection, foundations and electrical work explicitly.
4. Review contact information and submit once. Wait for Request sent. A submitted quote request is not a confirmed price, scheduled crew or placed order.
5. For ongoing project tracking, create a Farmer Surplus account and use Request work. Keep the quoted scope and project reference together in Documents and Support.

Questions worth trying

What chat remembers and what it can do

• The current browser tab keeps recent conversation and planning answers. Start over clears both. It does not create a durable customer or Workshop plan.
• State a correction clearly: Actually, make it 80,000 bushels. The assistant can retain crop, existing storage and other supplied planning information while updating the goal.
• Dry grain follows a receiving, storage and reclaim/loadout path. Wet holding and a dryer are not automatically required.
• The older catalog teaches product names, categories, original SKU identity and option choices. Prices, stock quantities, private costs and markups are excluded from this reference.
• Exact manual matches take precedence over general tool suggestions. For settings or repairs, supply model and publication details and read complete source instructions.
• Chat cannot see private member records, approve roles, send a quote, place an order, bid, save in another program or operate equipment. Full conversational AI requires a separately configured connection; the guided and source-search functions work without it.

Join and recover access

1. Open Join Now or Career Opportunities. Choose Farmer / Buyer, Contractor, Equipment Dealer, Individual Worker or Sales Partner and complete the form.
2. Use your own email and a password of at least 12 characters. Save the recovery code shown after registration in a secure place; it is needed for the recovery flow.
3. Open My profile and complete the relevant contact, company, skills and availability information. Upload supporting documents as appropriate.
4. A requested work role remains in review until Farmer Surplus approves it. Applying does not guarantee employment, work, commissions or a paid subscription.
5. Return through Sign in or My Account. Forgotten password uses the saved recovery code. Existing ChatGPT auction accounts and verified owner access use the separate existing-account link on the sign-in page.

Where to do your work

Tutorial: request and follow a job

1. Choose Request work. Give the job a clear title, service, farm/customer, location, contact, scope, preferred start/finish and budget if known.
2. Save and reopen the job to verify the entered details. Add plans and documents only to the correct record and audience.
3. Farmer Surplus reviews the scope and dates before dispatch. An approved contractor accepts or declines the offered assignment; availability and overlap checks help staff review conflicts.
4. Assigned people follow their tasks and submit field reports. Record blockers and unfinished work accurately. Progress percentages are entered records, not sensor measurements.
5. Staff reviews completion. After an eligible shared job is complete, enter quality, timeliness and communication ratings with factual comments.
6. Use Support for an unresolved project or account question. Check the thread for a reply; submitting an internal request does not guarantee an external email or text notification.

Keep accounts straight

Run a project from request to completion

1. Review Members & approvals. Verify the person, role and supporting documents before approving contractor, worker, dealer or partner access.
2. Open the requested job, confirm scope and dates, and choose an approved contractor. Review overlap warnings; an explicit override needs a deliberate staffing decision.
3. Send the dispatch within the workspace and watch for acceptance or decline. Do not represent a pending assignment as a confirmed crew.
4. Set task responsibilities, review field reports and documents, and resolve blockers. Review conflicting edits against the latest record before saving again.
5. Approve job completion only after the work is reviewed. Use Activity log and Data exports for the available operational history.

Manage sales and payment records

1. Partners enter customer leads, equipment/service, value, follow-up date and notes. Move the opportunity through new, contacted, quoting, won or lost as appropriate.
2. Review the commission basis and rate before approval. Partners cannot approve their own commission; approved amounts are protected against casual changes.
3. Record paid only after independently verifying the payment and entering its reference. This status records a payment; it does not transfer money.
4. Keep auction item settlement, seller commission, store checkout and sales-partner commission records separate.

Use exports and moderation carefully

• Download the relevant CSV from Data exports and verify filters and record types. Exported files are separate snapshots that must be kept private.
• Review flagged job ratings and any response. Hiding a published rating is moderation, not deletion of the underlying work history.
• The administrative integration uses authorized identity and the same server permission checks. Tool discovery does not expose private member data.
• The workspace does not automatically run payroll, pay commissions, migrate outside accounts or activate every separate farm program.

Main site and planning dashboards

Directory and service dashboards

What the numbers mean

• Sale volume is the value of recorded sales; it is not the amount Farmer Surplus has collected.
• A customer quote is not worker pay. In United Services, use the agreed compensation record.
• Monthly plan value, modeled revenue, starting rental rates and projected listing proceeds are estimates. They are not bank deposits or profit.
• AG Directory view/contact counts cover signed-in activity and are limited per visitor per day. They are not unique paying customers or completed sales.
• Farm Legacy contains seeded example figures, static charts and hard-coded dates. Verify each record before using it for operations or reporting.

Navigation and equipment catalog

1. Use the top search to enter an equipment name, part number or SKU. The results open in Shop equipment.
2. Use Shop equipment or a category card for grain bins, material handling, grain dryers, parts, facility packages or construction services. Parts shortcuts include auger repair, motors, belting, spouting, aeration, sweeps, bearings and gates.
3. Open a product and check its specifications, options and ordering terms. Confirm freight, installation and project compatibility with the team where needed.
4. Use the bag icon to review the store cart. Use My account for the store account and orders.
5. If the embedded store does not load, use the full-store link. It preserves the requested category, search, cart or account where supported. Retry or browse all products if a link no longer matches.

Send a construction or equipment inquiry

1. Choose Request a quote, Plan a project, or the relevant construction service. A service link can preselect the project type.
2. Enter your name and a usable phone number or email. Add the project location, preferred timeline, installation requirement and a clear description.
3. Include bin dimensions, model numbers, capacities, quantities, site access and existing equipment when known. The live counter below Project details shows how much of the 1,200-character limit remains.
4. If you refresh by accident, the unfinished request returns in the same browser tab. To remove it yourself, choose Clear saved details and confirm; the selected service stays in place. Closing the tab also clears the tab-only draft.
5. Tap Submit request once and wait for the Request sent confirmation. The website sends your details directly to farmersurplus@gmail.com; you do not need an email app.
6. If sending fails, your details stay in the form. Follow the message to retry or call 931-316-7606.

Construction and support options

• Construction links cover grain bin erection/dismantling/reassembly, concrete and foundations, millwright installation and dryer upgrades. At the complete-facility choice, use Request project quote or Call about a project at 931-316-7606.
• Tools & services opens the separate network programs. External links normally open another tab.
• Brochures opens the manufacturer resource selector with Sukup, AGI, Brock, GSI and Chief links. Use the correct model and revision. A brochure is not a project-specific approved drawing.
• Call 931-316-7606 or email farmersurplus@gmail.com for main-site and auction assistance. Provide the program name, page URL and relevant reference number.
• On a phone, open the menu and expand the equipment, tools or project support group. The online manual is also linked from the navigation and footer.

Use the correct payment path

1. Use the Go to links to move directly to the program, project or account group you need.
2. For a card marked Set price, open the item and review the current price and subscription terms in the store.
3. For Approval required, obtain an exact amount and reference from the team before opening the matching link.
4. Enter the approved amount and project, order or offer reference. A $1 minimum on a variable-amount item is not the actual service price.
5. Complete checkout and keep the receipt/order number.
6. Return to the appropriate program. Staff may still need to verify the receipt and activate access, release a lead, credit support or confirm a booking.
7. If unsure whether payment succeeded, check Orders & subscriptions before paying again. Ask the team to reconcile the reference if necessary.

Payment destinations

Staff payment reconciliation

• Match payer, program, reference, amount and receipt before marking a payment received.
• An auction item payment and the seller commission are different obligations. Neither should be inferred from the other.
• A store purchase alone does not prove a rental has been scheduled or a provider approved. Complete the program-specific approval next.
• Use current checkout terms for recurring billing. Several program dashboards only keep a manual ledger and do not themselves run recurring charges.

Find and inspect a lot

1. Search by item name and choose a Category. On a phone, open More filters for Item type, Auction status and Sort by; it reopens automatically when one of those choices is active. Item type becomes available after selecting a category.
2. Filter for Buy It Now if desired. Status choices separate open, upcoming, sold and ended listings. Clear filters to broaden results.
3. Open a lot. Review actual-item photos, description, condition, quantity, location, pickup terms, start/end times, opening or current bid and minimum increment.
4. Review whether a reserve applies. The reserve amount can stay private; the page reports whether it has been met.
5. Check the whole-lot quantity. The amount is for the entire lot, not each unit. Confirm suitability and transportation before committing.

Bid or use Buy It Now

1. Sign in with your Farmer Surplus account, or use the existing-account link for previous ChatGPT auction records. Complete the auction contact profile if prompted.
2. Enter at least the minimum displayed bid, or choose Buy It Now when available. Sellers cannot bid on their own lots.
3. Read the confirmation, including the lot, amount and agreement to complete the purchase. Accept the terms and submit once.
4. Check the resulting lot/account state. A bid that reaches a target can close the sale immediately; Buy It Now closes it at the listed price.
5. If you win, open the purchase from My auctions. Buyer and seller contact details become available to the parties and authorized staff. Arrange item payment, pickup and transfer documents with the seller.

Timers, results and recovery

• The detail screen periodically refreshes price and status while visible. Refresh if a connection problem leaves a stale screen; rely on the recorded result, not just the countdown.
• At the end, a lot sells only if there is a qualifying bid meeting any reserve; otherwise it ends without a sale.
• If Open now has no listings, use Upcoming or Recently sold to keep browsing. A narrowed empty result also offers a return to open auctions.
• A missing or withdrawn link offers ways back to previous results, similar categories and ended auctions. A private withdrawn record is visible only to its owner or staff.
• My auctions groups your recent bidding activity and purchases. Open the lot itself for the current result and settlement details.
• There is no automatic maximum/proxy-bid feature documented in the current implementation. Enter the bid you intend to place.

Surplus lots and catalog previews

The yard is positioned for verified manufacturer overstock, canceled orders and used equipment. A transferable production slot or shipment date must be verified lot by lot. Catalog previews are not confirmed surplus and remain closed to bidding.

Read the lot's terms, included package, condition, pickup/freight and current bidding state. A marketing example is not an active offer.

Create and publish a listing

1. Choose Sell an item and complete the auction contact profile.
2. Use the three large form steps - Item details, Photos & pickup and Auction setup - to move directly to that part of the listing. Each row reports Ready or how many details remain.
3. Fill Item details: title, category, item type, condition, quantity, make/brand, model, year and description. Describe defects and included items. Livestock uses the Live animal condition.
4. Add one to eight photos of the actual item. Use JPEG, PNG or WebP within the uploader limits. Wait for each upload to finish; choose Make cover on the photo buyers should see first, and remove any photo that should not be published.
5. Enter location and pickup/transport arrangements.
6. Set the opening bid, increment, optional reserve, optional Buy It Now, optional target, start time and a duration of 1-30 days. Scheduled starts are limited to the allowed future window.
7. Check the estimated seller commission and net amount. Reserve, target and Buy It Now must obey the price relationships shown in the form.
8. Save private draft to return later, or accept the seller terms and Publish. If the form says Unsaved changes, save before leaving; the site warns you before an unfinished change is discarded. Verify the published lot and time window.

Read My auctions

Finish a sale or relist

1. Contact the buyer and agree item-payment/pickup details.
2. Record item payment received only after you have actually received it. This does not settle the Farmer Surplus commission.
3. Open the commission invoice when staff adds the payment link. Complete that payment and retain the receipt; staff records commission receipt separately.
4. For an eligible unsold lot, create a relist draft. Original bids and the ended auction stay unchanged. Photos are not copied: add current photos and review all terms before publishing.
5. A seller may withdraw an eligible no-bid listing with a reason. After bids, ask staff to review. Withdrawal does not erase the record.

Dashboard controls

Daily commission workflow

1. Open a sold lot and reconcile the seller, sale price and locked fee rate.
2. Create the seller commission invoice through the billing service.
3. Paste its secure payment URL into the lot invoice record. Set the commission to Invoice available and save.
4. Follow up using the provided contact details. The site does not automatically email the invoice.
5. Verify the money was received through the payment service, then select Recorded paid and save the invoice record.
6. Keep the item-payment and commission statuses separate. Refer failed sales, fee corrections and disputes for manual review.

Membership and listing review

• Approve membership for the intended verified auction identity. Native accounts use their own membership identity; never grant privileges from a self-entered owner email. A receipt elsewhere is not automatic approval here.
• Ending membership changes future listing eligibility/rates, not locked rates on existing lots.
• Withdrawal stops further bidding and records a reason. It is not a refund, chargeback, record deletion or dispute resolution.
• Only authorized staff can open this desk. A customer seeing a missing management tab should use My auctions, not request administrative access for routine buying/selling.

Open and start a project

1. Open Design Your Site at https://grainbin-tool.vercel.app/ (opens in a new tab). The planner opens on its original site, with its own sign-in and saved designs.
2. Use Quick Start for a guided starting layout, or Add Equipment for a manual design. A restored-last-session message means a browser backup was loaded.
3. In Quick Start, choose Facility and Grain, then Harvest/Drying when appropriate, Handling, Layout and Review. Some facility types skip unneeded steps.
4. Enter actual storage goals, crop/volume, harvest pace, drying needs, handling choices and available layout space. Saved-layout references are starting points, not approved plans.
5. Review the calculated layout, warnings and checks before placing it into the workspace.
6. Give the project a useful name and export a JSON backup before major revisions.

Views and workspace panels

Place equipment and connect flow

1. Add the equipment or select a catalog item. Set the actual configuration before assuming catalog price and dimensions still apply.
2. Select it on the canvas or in Layers and edit Properties. Move items in the plan; use the relevant view to check both position and height.
3. Create a connection from the actual source outlet to the intended receiver inlet. Review type, ports, route and receiving equipment in the connection editor.
4. Use the preview and routing controls to correct issues, then Create connection or Apply connection. A receiver proposed by the editor is only added when the connection is saved.
5. Review equipment/service clearances, conveyor/support intersections, route crossings, fill/reclaim paths, elevator height, truck approach and site fit. Correct all flagged issues before presenting the layout.
6. Use Undo/Redo for supported geometry changes. Keyboard shortcuts are Ctrl/Cmd+Z and Ctrl+Y or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z. Keep file versions for larger changes.

Estimate and project outputs

• The estimate combines modeled equipment/connections with catalog matches and available prices. A changed catalog configuration can become custom and require review.
• Review every SKU, quantity, unit cost and missing/custom line. Apply markup deliberately and add miscellaneous scope with the MISC ITEM control. An estimate is not a placed store order.
• Print Report / Print plans produces plan/report output. Generate quote with prices is a separate pricing output; inspect every page before sending it to a customer.
• Use 3D auto-rotate and Record to capture a presentation. Stop recording and use the video preview to Share / Save, Download or Open. Available MP4/WebM format depends on browser support. Microphone audio is optional and requires device permission.
• Map imagery, 3D libraries, product refresh and cloud layouts depend on external services. A rendered model can remain available while one of those connections fails.

Save and recover your design

Role and dashboard capabilities

Normal administrator workflow

1. Sign in with the intended Design Your Site account and open Admin Tools. Confirm the role before changing global data.
2. Use Products to search the exact SKU/ID and inspect data. Preserve a raw export before a broad catalog refresh.
3. Use Layouts to locate the project by name, owner and save date. Open/export the correct revision before replacing or deleting anything.
4. Use Users for individual account changes, assigning the least role needed. Do not use a shared administrator password for routine customer work.
5. Use Settings only when changing the global concrete estimating allowance. Save and review a representative estimate afterward.

Find the right reference

Ask an equipment question

1. Identify the equipment: brand, model, serial/revision where relevant, and the exact message or observed symptom. Choose the saved machine if available.
2. Select the matching manual when you know it. Ask a specific question and answer the follow-up prompts.
3. Open each cited page. Check applicability, complete instructions and warnings in the original document, especially when text came from OCR.
4. Continue the conversation with the next observation. If the answer cannot identify an applicable procedure, use the exact-manual request or support path.
5. For work that needs assignment and evidence, create a farm work record or a reviewed procedure in My farm. A chat response is not a completed job.

Manual and equipment records

• Manual uploads accept PDFs you have permission to store. Text extraction is needed for search; image-only scans require OCR. Confirm the uploaded title, brand, model and page numbering.
• Use the manual reader to move between PDF pages and open the publisher/original document where offered. Deep links can open a specific manual and PDF page.
• Use Sources to reach manufacturer reference collections. Use Requests to ask for a missing brand/model and describe the needed document. Owners can review the request queue.
• Register equipment with its identity and relevant records in the workshop equipment area. Link the exact manuals rather than relying on a general brand link.
• Field guides organize specifications to confirm, tools/supplies, preparation, steps, source references, observations, return-to-work checks and service notes. Save supported checklists and findings to your account.
• Help history, private uploads and saved records require the relevant sign-in/access. Public discovery links do not grant private farm access.

Manuals, builds and field tools

• Use Manuals for linked construction and operation publications. Use the exact manufacturer manual for the equipment and revision you are working on.
• Build Process opens the equipment list and its step-by-step sequences. Mark training steps complete; progress is stored on this device.
• Field tools and Foundation specs provide the calculations and reference tables included in the uploaded program.
• Safety includes checklists, training requirements and graded aptitude tests. Search finds steps, manuals, tools, forms and safety pages.

Forms and Office Ops

Return to Farmer Surplus

Use Farmer Surplus in the portal menu or footer to return to the website. The separate customer guide also includes a Knopp Management description page and an Open Knopp Management button.

Dashboards and roles

Set up a farm and its equipment

1. Sign in and choose or create the intended farm. Complete Map your farm with the farm name, site information, contacts and site/safety details.
2. Register each machine, bin or system. Enter its actual identity, meter information and location; link matching manuals. Owners may import existing equipment through Import equipment.
3. Place equipment on the site plan and save connections between related systems. This is an operational map, not Design Your Site engineering geometry.
4. Add equipment photos and verify the asset history. Choose the right farm before adding records; separate farms are selected workspaces.
5. Invite each employee through Team using their own account and the intended role. Share the generated invitation yourself and check its expiry; revoke unused or incorrect links.

Guided task builders

Run a checklist and keep evidence

1. A manager builds the procedure and reviews the source pages, equipment match, steps and stop points. Save as a draft, correct it, then approve it before starting routine work.
2. Start a job from an approved procedure. Set its responsibility and due information, then select the correct equipment.
3. The person doing the work records each step as the applicable available state, adds notes and photo evidence, and records problems rather than marking unperformed work complete.
4. Review outstanding steps and required follow-up. Managers review submitted records and any meter/maintenance implications.
5. Open Report for the job or record. Review equipment identity, responsibility, step state, source manuals and evidence before printing/downloading supported report/CSV output. Load older jobs/records if the item is outside the initial list.

Employee forms and sharing

Review shared submissions

• Shared form links allow submission of a particular form, not browsing the farm. The submitted name is self-reported and the record waits for manager review.
• Signed-in employees can attach photos after submitting. Keep evidence with the correct farm and equipment.
• Owners can set an invitation/form-link duration, inspect active/accepted/expired/revoked status and revoke a link. Remove member access when it is no longer needed.
• If saving reports a changed version or an error, refresh the record and review the latest information before repeating an edit. Do not assume a closed dialog means the server accepted it.
• Request setup visit prepares a request for Farmer Surplus; it does not confirm an appointment.

Use and save a calculator

1. Search by a job or calculator name, or filter a category. Select the tool and read its units, formula and limitation note.
2. Replace every demonstration input with the measured or agreed job value. Keep feet, inches, bushels, hours and dollars in their labeled fields.
3. Calculate and review the results against the inputs. Correct invalid values when prompted.
4. If your account has access, give the calculation a useful title and save it. Open Saved work to revisit supported saved calculations.
5. For a connected facility project, use the facility planner to carry relevant measurements into related calculators. Saving an individual calculator is not a complete construction design.

Four-step facility planner

Carry a plan forward

• Resume or discard a browser draft when offered. A draft is tied to that device/browser.
• Save a named facility plan to the signed-in account to reopen it from Saved work. Source/evidence references travel with the saved plan where available.
• Open a related calculator with carried measurements and inspect them before calculating. Review source publications by brand and exact equipment.
• Print the plan for discussion or use the site-visit path to send a planning brief. A request still needs a confirmed scope, price and appointment.
• Use Design Your Site when you need a placed 2D/3D equipment layout, cloud layout library, BOM or presentation video. Workshop facility planning is a sizing and planning workflow, not the same editor.

Learning dashboard

• Search the course library, select a published course and choose a lesson from its outline. Some courses have a planned lesson count larger than the media currently published.
• Watch the available video; use captions, playback speed, replay and resume controls. Retry interrupted media or open the direct video link if offered.
• Review Before you start: prerequisites, manual-named tools/records and stop points.
• The Lesson tab holds the transcript. Manual opens source references. Checklist records checked items. Review tests understanding through the included questions.
• Lesson progress and playback state use browser session storage in the current implementation. Do not treat them as a permanent employer training ledger; use My farm Training record for supervised work.
• Template preview demonstrates course structure when content is unavailable. It is clearly labeled and has no added course video.

Grain Done Right with Mason

The /grain-show page offers short grain-equipment videos. Choose an episode, play it, review its summary and available accompanying material, and use the manual-lessons link for deeper study. The player provides a direct-file fallback when loading fails. Episode descriptions and media are published content, not a live service dashboard.

Research assistant

• The Research page shows the last published research record: last completed check, documents added, newly searchable documents and extracted pages. Its counts cover the checks displayed, not every document in the entire library.
• Search run history by brand, document or outcome. Open the stored manual or publisher PDF, expand sources checked and inspect failed/unavailable sources.
• The schedule banner is a published status snapshot, not a live automation monitor. A scheduled check can find no new eligible material or leave a source unavailable.
• Documents enter help search only after text extraction succeeds. A catalog link and searchable pages are different states.
• To change a schedule, request that change through ChatGPT as described on the page. The website history view does not itself edit the schedule. No schedule changes were made for this manual.

Personal farm profile and Saved work

The farm profile keeps the account’s farm details used by supported planning tools. Saved work reopens named calculations and facility plans. These are separate from the shared My farm equipment map, employee records and team permissions. Check which area you are using before assuming an item is visible to coworkers.

Membership and telephone support

1. Choose a Day Pass, Monthly or Annual plan and review the checkout terms. Use the same email as your Workshop account when paying in Ecwid.
2. Keep the paid order reference. Staff verifies the order before access or operator credit is added; use Refresh membership afterward.
3. Manage billing opens the store account. Review recurring-plan terms there and cancel future renewal through the relevant store controls.
4. For operator support, confirm the line is available, add verified credit if needed, select a maximum call length/spend and generate a one-time pass.
5. Dial the displayed support line and enter the pass. The implemented call workflow begins billing when an operator accepts, charges by started minute within the cap and releases unused reserved credit after settlement/expiry. Actual availability requires the phone-service connection.
6. Review credit activity after the call. Report unresolved held credit or incorrect settlement with the call reference. Software access does not mean a staffed line is available 24/7.

Request a site visit

Enter name, phone, address, service, preferred date/window, timezone and project notes. Submit after reviewing consent. Save the request reference, then follow the status in Your visit requests. Submitted timing is a preference; Farmer Surplus must confirm scope, travel, price and timing. The request alone does not authorize a charge.

Business owner workspace at /admin

Current billing distinction

Find and contact a business

1. Search business name, service, brand, city or ZIP. Narrow by state, category and brand, and choose recommended, name or recent sorting.
2. Use grid, list or map as appropriate. Open the business profile to inspect its description, service area, brands and contact information. Sponsored placement is labeled; ranking is not an endorsement or proof of availability.
3. Sign in to bookmark a business. Use saved-only filtering or My account to return to it.
4. Use the appropriate request: quote, new listing, listing claim, plan change or correction. Enter accurate contact, business, location, timing, budget and scope information and review consent.
5. Track your request in My account. A submitted quote request is not a booking or guaranteed response. Claiming a listing requires staff verification through an established business contact.

My account dashboard

Accept a lead offer

1. Read the opportunity scope, service area and fee. Accept only when the business can serve the request and agrees to the displayed terms.
2. Pay the approved exact fee through the linked Ecwid lead-payment item. Include the offer/reference information as instructed.
3. Submit or retain the payment reference for staff verification. A successful store checkout does not automatically release the buyer.
4. Return to My account after release, contact the buyer and maintain the outcome with the directory team. An accepted lead is an opportunity, not a guaranteed sale.

Dashboard tabs

Qualify and distribute a buyer request

1. Open the Lead desk and confirm the request is real, in scope and has current buyer consent for the intended referral. Add qualification/private notes.
2. Choose internal routing or one approved provider offer. An offer preview should identify scope and service area while withholding buyer contacts/private message.
3. After the provider accepts, verify the full paid amount against a real receipt/reference. Record verification before releasing the contact details.
4. Release the buyer information to the selected provider and cancel other unreleased offers where applicable. Never use a payment promise as a paid receipt.
5. Update the outcome to won, lost or invalid as appropriate. An outcome change does not itself post revenue or issue a refund. For internal jobs, record actual receipts and direct costs separately.

Import and publish listings

1. Prepare a CSV with consistent headers and state abbreviations. The uploader accepts files up to 250 MB; large imports still need careful review.
2. Map the supported name, address, contact, category, brand and other columns. Set fallback category/location options when necessary. Review the first five preview rows.
3. Start the import. Processing uses batches of 100; Stop finishes the current batch before pausing. Review errors and retry as needed.
4. Duplicate detection uses name, street, city and state. Existing matches are skipped rather than overwritten. Imports create private drafts and do not send outreach emails.
5. Use Listings to inspect the new records, fix categories/contact information and publish only reviewed entries. Listings are paginated in groups of 50.

Requests, claims and payments

• The Inbox shows the most recent 200 requests. New, contacted, completed and declined are workflow labels; the CSV export covers the loaded recent set, not an unlimited archive.
• Before approving a business claim, verify the requester through an established business contact. A self-entered email alone is not proof of ownership.
• For a listing payment, select the right listing, plan, received amount, reference and paid-until date, then confirm receipt. This updates directory entitlement; it does not charge the customer.
• Reconcile the ledger against Ecwid or the actual payment source. Monthly receipt totals depend on manually recorded payments.
• Private business email/notes and lead qualification details should remain in the owner workflow rather than public descriptions.

Public program areas

Request rental or supply service

1. Select the equipment or product and confirm location, quantity, intended dates and scope. For rentals, review the displayed estimate and rate basis.
2. Rental calculations compare applicable daily, weekly and 30-day rate combinations. Service estimates use entered hours/count and customer rates. Final availability, transport and terms still require confirmation.
3. For supplies, build the basket using pack quantities. The current basket supports up to 30 product lines and 100 packs per line. Its draft is local to the browser; the server recomputes the submitted request.
4. Sign in and submit the complete request. Keep the resulting job/request reference and review its status in My workspace.
5. Pay an approved deposit, balance, extension or delivery amount only after the amount and scope are confirmed. The store payment does not independently reserve capacity or place a supplier purchase order.

Rent & hire dashboard

• View your own jobs/requests, status, requested or confirmed dates, estimate, billing state and available updates.
• Use the calendar for confirmed work and return to saved equipment. Requested dates are not a capacity guarantee.
• Request an extension or return through the job controls. These create a recorded event/support request; they do not automatically approve a new end date or refund.
• For a completed rental, submit a fresh request to rent again. A previous booking does not establish current availability.
• Eligible requested/review-stage jobs may be canceled through the displayed action. Contact support for work beyond the cancellation stage.
• Use shared account controls for profile, membership, help and sign-out. Rent & hire, Work and My equipment are workspace views; switching the view does not grant a staff role.

Apply and pick up work

1. Complete the work application with name, phone, area, trade, experience, availability, travel, credentials, description and supported documents. Do not use this application for bank details or Social Security numbers.
2. Wait for approval and the appropriate employee or subcontractor role. A workspace mode or paid plan alone does not approve a worker.
3. Open Work and review assigned work or eligible opportunities. Check scope, dates, directions and total agreed compensation before accepting. If a direct assignment omits agreed pay, confirm it with dispatch.
4. Accept or decline through the available control. Start accepted work, record the required work logs and update completion through the job workflow.
5. Use help for scope, timing or pay issues. Work logs and completion state are operational records, not an automatic payroll payment.

Subcontractor leads

Eligible subcontractors can review released lead previews. Request a lead and pay the approved fee through the defined payment path. Staff verifies the receipt before exclusive buyer contact release. Record follow-up as New, Contacted, Quoted, Won or Lost where offered. Payment buys access to the agreed opportunity; it does not guarantee a contract or revenue.

My equipment dashboard

• Review your own equipment listings, inquiries, schedule and applicable listing/plan allowance.
• Maintain accurate equipment identity, location, availability and rate information through the supported listing controls; respond to inquiries and confirm actual capacity.
• Review estimated net after the platform fee as an estimate. It is not a payout balance, bank settlement or profit figure and does not include all of your costs.
• Keep customer requests, owner availability and approved rental dates aligned with dispatch before promising a booking.
• Use Plans and the approved store checkout for the intended owner plan, then follow verification. Plan purchase is separate from staff access.

Dispatch dashboard

Dispatch a real job

1. Review the requested equipment/service, location, scope, quantity and dates. Resolve missing information and confirm the customer amount.
2. For owned rental inventory, check overlapping confirmed quantity against actual capacity. For sourced or zero-quantity inventory, record a private confirmed supplier reservation for the exact dates and quantity before confirming the customer booking.
3. Assign an approved worker when needed and confirm the work/pay arrangement. Assignment, worker acceptance, starting work and completion are distinct steps.
4. Move the job through the displayed request/review/scheduling/dispatch/in-progress/completion stages as the real work progresses. Record notes, work logs and relevant events.
5. Track billing separately: not billed, invoice needed, awaiting payment or paid. Set paid only after verifying actual receipt. Job completion does not automatically collect payment.
6. Review extension/return tickets before changing dates; recheck inventory capacity. Close the job and reconcile the recorded financial figures.

Owner management at /manage

Read revenue figures correctly

• Completed quoted value measures completed jobs at their quoted amounts. It is not a bank-reconciled collections total.
• Recorded paid amounts depend on staff updating billing state after receipt. Fee totals and owner net figures are calculated estimates from the recorded work.
• Monthly dues totals represent potential plan charges based on current membership data, not proof that subscriptions were collected.
• Export the ledger CSV for reconciliation with Ecwid, invoices and actual expenses. Customer billing, worker compensation and equipment-owner settlement remain distinct.

Six-step workspace

Build an estimate from a valid schedule

1. Complete the exact project and bin identity. Enter site data from the appropriate actual records, not a convenient default.
2. Choose the applicable foundation geometry. For a supplied reference, confirm the model, dimensions and published conditions match exactly.
3. If using manual schedule entry, provide the approved drawing reference and the actual concrete, footing/wall/floor/fill, reinforcement/mesh and tunnel quantities from that schedule. Do not scale reinforcement from a different bin.
4. Confirm load/anchor information and review all holds. Without an approved usable schedule the quote is locked; unsupported/missing information should remain unresolved until reviewed.
5. Enter current project-specific rates and scope. Check delivery, allowances, markup and discounts, then inspect the review output before presenting a price.

Save and export

What each dashboard can do

Use the records carefully

1. Review seeded farm, equipment, field and financial examples before entering real information. Work in the intended shared operation.
2. Add/update the relevant field, bin, contract or task and wait for the save status. Refresh only after confirming persistence.
3. When logging equipment service, review the generated date, status and next-service values. The generated repair transaction does not reduce cash in the current implementation; reconcile it separately to avoid inaccurate balances.
4. Use Financials for actual income/expense entries with the correct amount and category. Reconcile cash, receivables, payables and repairs against source records.
5. Download the JSON backup through Reports before important changes or if saving is interrupted. Inspect the CSV columns before relying on it as a full record export.

Save and access limits

• The application currently uses one shared server farm workspace. It does not provide separate private customer farms or a full role-based team system in this version.
• Watch for All changes saved versus Save interrupted / Offline. Local edits are not evidence of a successful server save.
• Switch operation, the mobile-menu control, notifications and some report actions are demonstration controls without complete handlers in the inspected source.
• A visible chart, task count or loan card does not establish a live integration, automated payment, sensor connection, accounting compliance or regulatory report.
• No JSON-import recovery interface was observed. Keep exports as records and contact the site maintainer for restoration rather than assuming a visible restore control exists.

Knopp Management route

The former standalone Knopp Management deployment was confirmed paused on October 4, 2026, so the Farmer Surplus website no longer sends customers there.

Open the owner-supplied Knopp Management Sukup portal at https://farmer-surplus-equipment.farmersurplus.chatgpt.site/knopp-management for manuals, build steps, safety, field tools, forms and Office Ops. Farm Workshop My farm remains available separately.

Equipment brochures

The main site’s brochure link opens https://www.farmersurplus.com/brochure (opens in a new tab). Its selector organizes manufacturer resources including Sukup, AGI, Brock, GSI and Chief. Choose the brand and open the applicable publisher material. Brochure content is product information; use the exact installation/operation/service manual and revision for a work procedure. The brochure page is not an order or administration dashboard.

The Silver Silo Farmer Market

The linked bulk-market application is at https://silver-silo-farmer-market.farmersurplus.chatgpt.site (opens in a new tab). It presents meat boxes/shares, sauce cases and seasoning cases as quote-request products. The inspected catalog contains 27 listings: 18 meat offerings, four sauce cases and five seasoning cases. Catalog descriptions, recipes and proposed pricing require business confirmation.

1. Search or choose a department and inspect the product description. For shares, distinguish hanging-weight information from packaged yield and the final confirmed terms.
2. Add products to the basket and adjust quantities. Case products use the stated pack size; confirm what a quantity of one means.
3. Enter name, email, phone, shipping/pickup/local-delivery preference, address, requested first date, optional repeating schedule and notes/allergy information.
4. Submit the quote request. The form uses an external email-form service whose destination must be activated and delivered successfully. Retain a copy and follow up if no acknowledgment arrives.
5. Wait for a confirmed quote, availability, delivery and payment instructions. A weekly/monthly request preference does not create an automatic recurring paid order.

Plan and quote a grain facility

1. Collect the real site, crop, capacity, timing and equipment requirements through the main quote request or Workshop planning discussion.
2. Use Workshop facility planning and calculators to evaluate harvest, drying, receiving and storage assumptions. Save the plan and its sources.
3. Use Design Your Site for the equipment layout, connections, views and preliminary BOM. Keep a JSON revision and review layout checks.
4. Use Foundation Engineer only with the exact approved schedule and actual site/load information. Keep the editable foundation file and review holds.
5. Prepare the construction quote with agreed scope/exclusions and actual rates. Arrange the site review and needed engineering/approvals.
6. Use the approved construction payment item only for the agreed deposit/progress/final/design amount; record the order reference in the project’s operating records.

Complete an auction transaction

1. Seller publishes the complete item and understands the fee rate locked at publication.
2. Buyer wins the auction or uses Buy Now. Both parties use the released contact details to arrange item payment and pickup.
3. Record item settlement in the auction record as supported. The seller separately follows the commission invoice/fee process.
4. Staff reconciles the fee receipt and marks the fee record accordingly. Item paid and seller fee paid are separate states.

Turn a directory inquiry into a service job

1. Buyer submits an AG Directory request and appropriate referral consent.
2. Owner qualifies it and chooses internal handling or an approved provider offer.
3. Where a provider fee applies, accept, collect and verify the exact fee before contact release.
4. Create and coordinate the actual work in the appropriate service program, such as United Services. A directory offer does not automatically create a United booking.
5. Record job outcomes and actual receipts/costs in the right systems; avoid counting the same payment as both lead revenue and project revenue.

Assign farm maintenance

1. Register the asset and exact manuals in Workshop My farm.
2. A manager builds and approves a sourced procedure, then starts/assigns the job.
3. The worker performs the work, records step states, notes, photos and parts usage, and submits the appropriate form.
4. The manager reviews the record, reconciles parts and meter information, and prints the work report.
5. If a paid service is needed, use the appropriate request and approval process; a completed farm form does not dispatch an outside contractor.

Common problems

Backup and record checklist

• Design Your Site: retain named JSON versions alongside review PDFs/BOMs and any cloud layouts.
• Foundation Engineer: retain the .foundation.json file, approved drawing reference and takeoff/report.
• Auctions: retain listing/sale references, item-settlement evidence and separate commission receipts.
• Workshop: save work to the correct account/farm and retain important job reports; do not depend on session-only lesson progress.
• AG Directory / United: export available ledgers/recent requests and retain payment, consent and job references where the workflow requires them.
• Farm Legacy: download a JSON record and field CSV; confirm the actual exported columns and shared-workspace limitation.
• Store orders: keep the store receipt and its relationship to the specific service, offer, invoice or membership.

When contacting support

Include the program name, page/screen, your account email, job/listing/offer/order reference, approximate time and a concise description of what happened. Include a screenshot when useful, with unrelated private information removed. Never send a password or payment-card details in a project note. The main site publishes farmersurplus@gmail.com and 931-316-7606; program-specific requests should retain their own reference.

Common terms

Layout & geometry

Grain storage

Drying & moisture

Concrete & earthwork

Handling & hauling

Field & planting

Water & irrigation

Power & mechanics

Inputs & materials

Costs & planning

Connected planning

Reviewed systems

What this review did not certify

No real purchases, auction bids, customer messages, lead releases, farm-record changes, role changes or phone charges were performed. Store, bank, manufacturer, mapping, phone and email-service internals were not audited. Function availability can depend on account role, configuration, third-party availability and later software changes.

The main store contains a changing product catalog. This manual explains how to use it; it does not reproduce every SKU, price, manufacturer instruction or legal term. Read the current checkout, exact equipment publication and agreed scope when acting.

Keep the manual current

• Update this edition whenever a program changes its screens, roles, payment activation, data storage or export behavior.
• Keep Knopp Management pointed at the owner-supplied Sukup portal at /knopp-management. Preserve Farm Workshop as a separate program.
• Recheck Farm Legacy demonstration controls and Workshop legacy billing labels after their implementations change.
• Keep the online manual and PDF generated from the same content source so the two editions agree.

October 5 diagnostic scope

The main-site automated suite covers chatbot conversations, catalog and manual retrieval, quote behavior, native account security, job dispatch and crew workflow, documents, ratings, sales approvals, auctions and shared navigation. Tests use local fixtures; no real customer transactions were created.

Recent production error logs returned no events in the inspected three-hour window. This is a point-in-time observation, not a guarantee of future availability. Browser interaction, live checkout, email delivery and authenticated third-party program actions were not independently completed in this pass.

The Workshop source used to verify the 101-tool index and Facility Planner was revision 5e67a7e8528b99f6f3f6ad3d2d382a6436611604. Its tool access controls remain unchanged. The imported catalog is dated August 30, 2026; one implausible bin-capacity row is excluded from automatic capacity suggestions pending owner review.