How to set up Acreage Guardian for the best results

Pick the industry that actually matches your property, not the closest guess

Your industry choice changes the whole weekly plan — the modules you get, the jobs suggested, and how Ask Guardian talks to you. If you keep a few animals alongside a veggie patch, "Mixed farm" usually fits better than forcing it into "Lifestyle block." You can change this later from Account without starting over.

Add your real tools, not just the obvious ones

When you ask Ask Guardian for help with something, it checks what you've already got against what the job needs — a flame weeder, a hoe, whatever. Skip this step and every suggestion assumes you own nothing, which means more "you may need this" flags than you actually need.

Turn on "New to acreage" if you're in your first year

This unlocks a first-90-days checklist sequenced into your weekly plan automatically — not a generic list, tasks that show up in order as you actually need them. You can turn this on later from Account even if you skipped it at signup.

Add any animals you keep

Chickens, horses, alpacas, sheep, goats — each one unlocks a real stocking-density guide, a predator-proofing checklist, and the option to add recurring health tasks (worming, vaccination reminders) straight into your plan. This lives on My property, not just at signup.

Redeem your partner code if you have one

A code from your Weed Wand packaging (or wherever you got it) is what actually grants the extended free trial instead of the standard one month — it needs to be entered correctly at signup or redeemed afterwards from Account. If you're not sure it applied, check your subscription status on the Account page rather than assuming.

Actually use Ask Guardian for things that aren't weeds

It's built to handle a broken gate latch, a watering question, or a sick chicken the same way it handles weed ID — most people only try it once for the thing they signed up for and never come back to it for anything else.

Review your Bushfire Ready checklist each spring

It's a proactive seasonal checklist, not a one-time setup step — defensible space, gutters, water source, evacuation plan. The app reminds you, but it's worth actually working through it rather than dismissing the reminder.