Farm to Table
This is the most widely produced grain in the United States, commonly used for livestock feed, ethanol fuel, and high-fructose syrup.
What is corn?
This is the specific biological term for a female bovine (cow) that has not yet given birth to a calf.
What is a heifer?
This green pigment found in plant leaves is essential for absorbing light energy during photosynthesis
What is chlorophyll?
Invented by John Deere in 1837, this smooth-cutting tool allowed Midwestern pioneer farmers to break through tough prairie sod.
What is the steel plow?
This is the official name of the youth organization formerly known as the Future Farmers of America.
What is the National FFA Organization?
It takes about 21.2 pounds of whole milk to make just one pound of this popular, spreadable dairy product.
What is butter?
Unlike mammals, these farm birds do not have teeth; instead, they use a muscular organ called a gizzard to grind up their food.
What are chickens (or poultry)?
Farmers rotate crops like corn with soybeans because soybeans naturally pump this crucial nutrient back into the soil.
What is nitrogen?
Modern farmers use this 3-letter satellite navigation technology to guide tractors down straight rows with millimeter accuracy.
What is GPS?
On the FFA emblem, this agricultural symbol represents progress and promises that tomorrow will bring a new day glowing with opportunity.
What is the rising sun?
This dark, sweet substance is harvested from hives and is the only insect-produced food consumed by humans on a large scale.
What is honey?
This four-compartment stomach organ allows "ruminants" like cattle, sheep, and goats to digest tough grasses and hay.
What is the rumen?
Represented by the letters N-P-K on commercial bags, these three primary nutrients are vital to plant growth.
What are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium?
This massive piece of harvesting machinery gets its name because it combines three separate operations: reaping, threshing, and winnowing.
What is a combine (harvester)?
In agricultural economics, this term describes commodities that are grown or raised specifically to be exported and sold on the global market rather than used locally.
What are cash crops?
While we eat the meat, this flexible, durable byproduct of cattle harvesting is used to make baseball gloves, shoes, and car seats.
What is leather (or hide)?
This is the unique name given to a castrated male pig.
What is a barrow?
This is the upper, outermost layer of soil, which contains the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms.
What is topsoil?
Farmers increasingly use these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to fly over fields and take thermal images to check for crop disease.
What are drones?
This government agency, abbreviated as the USDA, is responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, and food.
What is the United States Department of Agriculture?
This specialized agricultural practice involves growing plants without any soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent instead.
What is hydroponics?
Angora and Cashmere are luxury textiles that come from variations of this specific farm animal.
What is a goat?
This destructive, historic environmental disaster of the 1930s was caused by severe drought combined with a failure to apply wind-erosion prevention methods.
What is the Dust Bowl?
This automated technology allows dairy farmers to milk cows on demand without any human hands touching the animal.
What is a robotic milking system (or automatic milking)?
Eli Whitney revolutionized the agricultural economy of the American South in 1793 by inventing this machine to quickly separate seeds from fiber.
What is the cotton gin?