Crops
What is agronomy?
The science of crop production.
What is a gilt?
A young female swine that has not given birth.
What is combine?
A piece of machinery that harvest crops through the processes of reaping (cutting the crop), threshing (separating the edible parts from nonedible), and winnowing (separating light shaft from grain).
What is a farm?
Any agricultural tract of land, with improvements, generating $1,000 or more in sales, or that normally would have been sold in the year, can be listed as a farm in the U.S. CensusWhat is a farm?
What is acre?
A standard unit of measurement in the United States for a piece of agriculture land. It measures 43,560 square feet and is roughly the size of a football field.
What is cash crop?
Any crop that is sold off the farm to yield ready cash
What is a ruminant?
Livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats. Their digestive system is unique, allowing them to better use high roughage feedstuffs, including forages. They possess a four-compartment stomach designed to ferment feedstuffs and provide energy.
What is planter?
A piece of machinery consisting of several blades and wheels topped with seed boxes containing the planted seeds.
What is auction?
A method of marketing livestock and/or produce through which an auctioneer sells to the highest bidder.
What is biosecurity?
Practices established to protect all species against harmful biological hazards
What is pesticide?
Any substance used to control or kill pests, such as insects, weeds, animals, or microbes; may be organic or synthetic.
What is quality grade?
An evaluation of the degree of marbling (intramuscular fat) and degree of maturity affecting the tenderness, juiciness, and flavor of beef, pork, or lamb.
What is a moldboard plow?
A farm tool having one or more heavy blades to break the soil and cut a furrow prior to sowing. Soil is inverted and turned over in the process.
What is burndown?
A method of preparing fields for no-till seeding by using a herbicide that kills all growing vegetation.
What is cover crop?
A close-growing crop that is grown to protect and improve soil between periods of regular crops or between trees and vines in orchards and vineyards.
What is a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)?
They are the result of a specific type of plant breeding where precise changes are made to the plant’s DNA to give it characteristics that cannot be achieved through traditional breeding methods.
What is a frame score?
Score based on visual evaluation of skeletal size of a beef animal or by measuring hip height (from the ground to the top of the hips) and is calculated as a function of age.
What is conservation tillage?
Designed to minimize soil erosion; any of several farming methods providing for seed germination, plant growth, and weed control, while maintaining effective ground cover throughout the years and minimal disturbance of the soil. No-till is the most restrictive form of this. Other practices or forms of minimum tillage would include ridge till, strip-till, and mulch-till.
What is overgrazing?
Refers to the process of allowing animals to graze a pasture for long periods of time without giving the plants an opportunity to recover.
What is top-dress?
To apply a material such as fertilizer, manure, compost, etc. to the surface of the soil.
What is side dressing?
What is side dressing?A method of fertilization where a little fertilizer is applied to the soil near a plant.
What is dressed weight?
The weight of a carcass following the removal of hide and entrails.
What is a broadcast spreader?
A piece of machinery used to spread fertilizer by dispersing it through gravity.
What is vermiculite?
A lightweight, flaky mineral called “mica” that has been heated to the point of expansion. The sponge-like granules are then capable of holding both water and air. This amendment is added to potting mixtures and container gardens to improve root growth due to aeration and moisture retention.
What is NCRS? Natural Resources Conservation Service
A Branch of the USDA - they are the primary federal agency working with private landowners to help them conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources. The Agency emphasizes voluntary, science-based conservation; technical assistance; partnerships; incentive based programs; and cooperative problem solving at the community level.