Acid
Rinse - Part of the equipment cleaning process
for stainless steel and rubber parts, removes fat, protein
and minerals and also reduces bacteria.
Acre - The unit of measure most typically
used to describe land area in the United States. An
acre is equivalent to 43,560 square feet and is about
9/10 the size of a football field.
Acre-Inch - A volume measurement typically
associated with irrigation operations on cropland. An
acre-inch is equivalent to 27,154 gallons. When an inch
of water is applied to cropland via irrigation, each
acre receives 27,154 gallons. (Alternatively, a measure
of the volume of water applied to the soil/growing crop
using irrigation - approximately equivalent to 27,154
gallons.)
Acute - Used to describe disease where
symptoms are readily evident. Treatment is generally
required.
Aerobic - Microorganisms that require free oxygen to
biodegrade organic matter.
Agribusiness - An enterprise that derives
a significant portion of its revenues from sales of
agricultural products or sales to agricultural producers.
Alley - A walking area for cattle within
a barn such as a loafing alley, feeding alley or cross
alley (walkway) from a barn to the milking parlor.
Alley Scraper - A "V" shaped
mechanical blade that is dragged over an alley by chain
or cable to pull manure to collection channel at the
end of the alley (or possibly the center of the barn).
The blade then collapses and is drawn back to the opposite
end of the alley.
All-in, All-out production - A production
system whereby animals are moved into and out of facilities
in distinct groups. By preventing the commingling of
groups, the hope is to reduce the spread of disease.
Facilities are normally cleaned and disinfected thoroughly
between groups of animals
Anaerobic - Microorganisms that biodegrade
organic matter without free oxygen.
Anhydrous Ammonia - A fertilizer used
to provide nitrogen for crop production. The product,
stored under high pressure as a liquid, changes state
during application and is injected into soil as a gas.
It is popular due to the fact that it is composed of
82 percent nitrogen compared to other nitrogen fertilizers
such as urea that contain only 46% nitrogen and ammonium
nitrate with 30-33% nitrogen content.
Antibiotic - A metabolic product of
one microorganism or a chemical that in low concentrations
is detrimental to activities of specific other microorganisms.
Examples include penicillin, tetracycline, and streptomycin.
Not effective against viruses. A drug that kills microorganisms
that cause mastitis or other infectious disease.
Antibiotic Residues - The presence
of traces of antibiotics or their derivatives in milk
or meat.
Antibiotic Test Kit - Test kit for
use on the farm to detect residues of antibiotics in
milk before the milk is picked up for delivery to the
plant.
Artificial Insemination (AI) - Placing
semen into the female reproductive tract (usually the
cervix or uterus) by means other than natural service.
Automatic Detacher or Automatic Take-off - A device for sensing the end of milk flow in the milking
machine which shuts of the milking vacuum and releases
the milking machine from the cow's udder.
Average Daily Gain - Pounds of liveweight
gained per day.
Backgrounding - Growing program for feeder cattle from the time calves
are weaned until they are on a finishing ration in the
feedlot. Backgrounding is the management process of
feeding the animal.
Barn Cleaner - Usually a chain
linked system of paddles that moved manure from gutters,
up a chute, into a waiting manure spreader. Most often
seen in tie-stall or stanchion barns.
Barrow - A neutered male is a barrow and the adult male is
a boar.
Bedded Pack - Open housing in a barn
that is commonly used in conjunction with an outside
feeding area.
Bedding - Material used to absorb moisture and provide cushion.
It is easily cleaned to provide a clean, dry surface
and reduce the incidence of mastitis. Possible bedding
materials include: straw, sawdust, wood chips, sand,
ground limestone, separated manure solids, shredded
newspaper, corn stalks, bark, peanut hulls, sunflower
hulls and rice hulls.
Beef - Meat from cattle (bovine species)
other than calves. Meat from calves is called veal.
Biosecurity - Any of a broad range
of practices enforced at a dairy farm to prevent transmittal
of pathogens from other sources by feed, cattle, people,
or other animals. System of procedures and other means
to reduce or eliminate exposure of poultry flocks to
any type of infectious agent, whether it be viral, bacterial,
fungal, or parasitic in nature.
Black-out House - Houses that do not
allow any natural light into the building.
Blind Quarter - A quarter of an udder
that does not secrete milk or one that has an obstruction
in the teat that prevents the removal of milk. A nonfunctional
mammary gland.
Boar - A term for a male domestic swine
suitable for breeding.
Boot - The time when the head is enclosed
by the sheath of the uppermost leaf.
Bovine - Refers to a general family
grouping of cattle.
Breed - Cattle of common origin and
having characteristics that distinguish them from other
groups within the same species.
Breeder - A bird that is utilized to
produce offspring.
Brisket Board - A raised part of the
freestall platform about 6.5 feet in front of rear of
the stall to keep cows positioned properly while lying.
Usually made of wood or plastic, but occasionally concrete.
Broken Udder - Term used to describe
an udder that is loosely attached or pendulous.
Broiler - Chicken, sometimes called
fryers, reared primarily for meat production. Age to
market weight is typically 6 to 8 weeks (5 to 8 pounds),
and are the epitome of efficient meat production.
Brooding - Early period of growth when
supplemental heat must be provided, due to the birds
inability to generate enough body heat.
Bt Corn - Field corn that has received
a gene transferred from a naturally-occurring soil bacterium
called Bacillus thuringiensis. The gene causes the corn
plant to produce one of several insecticidal compounds
commonly called Bt toxins. The toxins affect the midgut
of particular groups of insects such as European corn
borer that can be harmful to corn.
Bucket Milking System - A system in
which the milk coming from the cow is drawn into a bucket
or pail and manually transferred to a collection area
or the milk house.
Bull - A sexually mature, uncastrated
bovine male.
Bullock - Young bull, typically less
than 20 months of age.
Bulk Tank - A refrigerated, stainless
steel vessel in which milk is cooled quickly to 2 to
4 C (35 - 39 F) and stored until collected by a bulk
tank truck for shipping to the milk plant.
Feed Bunk
Bunk - A feed trough or feeding station
for cattle.
Bunker Silo - A horizontal silo, usually
from 8 to 20 feet deep, holds compacted silage. The
sides are normally constructed of concrete tilt-up concrete
panel construction. Trench silos are built into the
ground, normally in hillsides and have earthen sides
that contain the silos.
Bushel - A unit of dry volume typically
used to quantify crop yields. One bushel is equivalent
to 32 quarts or 2,150.42 cubic inches. A bushel is often
used to represent the weight of a particular crop; for
example, one bushel of No. 2 yellow shelled corn at
15.5% moisture content weighs 56 lb.
Byproduct - Product of considerably
less value than the major product. For example, the
hide and offal are by-products while beef is the major
product.
Calf - A young male or female bovine
under 1 year of age. Usually referred to as calves until
reaching sexual maturity.
Calve - Giving birth to a calf. Same
as parturition.
Cake Manure - Surface manure on top
of litter, typically only a few inches deep.
Cannula - A special tube designed for
placing drugs into the udder through the teat end and
streak canal.
Cash Crop - An agricultural crop grown
to provide revenue from an off-farm source.
Center Pivot - A type of irrigation
system that consists of a wheel-driven frame that supports
a series of sprinkler nozzles. The frame rotates about
a central point to distribute water over a large circular
area.
Chalk Sticks - Used to mark treated,
fresh, or special-needs cows.
Channel Erosion - Erosion in channels
is mostly caused by downward scour due to flow shear
stress. Side wall sluffing can also occur during widening
of the channel caused by large flows.
Cheese Curd - The clumps of casein
and other milk components that are formed during the
cheese making process. These curds are then pressed
into blocks or barrels for proper aging and curing of
the cheese.
Churning - The process of stirring
and agitating cream in the process of making butter.
Churning causes the fat globules in cream to clump together
and separate from the liquid.
Chronic - Used to describe recurring
symptoms or disease.
Clinical - Symptoms are present, supportive
therapy or treatment is necessary.
Colostrum - First milk following calving.
High in fat, protein, and immunoglobulins that may be
directly absorbed by the newborn calf in its first 24
hours of life.
Commodity Barn - Commodity Storage - Usually a steel framed shed that provides storage
for commodity feeds, such as cottonseed, brewers grains,
chopped hay, etc.
Composting
Pad - A concrete or hard packed surface that
provides an area on which manure and discarded feed
may be composted with ready access to aerate the composting
materials.
Concentrates - High energy or high
protein feeds consisting primarily of the seed of the
plant, but with out stems and leaves.
Conformation - The body form or physical
traits of an animal or parts of the animal in the case
of udder conformation.
Conservation Tillage - Any tillage
and planting system that covers 30 percent or more of
the soil surface with crop residue, after planting,
to reduce soil erosion by water. Where soil erosion
by wind is the primary concern, any system that maintains
at least 1,000 pounds per acre of flat, small grain
residue equivalent on the surface throughout the critical
wind erosion period.
Contagious - Disease that can be passed
from one bird or animal to another through a number
of possible ways.
Conventional Tillage - Full width tillage
that disturbs the entire soil surface and is performed
prior to and/or during planting. There is less than
15 percent residue cover after planting, or less than
500 pounds per acre of small grain residue equivalent
throughout the critical wind erosion period. Generally
involves plowing or intensive (numerous) tillage trips.
Weed control is accomplished with crop protection products
and/or row cultivation.
Cooling - Using ventilation to prevent
birds or animals from becoming too hot.
Corn Belt - The area of the United
States where corn is a principal cash crop, including
Iowa, Indiana, most of Illinois, and parts of Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, and
Wisconsin.
Cow - A mature female bovine. Usually
referring to any dairy females that have born a calf.
Some may consider females having given birth only once
as "first-calf heifers" until they have a
second calf.
Cow-Calf Operation - Management unit
that maintains a breeding herd and produces weaned calves.
Cow Trainer - A tin or wire structure
supported a few inches above a cow to prevent her from
soiling the platform of her stall by administering a
gentle electric shock if she arches her back to urinate
or defecate while too far forward in the stall.
Coverall - A brand name, but commonly
referring to any of a group of hoop type barns with
opaque or mylar fabric covers over a tubular steel frame.
Crate - An elevated stall for a calf in an indoor facility.
Crowd Gate - A motorized or manual
gate at the end of the holding pen that may be moved
forward to guide cows toward the entrance to the milking
parlor.
Cull - To remove a cow from the herd.
Culling reasons in clued voluntary culling of cows for
low milk production, or involuntary culling of cows
for reasons of health or injury.
Cull Cow - A cow having been identified
to be removed from the herd or having recently left.
Culture - In microbiology, a population
of microorganisms in a growth medium or the act of growing
bacteria in media for identification. A pure culture
contains only organisms that initially arose from a
single cell. Cultures are used in manufacturing cultured
dairy products and most cheeses.
Dairy Cow - A bovine from
which milk production is intended for human consumption,
or is kept for raising replacement dairy heifers.
Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) - A specific
testing plan which requires supervision and compliance
with all official DHI rules.
Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA)
- An organization with programs and objectives intended
to improve the production and profitability of dairy
farming. Aids farmers in keeping milk production and
management records.
Dairy Herd Improvement Registry (DHIR) - A modification of the DHIA program to make milk production
records acceptable by the specific dairy breed associations.
DHI Records - Generic term used to
refer to records computed by the Dairy Record Processing
Centers.
DHI Supervisor - An officially trained
and DHIA-certified employee qualified to collect milk
samples and record milk weights on the farm for all
official types of testing plans.
Dairy Steer - A neutered male of any
of the dairy cattle breeds. The "dairy steers"
are raised for meat production and usually managed like
beef cattle.
Dam - Mother or female parent in a
pedigree, normally applies to cattle.
Denitrification - The biochemical reduction
of nitrate or nitrite to gaseous nitrogen, either as
molecular nitrogen or as an oxide of nitrogen.
Depression - A low area in a field
where surface drainage away from the area does not occur.
Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count (DMSCC)
- Microscopic count of the actual number of somatic
cells in milk. This system is used to check and verify
electronic cell count machines used in DHI laboratories.
Dock - To remove a cow's tail. This
practice may keep cows udders cleaner, but may also
result in cows being less content, especially in fly
season.
Downer Cow - A cow unable to arise
due to disease or injury.
Drawbar - A tractor component typically
located at the rear and near the ground that permits
attachment of implements for pulling or towing.
Drawbar Work - Any operation performed
by a tractor that requires force to be exerted by wheels/tracks
to propel an implement through or over the soil.
Drilled - Planted with a grain drill.
Grain drills differ from row crop planters in that they
do not meter individual seeds, but drop small groups
of seed in a process referred to as bulk metering. Drills
plant crops in closely spaced rows (typically seven
to 10 inches on center) that will not be mechanically
cultivated.
Dry Cow - A cow that is not lactating
or secreting milk after it has completed a lactation
period following calving.
Dry Lot - An open lot that may be covered
with concrete, but that has no vegetative cover. Generally
used as exercise areas in most of US, but may be used
as primary cow housing in the more arid climates.
Ecoshelter – Ecoshelters is a structure with flexible
roof cladding designed to house farm animals including
pigs, goats, dairy cows, sheep, horses, aquaculture.
Manufactured by Redpath pacific Ltd New Zealand &
Australia - www.ecoshelter.co.nz
Edema - The presence of abnormally
large amounts of fluid in the intercellular tissue spaces
of the body, as in a swelling of mammary glands commonly
accompanying the initiation of the birthing process
in many farm animals.
Electronic Feeders - Stations in which
cows are fed specified amounts of feed by a computer
that recognizes their unique electronic identification
transponders.
Ensiling - The process of creating
silage via anaerobic fermentation.
Environmental - Derived from the animal's environment,
bedding, housing, etc.
Environmental Control - Temperature
and humidity control in poultry and animal production
barns.
Equipment Sanitization - The removal
of microorganisms and fat, protein, and mineral residues
in milking equipment through use of water, heat, and
chemicals.
Estrous – See heat
Eutrophication - The process by which
lakes and streams are enriched by nutrients (usually
phosphorus and nitrogen) which leads to excessive plant
growth.
Extra-Label Drug Use - An antibiotic
or other chemical used on the advice of a veterinarian
in a dosage, route of administration, for a different
disease or in some other manner not included on the
approved printed package label.
Fallow - Plowed, but left unseeded.
Farrowing - The period from birth to
weaning.
Farrow to Finish Operation - A production
system that contains all production phases, from breeding
to gestation to farrowing to nursery to grow-finishing
to market.
Fed Cattle - Steers and heifers that
have been fed concentrates, usually for 90-120 days
in a feedlot.
Federal, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) - It specifies the levels of pesticides, chemicals,
and naturally occurring poisonous substances in food
products. It also regulates the safety of cosmetic products.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act - The objective of FIFRA is to provide
federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and
use. All pesticides used in the United States must be
registered (licensed) by EPA. Registration assures that
pesticides will be properly labeled and that, if used
in accordance with specifications, they will not cause
unreasonable harm to the environment. Use of each registered
pesticide must be consistent with use directions contained
on the label or labeling.
Feeder
1. Cattle that need further feeding prior to slaughter.
2. Producer who feeds cattle.
Feeder Pig Operation - Breeder sells
pigs out of the nursery phase to a finishing operation
to grow them out to market weight.
Feedlot - Enterprise in which cattle
are fed grain and other concentrates for usually 90-120
days. Feedlots range in size from less than 100-head
capacity to many thousands.
Feed Grain - Any of a number of grains
used for livestock or poultry feed. Corn and sorghum
are feed grains.
Fibrosis (fibrotic) - Of a condition
marked by the presence of interstitial fibrous tissue,
especially in the mammary gland resulting from mastitis.
Finished Cattle - Fed cattle whose
time in the feedlot is completed and are now ready for
slaughter.
Finisher Pig - Production phase between
the nursery and market.
Finishing Operation - The operation purchases feeder
pigs from a feeder pig operation and feeds them to market
weight at 240 to 260 lbs. Historically, producers purchased
feeder pigs at auctions, but because of disease transmission
concerns, most operations now bypass auctions and buy
all of their animals from the same supplier.
Flat Barn - An area for milking cattle
where the person milking is on the same level as the
cow. May be used with a pipeline or bucket milking system.
Generally the same area is used for cow housing.
Flowering - This is the stage when
the crop starts flowering. In corn, tassel emergence
and pollen shedding takes place at this stage. Two to
three days after pollen shedding, silk emergence takes
place. At this stage, typically occurs 51-56 days after
planting the corn seed, pollination between silks (female)
and tassels (male) takes place.
Flush System - A manure removal system
in which an area is cleaned by high volumes of fresh
water, or gray water that is recycled from a manure
pit or lagoon.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - An agency of the U.S. Government responsible for the
safety of the human food supply.
Footbath - A long shallow tub or depression
in the concrete where cows walk through a mild solution
(usually including copper sulfate or formalin) to promote
foot health. Usually located along an alley where cows
return from the milking parlor.
Forage - Feedstuffs composed primarily
of the whole plant, including stems and leaves that
are utilized by cattle.
Forage Crop - Annual or perennial crops
grown primarily to provide feed for livestock. During
harvesting operations, most of the aboveground portion
of the plant is removed from the field and processed
for later feeding.
Forestripping - Expressing streams
of milk from the teat prior to machine milking to determine
visual quality and to stimulate "milk letdown."
Forequarters - The two front quarters of a cow. Also
called the fore udder.
Freestalls - Resting cubicles or "beds"
in which dairy cows are free to enter and leave, as
opposed to being confined in stanchions or pens.
Fresh Cow - A cow that has recently
given birth to a calf.
Fresh Milk - Dairy products having original qualities
unimpaired and those recently produced or processed.
Garget - A common term for an inflammation of the udder of
the cow or the resulting abnormal milk. More accurately
referred to as mastitis.
Genetically-Modified Organism (GMO) - A term that refers to plants that have had genes implanted
to improve their performance by making them resistant
to certain pesticides, diseases, or insects.
Germicidal - A substance that has the
ability to kill germs.
Gestation - The period in a female's
life from conception to birth.
Gilt - In swine, a female is called
a gilt until she has borne a litter, after which she
is called a sow.
Gray Water - Water that is considered
waste and not to be used for cleaning milking systems.
Usually including recycled water from a lagoon or milk
house waste. Even water only used to cool milk in a
plate cooler is considered gray water, though it is
often fed to cows to reduce total usage.
Grazing - Any vegetated land that is
grazed or that has the potential to be grazed by animals.
Greenhouse Barn - Commonly referring
to any of a group of hoop type barns with translucent
or plastic covers over a tubular steel frame. Reference
Redpath Pacific Ltd www.redpath.co.nz & www.standoffshelters.co.nz
Ground
Water - The water under the surface of the
earth that is found within the pore spaces and cracks
between the particles of soil, sand, gravel and bedrock.
Grooved Concrete - Floor surfaces with
grooved patterns cut or depressed into concrete to provide
better traction for cattle.
Grow-Finish - The last phase of production
before the animals go to market.
Gully Erosion - They are formed when
channel development has progressed to the point where
the gully is too wide and too deep to be tilled across.
These channels carry large amounts of water after rains
and deposit eroded material at the foot of the gully.
They disfigure landscape and make land unfit for growing
crops.
Gutter - A shallow to deep channel
located behind cows in tiestall barns capture manure
and urine.
Handlers - Processors or
dealers of milk who commonly purchase raw milk and sell
pasteurized milk and milk products.
Hand Mating - An individual female
that is ready to be bred is exposed to an individual
boar in a small pen for a few minutes, under the supervision
of the producer.
Hand Milking - The manual milking of
an animal as opposed to the use of mechanical milking
devices.
Harvestore Silo - A brand of oxygen
limiting (air tight) upright silos with bottom unloading.
Hay - Dried feed consisting of the
entire plant that can be used a feed for ruminant animals.
Alfalfa, clover, grass, and oat hay are used in dairy
rations.
Heading - The stage in which the head
pushes its way through the flag leaf collar.
Headlocks - Self-locking stanchions
along a feed alley in which cows voluntarily enter the
head slot when going to eat. All cows may be held until
herd health work is completed, and then all cows may
be simultaneously released. Headlocks may be adjusted
to remain open, allowing cows to come an go at will,
when restraining the cows is not necessary.
Heat - Refers to the estrous period
for a female of breeding age. In swine, the first estrous
normally occurs 3 to 5 days after the pigs are weaned.
Heifer - A bovine female less than
three years of age who has not borne a calf. Young cows
with their first calves are often called first-calf
heifers.
Herd - A group of animals (especially
cattle), collectively considered as a unit.
Herd House – A dairy cow house
or home often called ecoshelter. Refer www.standoffshelter.co.nz
Herringbone Parlor - A milking parlor
in which cows stand side-by-side, angled towards the
pit. This allows milking from the side of the udder.
Hide - Skins from cattle.
Hog - Generic term, usually applied
to growing swine.
Holding Pen - An area in which cows
congregate prior to entering a milking parlor to be
milked.
Hoop Structure - A low cost, uninsulated
and naturally ventilated building used for older swine.
The floor is mostly earthen and typically bedded with
straw.
Hot Quarter - A quarter of the udder
that is infected and may actually feel hard or hot to
the touch due to elevated temperatures.
Hutch - An individual housing unit
for young calves. Often made of white fiberglass or
polyvinyl.
Handlers - Processors
or dealers of milk who commonly purchase raw milk and
sell pasteurized milk and milk products.
Hand Mating - An individual female
that is ready to be bred is exposed to an individual
boar in a small pen for a few minutes, under the supervision
of the producer.
Hand Milking - The manual milking of
an animal as opposed to the use of mechanical milking
devices.
Harvestore Silo - A brand of oxygen
limiting (air tight) upright silos with bottom unloading.
Hay - Dried feed consisting of the
entire plant that can be used a feed for ruminant animals.
Alfalfa, clover, grass, and oat hay are used in dairy
rations.
Heading - The stage in which the head
pushes its way through the flag leaf collar.
Headlocks - Self-locking stanchions
along a feed alley in which cows voluntarily enter the
head slot when going to eat. All cows may be held until
herd health work is completed, and then all cows may
be simultaneously released. Headlocks may be adjusted
to remain open, allowing cows to come an go at will,
when restraining the cows is not necessary.
Heat - Refers to the estrous period
for a female of breeding age. In swine, the first estrous
normally occurs 3 to 5 days after the pigs are weaned.
Heifer - A bovine female less than
three years of age who has not borne a calf. Young cows
with their first calves are often called first-calf
heifers.
Herd - A group of animals (especially
cattle), collectively considered as a unit.
Herd House – A dairy cow house
or home often called ecoshelter. Refer www.standoffshelters.co.nz
Herringbone Parlor - A milking parlor
in which cows stand side-by-side, angled towards the
pit. This allows milking from the side of the udder.
Hide - Skins from cattle.
Hog - Generic term, usually applied
to growing swine.
Holding Pen - An area in which cows congregate prior
to entering a milking parlor to be milked.
Hoop Structure - A low cost, uninsulated
and naturally ventilated building used for older swine.
The floor is mostly earthen and typically bedded with
straw.
Hot Quarter - A quarter of the udder
that is infected and may actually feel hard or hot to
the touch due to elevated temperatures.
Hutch - An individual housing unit
for young calves. Often made of white fiberglass or
polyvinyl.
Imunity - The power an animal has to resist and/or overcome
an infection to which most of its species are susceptible.
Active immunity is due to the presence of antibodies
formed by an animal in response to previous exposure
to the disease or through live or modified-live vaccines.
Passive immunity is produced by giving the animal preformed
or synthetic antibodies as with killed vaccines.
Inflammation - Swelling caused by the
accumulation of lymph and blood cells at the site of
infection or injury.
Inorganic - Not capable of sustaining life. Often refers
to dirt or soil.
Integration - Bringing together of
two or more segments of beef productions and processing
under one centrally organized unit.
Intramuscular - Injections given in the muscle.
IPM - An integrated approach to controlling
plant pests using careful monitoring of pests and weeds.
It may include use of natural predators, chemical agents
and crop rotations.
Karst - Areas with shallow
ground water, caverns, and sinkholes.
Lactate - To secrete or produce milk.
Lagoon - Earthen storage structure
with sufficient dilution water added to allow microorganisms
to biodegrade and treat organic matter.
Leach - The downward transport of dissolved
or suspended minerals, fertilizers, pesticides and other
substances by water percolating through the soil.
Leg Bands - Cloth or plastic strips
of a bright color used for marking treated cows, fresh
cows, or cows needing special handling.
Legume - Any of thousands of plant
species that have seed pods that split along both sides
when ripe. Some of the more common legumes used for
human consumption are beans, lentils, peanuts, peas,
and soybeans. Others, such as clover and alfalfa, are
used as animal feed. Legumes have a unique ability to
obtain much or all of their nitrogen requirements from
symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
Letdown - The process in a cow where
physical stimulation causes a release of oxytocin and
the contraction of smooth muscles surrounding milk alveoli
resulting in fluid pressure within the udder and milk
flow.
Limit Feeding - Feeding strategy in
which pigs are fed a specific amount of food in a specific
time period Vs free access to feed. Limit feeding is
common in Europe, but normally only used for gestation
animals in the U.S.
Liner - A flexible sleeve in the milking
teat cup or rigid-walled liner holder. Responsible for
massaging the teat end and intermittently cutting vacuum
at the teat end during milking. Also called an inflation.
Liner Slips or Squawks - Slippage of
the liner and teat cup during milking. Caused by a sharp
change of milking vacuum within the unit or cluster
by drawing in air alongside the teat. Generally creates
a "squawking" sound.
Liquid Egg - Contents of egg (white,
yolk, or both) that have been removed and shipped as
a product in bulk.
Litter - The pigs that are born at
one time to one sow - normally 8-12 pigs.
Litter - Substance applied to dirt
or concrete flooring systems that is absorbent in nature,
including: wood shavings, rice hulls, chopped straw,
sand, sawdust, oat hulls, and several other materials.
Loose Housing - Facilities that allow
cattle access to a large, open bedded area for resting
(also known as free housing). Loose housing should provide
at least 200 square feet per animal for feeding and
resting (freestall housing uses only 90 square feet
per animal).
Marketing - Increasing
awareness of a product by advertising.
Market Weight (Pork) - 240 to 260 lbs.
Mastitis - An inflammation of the mammary
gland (or glands), usually caused by bacteria.
Maternity Barn - A special needs facility
where cows can be closely monitored during the period
immediately before and after they give birth.
Mating - Breeding a sow or gilt after
the onset of estrus and before ovulation, may include
at least two services by different boars to ensure successful
mating.
Mattress - Bedding material compacted
to 3 to 4 inches and sandwiched in a heavyweight polypropolene
or other fabric. Possible fillers include: long or chopped
straw, poor quality hay, sawdust, shavings, rice hulls
and, most commonly, shredded rubber.
Meat - Tissue of the animal body that are used for food.
Mechanical Ventilation - The use of fans, either electric
or pneumatic, to ventilate houses.
Milk Handlers - Processors or dealers
of milk who commonly purchase raw milk and sell pasteurized
milk and milk products.
Milk House - The area near a milking
parlor where the bulk milk tank, cleaning units, and
equipment are located.
Milk House Waste - Water having been
used in cleaning the milking equipment and washing the
parlor.
Milking Pit - A sunken area that houses
both the milker and some milking equipment during milking.
This places the milker at shoulder level with udders
and reduces physical demands.
Molting - The process of shedding and
then regrowing feathers in laying hens. It corresponds
with a period of no egg laying.
Mulch Tillage - Full-width tillage
involving one or more tillage trips which disturbs all
of the soil surface and is done prior to and/or during
planting. Tillage tools such as chisels, field cultivators,
disks, sweeps or blades are used. Weed control is accomplished
with crop protection products and/or cultivation
Mutualism - A symbiotic relationship
in which both partners benefit.
Mycoplasma - An organism capable of
causing mastitis.
Natural Ventilation - Air circulation is provided by opening barn doors
or windows and allowing the wind to draw through the
barn.
Nitrification - The biochemical oxidation
of ammonium to nitrate, predominantly by autotrophic
bacteria.
Non-Point Source Management Program - Under the Non-point Source Management Program, states
can receive funding to control non-point sources of
pollution to protect surface and ground water, including
programs to control pesticide contamination of the ground
and surface water.
Non-Productive Sow Days - Days a sow
is neither lactating or gestating.
Non-Return Dip Cup - A dip cup that does not allow the
liquid to reenter and potentially contaminate the storage
container.
No-Tillage - Crop production system
in which the soil is left undisturbed from harvest to
planting. At the time of planting, a narrow strip up
to 1/3 as wide as the space between planted rows (strips
may involve only residue disturbance or may include
soil disturbance) is engaged by a specially equipped
planter. Planting or drilling is accomplished using
disc openers, coulter(s), row cleaners, in-row chisels,
or roto-tillers. Weed control is accomplished primarily
with crop protection products. Other common terms used
to describe No-till include direct seeding, slot planting,
zero-till, row-till, and slot-till.
Nursery - The growth phase immediately
after weaning until pigs enter the grow-finish building.
Many larger operations are eliminating the nursery phase
and placing newly weaned pigs in a growing building
where they stay till marketed.
Open Barns/Tromp Sheds/Loose Housing) - Open spaced shelter in which cattle are free to move
about or rest wherever they might prefer, usually on
a pack of bedding and manure. Organic - A substance
that contains carbon and capable of sustaining life.
Organic Material - Substances containing
plant or animal substance. In the context of milking
equipment this usually refers to manure.
Over the Counter Drugs - Medications
available without prescription.
Oxytocin - A naturally secreted hormone
that is important in milk letdown and the contraction
of the smooth uterine muscles during the birthing process.
Paddocks - Subdivision of a pasture designed to provide short-duration
grazing followed by an appropriate (related to species,
soil type and weather conditions) rest period for re-growth
and stand maintenance.
Paint Sticks - Contain liquid or chalky
paint used for marking treated cows.
Parakeratosis - Any abnormality of
the horny layer of the outer skin which prevents the
formation of keratin.
Parallel Parlor - A raised milking
area or platform where the cow stands perpendicular
to the operator and milking units are attached between
the rear legs. This may also be referred to as a side-by-side.
Parlor - The specialized area on the
dairy farm where milking is performed. Parlors come
in many types:
Pasture (or Pastureland) - Land used
primarily for the production of domesticated forage
plants for livestock (in contrast to rangeland, where
vegetation is naturally-occurring and is dominated by
grasses and perhaps shrubs).
Pathogen - Any microorganism that produces
disease (bacteria, viruses, yeasts, molds and parasites).
Peak Egg Production - The point in
a hen’s laying cycle where she will lay the highest
percentage of eggs.
Pendulous Udder - A loosely attached
udder.
Pen - Most swine are grouped together
in pens, whether kept in a shelter or in a fenced open
lot. The number of animals penned together may be less
than 10 to several hundred, but is normally between
15 and 30.
Pen Mating - Boar is placed in a pen
with group of sows to allow for breeding.
Pesticide - A general name for agricultural
chemicals that include:
• Herbicide - for the control of weeds and other
plants
• Insecticide - for the control of insects
• Fungicide - for the control of fungi
• Nematocide - for the control of parasitic worms
• Rodenticide - for the control of rodents
Pesticide Handlers - Refers to individuals
who mix, load, apply, or otherwise handle pesticides.
Pig - Term usually applied to young,
immature swine.
Piglet - The offspring of a male boar
and a female sow are called piglets, or just pigs.
Pipeline - A stainless steel or glass
pipe used for transporting milk.
Pit - A contained unit usually with
concrete walls in which liquid or semi-liquid manure
is stored.
Plate Cooler - A heat exchanger in
which water at ground temperature or chilled water is
used to cool milk prior to its movement to the bulk
milk tank.
Point Source Contamination - The Clean
Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) program controls direct discharges into
navigable waters. Direct discharges or "point source"
discharges are from sources such as pipes and sewers.
Postemergence - Refers to the timing
of pest control operations. Postemergence operations
are accomplished during the period subsequent to the
emergence of a crop from the soil and must be completed
prior to point at which crop growth stage prohibits
in-field travel (unless alternative application means
– aerial or irrigation-based – are used).
Post-Milking Teat Dip - A product applied
after milking to protect the teat from contagious pathogens
that may have come into contact with the teat during
the milking process.
Poult - A baby turkey.
Power Takeoff (PTO) - A splined shaft
that extends from a tractor drive train and is designed
to couple with the splined drive shaft of an implement.
The connection permits mechanical power to be transmitted
from tractor to implement.
Preemergence - Refers to the timing
of pest control operations. Preemergence operations
are accomplished during the period subsequent to the
planting of a crop and prior to the emergence of that
crop from the soil.
Pre-Milking Teat Dip - A product applied
in preparation for milking to clean the teat and reduce
the spread of disease and maintain healthy teats.
Preplant - Refers to the timing of
pest control operations. Preplant operations are accomplished
during the period subsequent to the harvest of one season’s
crop and prior to the planting of the next season’s
crop.
Prescription Drugs - Drugs that the
FDA has determined must be used only under the direction
and supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
Primary Tillage - The mechanical manipulation
of soil that displaces and shatters soil to reduce soil
strength and to bury or mix plant materials and crop
chemicals in the tillage layer. Tends to leave a rough
soil surface that is smoothed by secondary tillage.
Puberty - Time of first estrus in sows,
usually occurring at 6 mo. of age.
Pugging – Condition caused by
animals on paddock/soil, The earth becomes pugged up
after excessive trampling , particularily on soft /
wet soil conditions. Grass takes time to recover or
requires re-sowing
Pullet - A laying hen before it lays
its first egg.
Rapid Exit - Panels or
rails that raise to release all cows on one side of
the milking parlor at once.
Ration - Feed fed to an animal during
a 24-hour period.
Replacement Heifers - Often ones being
raised to replace the cows currently in the herd.
Return Alley - The alley through which
cows must pass when moving from the milking parlor back
to the cow housing area after milking.
Ridge Tillage - The soil is left undisturbed
from harvest to planting except for strips up to 1/3
of the row width. Planting is completed on the ridge
and usually involves the removal of the top of the ridge.
Planting is completed with sweeps, disk openers, coulters,
or row cleaners. Residue is left on the surface between
ridges. Weed control is accomplished with crop protection
products (frequently banded) and/or cultivation. Ridges
are rebuilt during row cultivation.
Rill Erosion - The removal of soil
by concentrated water running through little streamlets,
or headcuts. Detachment in a rill occurs if the sediment
in the flow is below the amount the load can transport
and if the flow exceeds the soil's resistance to detachment.
As detachment continues or flow increases, rills will
become wider and deeper.
Ring Feeder - A steel hoop with individual
head gates that may be placed over a large round bale
of hay when feeding it.
Robotic Parlor - A completely automated
system for milking cows that requires limited human
contact.
Rotary Parlor - A raised, round rotating
platform or carousel on which cows ride while being
milked.
Roughage - Feed that is high in fiber,
low in digestible nutrients, and low in energy (e.g.,
hay, straw, silage, and pasture).
Row Crop - Agricultural crop planted,
usually with mechanical planting devices, in individual
rows that are spaced to permit machine traffic during
the early parts of the growing season
Ruminant - Mammal whose stomach has
four parts-rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. These
animals chew their cud or regurgitate partially digested
food for further breakdown in the mouth. Ruminant animals
include cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camels.
Safe Drinking Water Act - The objective of the Safe Drinking Water Act is to
protect public health by establishing safe limits (based
on the quality of water at the tap) for contaminants
that may have an adverse effect on human health, and
to prevent contamination of surface and ground sources
of drinking water.
Sand Separator - A mechanical device
or series of course ways used to settle sand from sand-laden
manure.
Scrape-and-Haul - Manure handling system
in which manure is scrape manually or with a skidloader,
placed in a solid manure spreader and directly applied
to appropriate crop land.
Secondary Tillage - The mechanical
manipulation of soil that follows primary tillage. Performed
at shallower depths than primary tillage, secondary
tillage can provide additional soil pulverization, crop
chemical mixing, soil surface leveling, and firming,
and weed control. In conventional tillage systems, the
final secondary tillage pass is used to prepare a seedbed.
Seeded - Generic term for introducing
seed into the soil-air-water matrix, typically via a
mechanized process that will maximize the likelihood
of subsequent seed germination and plant growth.
Segregated Early Weaning - Removal
of pigs from mother at 10 - 14 days of age in order
to reduce transmission of disease from the mother to
her offspring. The milk produced immediately after birth
helps to protect the pigs from disease, but this protection
decrease over time.
Self-Propelled - A term that is typically
applied to farm machines with integral power units that
are capable of moving about as well as performing some
other simultaneous operation such as harvesting or spraying
a crop.
Sensitivity Tests - Tests used to determine
the most effective method of treatment of disease by
testing the resistance of the microorganism to classes
of antibiotics.
Separator -
1. Formerly a centrifuge device used to remove the fat
from milk on the farm, but now used primarily at processing
plants.
2. A device used to separate manure into solids and
effluent and accomplish by trickling manure over a sloped
screen or mechanically forcing through a screen.
Service - Breeding, the deposition
of boar semen into the female. Breeding may be by done
naturally by a boar or artificially by the manager,
using semen obtained from a local boar or purchased
from a supplier. Producers often use artificial insemination
as a way to bring new genetics into their herd, without
the biosecurity concerns involved with bringing new
animals onto their farm.
Settling Pond - A manure pit where
the flow rate of liquid manure is slowed to allow suspended
materials to collect at the bottom where they can later
be removed.
Shoat - A young pig, just after weaning.
Sidedress - When a readily available
form of nitrogen, normally urea, is injected beside
the growing row of plants, usually corn.
Silage - A feed prepared by chopping
green forage (e.g. grass, legumes, field corn) and placing
the material in a structure or container designed to
exclude air. The material then undergoes fermentation,
retarding spoilage. Silage has a water content of between
60 and 80%.
Silage Bags - Large plastic tubes in
which forages are fermented. Plastic is removed and
discarded as the ensiled feed is fed.
Silo - A storage facility for silage.
Usually referring to upright concrete or fiberglass
silos.
Silking - It is considered the first
reproductive stage
Sinkhole - A surface depression caused
by a collapse of soil or overlying formation above fractured
or cavernous bedrock.
Sire - Father or male parent in a pedigree.
Slotted Floor - A concrete floor design
in which slats are positioned in the floor so that animal
traffic can work manure through the narrow openings
(slots) between the slats and into a collection pit
located beneath the floor of the barn.
Soil Test - A soil test indicates the
availability of nutrients present in the soil and the
availability of those nutrients to crops grown there.
Somatic cell count (SCC) - The number
of white blood cells per milliliter of milk or measurement
of the number of somatic cells present in a sample of
milk. A high concentration of more than 500,000 somatic
cells per milliliter of milk indicates abnormal condition
in the udder. This serves as an indicator of mastitis
infection when elevated above 200,000.
Somatic Cell Score - A logarithmic
representation of the SCC, often referred to as linear
scores because they are linearly related to milk production
loss.
Somatic Cells - The combination of
the leukocytes (white blood cells) from blood and the
epithelial cells from the secretory tissue of the udder
which indicate the presence of infection or injury in
the animal.
Sow - In swine, the term sow refers
to a female after she has borne a litter.
Sown - Planted using a broadcast seeding
machine that distributes seed upon the soil surface.
The seed may then be incorporated into the soil to ensure
adequate seed-soil contact for germination.
Sphincter - A ring-shaped muscle that
allows an opening to close tightly, such as the sphincter
muscle in the lower end of a cow's teat.
Stall - A cow housing cubicle.
Stanchion - A device with two rails
that was closed around a cows neck after she entered
a stall and to keep her restrained in the stall.
Standing Heat - A sow or gilt will
assume a rigid stance and maintain it during servicing
if she is ready to be bred.
Stand off shelter - standoffshelters
, brand of dairy cow herd home that allows natural light
to enter & provide a drying action for waste. Often
includes a flooring concrete pad system or waste control
system. Made in New Zealand & Australia by Redpath
Pacific Ltd. www.standoffshelters.co.nz
Steer - Bovine male castrated prior
to puberty.
Step-Up Parlor - Cows step onto raised
platforms for milking. The milking units are attached
from the side.
Sterile - Clean, free of any living
organisms. Also means unable to reproduce.
Streak canal - Small canal located
in the end of each teat, through which the milk passes
immediately prior to expulsion. Also called the teat
meatus.
Strip Cup - A small cup or device to
collect forestrippings and which makes abnormal milk
easier to observe.
Strip Tillage - The process in which
only a narrow strip of land needed for the crop row
is tilled.
Stocker - Weaned cattle that are fed
high-roughage diets (including grazing) before going
into the feedlot.
Subclinical - A disease condition without
symptoms but often resulting in decreased production
or impaired milk quality.
Subcutaneous - Under the skin.
Subway - An area beneath the milking
pit that houses milk meters, pipelines, vacuum lines
and transfer tanks to reduce noise and improve the milker's
ability to move around in the pit.
Superhutches - Calf housing structures,
often open on one side, designed for a small number
of calves when first grouped immediately after weaning.
Supplemental Heat - Furnace or radiant
heat provided to maintain a comfortable temperature
for the animals
Swing Parlor - Parlor characterized
by having the milking units positioned in the middle
of the parlor for use by cows on both sides.
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation - Symbiotic
nitrogen fixation occurs in plants that harbor nitrogen-fixing
bacteria within their tissues. The best-studied example
is the association between legumes and bacteria in the
genus Rhizobium. Each of these is able to survive independently
(soil nitrates much then be available to the legume),
but life together is clearly beneficial to both. Only
together can nitrogen fixation take place. A symbiotic
relationship in which both partners benefit is called
mutualism
Tail
Bands - Used for marking treated cows. Rubber
bands are sometimes used to dock cow's tails.
Tandem Parlor - Parlor design where
cows line up head to tail in individually opening stalls.
Tasseling - A condition when the tassel-like
male flowers emerge.
Teat - The appendage on the udder through
which milk from the udder flows.
Teat Dip - Pre and Post-milking - Substance
that kills bacteria and helps to seal the teat end to
prevent entry of bacteria into the udder between milkings.
May contain emollients to improve teat end condition
for use in cold, winter conditions.
Teat Sealant - A product that forms
a mechanical barrier on the teat end to protect the
teat. Generally used at dry-off after antibiotic infusion.
10 Point Milk and Dairy Beef Residue Prevention Protocol
- Designed by veterinarians and milk producer organizations
to avoid contamination of milk with antibiotics. It
identifies the 10 points in milk production where milk
is at greatest risk for antibiotic contamination of
milk.
Throughput - The number of cows that
can be milked in a parlor in a given period of time.
Tie Stall Parlor - Facility is frequently
used for both housing and milking. Cows are tied and
milked with the cow and operator on the same level.
Tillage - The mechanical manipulation
of soil performed to nurture crops. Tillage can be performed
to accomplish a number of tasks including: seedbed preparation,
weed control, and crop chemical incorporation.
Total Mixed Ration (TMR) - Ration formulated
to meet requirements of the cow in which all of the
ingredients are blended together in a mixer.
Toxic - Harmful.
Transgenic Crop - Contains a gene or
genes which have been artificially inserted instead
of the plant acquiring the gene(s) through pollination.
The inserted gene(s) may come from an unrelated plant
or from a completely different species.
Transition Cow - The time in a cow's
life from 2 months before, to 1 month after, her expected
calving date.
Transition Housing - Barns designed
especially for transition cows, often including a maternity
area.
Tunnel Ventilation - Placement of large
fans at end of building to draw air from one end to
the other.
Udder - The encased group
of mammary glands provided with teats or nipples as
in a cow, ewe, mare or sow. Also referred to as a bag.
Urea - A form of nitrogen that converts
readily to ammonium.
Value-Added Products -
A general term that refers to agricultural products
that have increased in value due to processing. Examples
include corn oil and soybean meal.
Veal - A calf (usually male) that is
raised on milk and is intended to be used for meat at
a young age. Veal meat is served at many restaurants
and is very popular in cultural cuisine.
Ventilation - The circulation of air
through a building in order to expel noxious air and
admit clean, fresh air.
Walk Through Parlor - Upon
completion of milking, cows walk through the front of
the stall to exit.
Weaning - The process of removing the
pigs from the sow and moving them to the nursery.
Wild boar - These wild hogs are still
found in parts of the United States. Pigs used in modern
pork production are thought to be descendants of the
European wild boar. Wild boars are considered to be
descendants of European wild boars introduced into the
U.S. for sport hunting, or the hybrid offspring of escaped
domestic hogs.
Withdrawal Time - Time required after
the last drug treatment to lower drug residues to acceptable
levels. These times are established using healthy animals
according to label directions. An amount of time required
following use of a medication in an animal before milk
or meat can be entered into the human food supply. Ensures
residues are maintained at levels approved by the USDA.
Yeast - An organism that
can grow and develop in the udder, causing mastitis.
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