Category: Agriculture Dictionary

Hill farming : A type of extensive agriculture practiced in hilly, upland areas unsuitable for intensive management, typically involving the grazing of livestock and especially sheep.

High tunnel : See polytunnel.

Headland : Also called a turnrow.

A wide strip of land at each end of a planted field used for turning or maneuvering large farm machinery such as ploughs. The headland runs perpendicular to the lay of the field and may itself be planted at the beginning of the season; in such cases it is usually the first area to be harvested in order to minimize crop damage.^[6]

 Haylage : Silage with a high dry-matter content, made from the same grasses or legumes from which hay is made (such as alfalfa, timothy, and others) but not dried as much as hay nor as little as direct-chop/green-chop silage (before being ensiled).

Hay rake : A type of rake used to collect cut hay or straw into windrows for later collection (e.g. by a baler) and/or to “fluff up” the hay so that it dries more quickly.

Hay : Grasses, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored as fodder for animals, especially livestock.

Harvesting : The process of gathering a ripe crop from an agricultural field. Harvesting is often the most labor-intensive activity of a growing season or utilizes the most expensive and sophisticated farm machinery. In general usage, the term may include immediate postharvest practices such as cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling of the gathered crops.

Harvested acres : For a particular crop, the number of acres of cropland that are actually harvested, as opposed to planted but not harvested. At the national level, this statistic is usually lower than the total number of planted acres due to abandonment caused by weather damage or low market prices at some point during the growing season, or because the crop is repurposed for livestock grazing.^[5]

Harrow : A farm implement used to break up and smooth out the surface of a plot of soil. Harrowing often follows coarser ploughing, generally with the purpose of breaking up large lumps of soil so as to provide a better tilth that is suitable for use as a seedbed, and sometimes also to remove weeds or to cover seed after sowing.

Growing season: The part of the year during which local weather conditions (i.e. temperature and precipitation) permit the normal growth of plants in a given location. Though the timing of plant growth and reproduction can vary widely by species, many local plant species show considerable phenological overlap, and so the term is commonly used to refer to a single generic season that encompasses a majority of the plants or crops growing in a given location. In many places, the local “growing season” is defined as the period of time between the average date of the last frost (typically in the spring or early summer) and the average date of the first frost (typically in the autumn).

Green manure : A type of manure created by leaving uprooted or dehisced crop residues to wither and decay in an agricultural field so that they can serve as a mulch or natural fertilizer. Plants used for green manure are often cover crops grown specifically for this purpose; the mature plant tissues may be ploughed and mixed into the soil while green or shortly after flowering.

Grain elevator : 1.  A tower containing a bucket elevator or pneumatic conveyor designed to carry harvested grain upwards from a lower level (often from some type of transport) and deposit it into a silo or other storage facility.2.  A complex of agricultural buildings containing such a tower, as well as offices, weighbridges, and storage facilities, or an organization that operates or controls multiple elevators in different locations.

Good agricultural practice (GAP) : Any collection of specific principles or methods applied by agricultural producers in order to create food or non-food products that are safe, healthy, and wholesome for consumers while also taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability. GAPs may be applied to a wide range of production systems and at different scales, and often vary with geographical context.

Gleaning : The practice of collecting unharvested crops from fields or obtaining unused agricultural products from farmers, processors, or retailers, often for distribution to food banks or charitable organizations.^[5]

Furrow irrigation : A type of irrigation which relies on long, shallow, parallel channels, known as furrows, dug into the soil along the length of an agricultural field to deliver water to crops planted on the ridges between the furrows. Water is applied to one end of the furrows, which are aligned in the direction of the field’s predominant natural slope, and flows down the furrows by gravity. Furrow irrigation is particularly suited to broadacre row crops such as cotton, maize, and sugarcane.

Fungiculture : The cultivation of fungi with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, such as foods, medicines, or scientific research materials.

Free range : A method of animal farming and animal husbandry in which the animals are permitted to roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in enclosures, for at least part of each day. Though in practice the outdoor ranging area is usually fenced-in and therefore technically also an enclosure, free-range systems offer the opportunity for extensive locomotion, fresh air, and sunlight that is otherwise reduced or entirely prevented by indoor housing systems. The term may apply to farming for meat, eggs, or dairy products; in ranching, it is sometimes used interchangeably with open range.

Forest farming: A practice in agroforestry involving the cultivation of high-value specialty crops under a forest canopy that is deliberately modified or maintained to provide habitat and shade levels which enhance crop yield. Most crops produced by such methods are non-timber forest products or niche crops such as ginseng and certain varieties of mushroom.

Forage : Any plant material, especially leaves and stems, eaten by grazing livestock, especially that which is grazed by animals in pastures. In a looser sense it may also include fodder (plant material deliberately cut and given to animals as food).

Food-feed system : An integrated livestock–crop production system in which crops are harvested for human consumption and then the crop residues or byproducts are used as feed for livestock, often on the same or nearby agricultural land.

Fodder : Also called animal feed or provender.

Any agricultural foodstuff used to feed domesticated livestock, and more specifically food given to the animals directly (such as hay, straw, silage, and compound feeds), as opposed to that which they forage for themselves.

Floriculture : Also called flower farming.

A branch of horticulture involving the cultivation of flowering plants and ornamental plants for gardens and landscaping as well as for commercial floristry.

Fish farming: See pisciculture.

Field : Any area of land, enclosed or otherwise, used for agricultural purposes, such as for the cultivation of crops or as a paddock for livestock.

Fertilizer : Also fertiliser.

Any natural or synthetic material that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply one or more nutrients essential to the growth of plants.

Feedlot : Also called a feed yard.

A type of animal feeding operation, typically consisting of a densely concentrated area of enclosures or “pens” containing individual animals, used for the efficient raising, fattening, and finishing of numerous livestock prior to slaughter, especially beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, and poultry.

Feed grain : Any cereal grain grown so that it can be used as fodder to feed animals, especially livestock. Corn, barley, and sorghum are commonly grown for this purpose.^[2]

Farmland : See agricultural land.

Farmers’ co-op : See agricultural cooperative.

Farm stand : Also called a farm shop.

A type of retail outlet which sells fresh produce directly from a particular farm or group of farms. Direct sales to consumers allow farmers to retain a larger portion of the resulting profit than they can usually obtain by selling to a wholesaler. See also farmers’ market.

Farm crisis : A period of economic recession for an agricultural industry, characterized chiefly by low crop prices and/or low incomes for farming operations.

farm assurance : A type of agricultural product certification that emphasizes the principles of quality assurance and signals to consumers that the certified producer has adhered to a particular set of standards and principles during production, such as in good agricultural practice.

Farm : An area of land devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food or other crops. In the broadest sense, the term may include ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations, smallholdings and hobby farms, fish farms, and even industrial operations such as wind farms.

family farm : A farm which ideally supports one family, or a farm which is owned and/or operated by a single family, as opposed to farms operated as collectives, non-family corporations, or in other institutionalized forms.

fallow crop : A crop that is grown in widely spaced rows so that it is possible to hoe and cultivate between the rows.

fallow : 1.  (adj.) The condition of any arable land which is deliberately not planted or left unsown for one or more production cycles or growing seasons with the intent of allowing the soil to recover and restore depleted nutrients and other organic matter that is critical for ecological function, while retaining moisture and disrupting the life cycles of agricultural pests by temporarily removing their hosts. Fallowing is often an important technique in crop rotation.2.  (n.) Any period in which arable land is not used for cultivation.

Factory farming : See intensive animal farming.

Extensive agriculture : Also called extensive farming.

Any system of agricultural production that uses small inputs of labor, fertilizer, and/or capital relative to the land area used for production, in contrast to intensive agriculture.

Energy crop : Any crop grown exclusively as a source of fuel for the purpose of energy production. Such crops are processed into solid, liquid, or gaseous biofuels (as with bioethanol and biogas) which are then burned to generate power or heat for human purposes.

Ecology : The scientific analysis and study of interactions between organisms and their environment. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology, geography, and Earth science.

Dryland farming : Also called arid-zone agriculture.

Dessert crop : Any crop that is (or historically was) grown or used only for special occasions, as an elite or luxury item, or for pleasure rather than sustenance. Examples of crops historically considered dessert crops include coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and tobacco.

Custom harvesting : The contracting of independent operators of farm equipment to harvest crops, especially grains, on a particular farm. Custom harvesters provide their own combines or other machinery and often charge for their work by the acre, with additional charges for high yields.^[4]

Cultivation : 1.  The act of improving an area of land for or by agriculture, especially through the deliberate growing of plants (but not necessarily excluding other types of agriculture). Land upon which plants are sown, nurtured, or harvested, or more broadly any land dedicated to agricultural purposes, is said to be cultivated.2.  Another name for tillage, especially the shallow, selective secondary tillage of row crop fields.

Crop-lien system : A farm financing scheme whereby money is loaned at the beginning of a growing season to pay for farming operations, with the subsequent harvest used as collateral for the loan.^[3]

Cropdusting : Also called aerial application or topdressing.

The use of an agricultural aircraft to apply protective chemicals or other amendments, especially pesticides and fertilizers, to crops from above. Such aircraft may include either fixed-wing airplanes or helicopters, but are typically highly specialized and purpose-built to distribute very large amounts of liquid product over very large land areas in a relatively efficient manner.

Crop wild relative (CWR) : A wild plant taxon that is closely related to a domesticated plant taxon (e.g. a wild ancestor of the domesticated plant) and which therefore may be indirectly useful to plant breeders by presenting the possibility of introducing genetic material from the wild plant into the domestic relative by crossbreeding.

Crop weed : Any weed or undesirable plant that grows among crop plants. See also weed of cultivation.

Crop rotation : The practice of cultivating a series of different crops in the same space over the course of multiple growing seasons, often in a specific sequence that repeats in a cycle every few seasons. The alternative to crop rotation, monocropping, may gradually deplete the soil of certain nutrients and select for highly competitive communities of pests and weeds, decreasing productivity in the absence of high volumes of external inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides. Crop rotation can reduce reliance upon these inputs by making better use of natural ecosystem services from a diverse set of crops, often improving soil quality and reducing the probability of pests and weeds developing resistances to control measures.

crop residue : Any organic material left in an agricultural field or orchard after a crop has been harvested, such as stalks and stems, leaves, seed pods, etc., or after a crop is processed for consumer use, such as seeds, husks, roots, bagasse, or other byproducts of processing. Field residues may be maintained as soil cover, burned, or ploughed into the soil as green manure; process residues are often used as animal fodder or soil amendments.

crop : Any plant, animal, or other product of a living organism that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. The term may refer to the organism or species itself, the harvested parts, or the harvest in a more refined state. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture and its sub-disciplines, most commonly (but not exclusively) as food for humans or fodder for livestock; other crops are gathered from the wild.

cover crop : Any plant that is planted as soil cover rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops may be used to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, water content, weeds, pests, agricultural diseases, and biodiversity on land that is repeatedly farmed. They are commonly off-season crops planted after harvesting a cash crop in order to help conserve the integrity of the land through a fallow period.

Corporate farming : The practice of large-scale agriculture on farms owned or greatly influenced by corporations or large private businesses. The concept includes not only corporate ownership of farmland and the means of production, but also the roles such companies play in influencing agricultural education, research, and public policy through lobbying and funding initiatives.

Copse : A forest that has been coppiced.

Coppicing : A method of forest management by which the trunks and stems of young trees are regularly cut down to near ground level, exploiting the ability of many tree species to regenerate new growth from living stumps. After a number of years of growth, the intended products of the coppiced tree are harvested and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at higher levels on the tree; both practices are important techniques in silviculture.

Contract farming : Farming or other agricultural production carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer or consumer and the farmer or producer. Contracts typically involve the producer agreeing to supply certain quantities of a crop or other product according to quality standards and delivery requirements specified by the buyer, and the buyer agreeing to buy the product, often at a price that is established in advance; the buyer often also agrees to support the producer in various ways, e.g. by supplying inputs, assisting with land preparation, providing production advice, and helping to transport the finished product.

Companion planting : The practice of planting different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including as a means of controlling pests, aiding pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing the use of space, or otherwise increasing agricultural productivity. It is a type of polyculture.

Combine harvester : Also simply called a combine.

A type of agricultural machinery designed to efficiently harvest a variety of different grain crops by combining three traditionally separate harvesting operations – reaping, threshing, and winnowing – into a single mechanical process. The harvested grain is stored either in an on-board compartment or offloaded into separate equipment, while the remaining straw is typically discarded on to the field.

Collective farming : Also called communal farming.

Any type of agricultural production in which multiple farmers or producers run their holdings as a joint enterprise using shared land, water resources, machinery, equipment, or other agricultural inputs in order to meet common needs and goals. Communal farms may be either voluntary agricultural cooperatives or mandatory state farms owned and operated directly by a central government.

Cold frame : An enclosure with a transparent roof, built low to the ground, that is designed to protect juvenile plants and small gardens from excessively cold or wet weather. Cold frames are used to extend the growing season by acting as miniature greenhouses.

Co-op : See agricultural cooperative.

Chillcuring, Citriculture : The cultivation of citrus fruit trees.

Chemigation : Often used interchangeably with fertigation.

The practice of delivering any natural or synthetic chemical compound or mixture of compounds (such as fertilizers, pesticides, soil amendments, etc.) to crop plants via the water supply used for irrigation.^[2]

Catch crop : Any fast-growing crop that is grown between successive plantings of a primary crop on the same land. Its practice, known as catch cropping, is a type of succession planting.

Cash crop : Also called a profit crop.

Any crop that is grown so that it can be marketed and sold for profit, as opposed to a subsistence crop, which is grown for the producer’s own use. While historically cash crops have often been only a small part of a farm’s total yield, almost all modern crops in developed nations are grown primarily for revenue.

Bumper crop : Any crop that yields an unusually large or productive harvest.

Browsing : A type of herbivory in which the herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of relatively tall, woody plants such as shrubs and trees, as opposed to grazing, which involves feeding on grasses and other low-lying vegetation. Browsing may also refer to feeding on any non-grasses, including both woody and herbaceous dicots.

Broadcast seeding : A method of seeding that involves scattering seed over a relatively large and imprecise area, either by hand or mechanically, as opposed to precision seeding and hydroseeding. Broadcast seeding is easier and faster than seeding in rows but usually requires more seed and may result in overcrowded and uneven distributions of plant cover. It is generally reserved for plants that do not have strict spacing or depth requirements or that are easily thinned after germination.

Broadacre : An expansive parcel of land suitable for farms practicing large-scale crop production. The term is used primarily in Australia.

Bioturbation : The mixing and turning of soil caused by organisms moving through the soil.^[1]

Biofuel : Any fuel that is produced from recently living biomass, as opposed to fuels produced by slow geological processes such as fossil fuels. Biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel are commonly produced from agricultural energy crops.

Biodynamic agriculture : A type of alternative agriculture which incorporates holistic ecological approaches and aspects of organic and integrated farming but also emphasizes various esoteric perspectives, including spiritual and mystical beliefs about nature. The efficacy of biodynamic agricultural techniques lacks scientific evidence, and the practice has been labeled a pseudoscience.

Assarting : The act of clearing forested land in order to prepare it for agriculture or other purposes.

Artificial selection : Also called selective breeding.

The process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively control the development of particular phenotypic traits in organisms by choosing which individual organisms will reproduce and create offspring. Artificial selection involves the deliberate exploitation of knowledge about genetics and reproductive biology in the hope of producing desirable characteristics in descendant organisms. It is widely practiced in agriculture, but it may also be unintentional and may produce unintended results.

Aquaculture : Also called aquafarming.

The cultivation of aquatic organisms, either freshwater or saltwater, including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, and others, with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans. Branches of aquaculture include pisciculture, algaculture, and mariculture.

Apiculture : Also called beekeeping.

The maintenance of colonies of bees, commonly in man-made beehives, by humans for any of a variety of purposes, including collecting honey or other products created by bees, pollinating crops, and breeding bees for sale. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary and a person who practices apiculture is called an apiarist or beekeeper.

Animal-free agriculture : Also called veganic farming.

Any agricultural practice or farming method that does not make use of animals or animal products, such as farmed animal manures. Animal-free agriculture may use organic or non-organic techniques.

Algaculture : A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of algae, with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, including food ingredients, fertilizers, colorants and dyes, pharmaceuticals, and chemical feedstock.

 Agronomy : The science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land restoration.

Agrology : The branch of soil science concerning the production of crop plants. The term is often used interchangeably with agronomy, agricultural science, and agricultural soil science.

Agroforestry : The intentional combination of knowledge and practices of agriculture and forestry, resulting in a system of land use in which forest trees or shrubs are grown around or among agricultural crops or pastureland, with the goal of enhancing the functionality and sustainability of a farming system. Agroforestry shares principles with intercropping but may involve complex ecological interactions between hundreds of species.

Agroecology : The study of ecology as it pertains to agriculture, particularly the application of knowledge about ecological processes to agricultural production systems.

Agrobiology : The study of plant nutrition and growth, especially as a means of increasing crop yield.

Agritourism : Any primarily agricultural operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch, either for direct-to-consumer sales (e.g. farm stands and “You-Pick” operations), education, hospitality, recreation, or entertainment.

Agriculture : The science and art of cultivating plants, animals, or other organisms in order to produce any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, most commonly food, fibers, fuels, and raw materials.

Agricultural productivity : A measure of the economic productivity of a given quantity of agricultural land (or any other agricultural input), typically expressed as the ratio of agricultural outputs to agricultural inputs. In modern agricultural industries, “output” is often quantified as the market value of the agricultural product at the end of the production chain (i.e. immediately prior to its purchase by a consumer).

Agricultural land : Any land devoted solely to agriculture, i.e. the deliberate and systematic reproduction of living organisms in order to produce commodities that can be used by humans. In the broadest sense, agricultural land may also include certain types of land which are used only partially or seasonally for agricultural purposes, such as pastures and wild forests. Colloquially, the term is often used interchangeably with farmland, cropland, and arable land, though these terms may also be considered technically distinct.

Agricultural engineering : A branch of engineering concerned with agricultural production and processing. It combines elements of mechanical engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, and food science, among other disciplines.

Agricultural economics : A branch of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food, fiber, and other products of agriculture.

Agricultural cooperative : Also called a farmers’ co-op or simply a co-op.

Any association of farmers or agricultural businesses who voluntarily pool their resources in order to meet their common agricultural needs and goals by cooperating in a jointly owned enterprise. Agricultural cooperatives may be distinguished between “service” cooperatives, which provide inputs for agricultural production (seeds, fertilizers, fuels, etc.) or transportation and marketing services to members who run their farms individually, and “production” cooperatives, in which members run their farms jointly using shared land, machinery, or other resources; an example of the latter is collective farming.

Agribusiness : The business of agricultural production, including the entire range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food and fiber production chains and those agents and institutions which influence them.

Agrarianism : A social or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society and the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker. Agrarianism argues in favor of farming as a way of life that can shape ideal social values.

Agrarian System: The dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices in a particular region.