Access Ramps
Strategically placed structures that help to minimize livestock impact while direct watering from a surface water body.
Air Exchanger
An air exchanger is a device that exchanges indoor with fresh outdoor air. Heat is typically transferred between the outgoing and incoming air in order to reduce the energy required to maintain the building's indoor temperature.
Background operations
Operations that are more for personal use. Steers and heifers raised by the operator and typically butchered for personal, or local markets. The cows are sometimes sold to feedlot at a later age.
Backgrounding
The growing and feeding of steers and heifers from weaning until just before they are placed on a high concentrate finishing ration in a feedlot. Background feeding or grazing relies more heavily on forage (e.g., pasture, hay) in combination with grains to increase a calf's weight by several hundred pounds and to build up immunity to diseases before it enters a finishing feedlot.
Bedding
A layer of dry straw, sawdust, bark mulch, shavings, wood chips, or other material used to absorb livestock (e.g. poultry) manure deposits in a barn.
Buffer
An area of planted or natural vegetation that is beside a permanent wetland or waterway, extending from the shoreline to the edge of a field.
Calibration
Process of ensuring that the equipment used to apply pesticide, commercial fertilizer, manure, seed or other crop input is applying the intended rate per unit area.
Common blend
A blend of two or more fertilizer products that is prepared by a fertilizer dealer for a number of clients.
Companion crop
The planting of 2 or more crops in the same place at the same time, so that some benefit is derived, for example pest control, higher yield, etc.
Conservation/ Reduced tillage
Soil disturbance through tillage, planting and other field operations that together retain a considerable portion (30-60%) of the previous crop residues on the surface. This is also often called minimum till, and may include high disturbance direct seeding, mulch tillage, and vertical tillage. Also includes zone tillage or strip tillage, where tillage is limited to narrow bands normally associated with the seed row. For fallow land, weed control is done by a combination of tillage and herbicides.
Conventional tillage
Soil disturbance through tillage, planting and other field operations that together incorporate most of the previous crop residues into the soil (less than 30% of the previous crop's residues remain on the soil after planting). For fallow land, weed control is done primarily by tillage.
Cow/calf operations
Operations that breed cows and then sell the calves to a feedlot once the calves are weaned.
Crop Residue
The above ground portion of terminated crop growth that remains after harvest. It includes straw, chaff and stubble. It does not include post-harvest vegetative growth from perennial crops or from volunteer germination of shattered seeds.
Cross breed
A calf originating from parents that are each a different pure breed.
Custom Blend
A unique blend prepared for a specific client.
Custom Operator
A custom operator performs works on the farm manager's land for a set fee or rate. Custom operators use their own equipment. Other inputs such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, etc. required for the work may or may not be provided by the custom operator as part of their fee.
Electrostatic precipitator
A device that removes fine particles like dust, by applying a high voltage electrostatic charge.
Environmental Farm Plan
A formal, written overall assessment of environmental issues or concerns related to this operation. It can include individual and/or group planning processes.
Field crops
Field crops are seeded every year. These are grown for grain, seed, forage feed (hay, silage, or greenfeed), or grazing.
Finishing
Refers to feeding a high concentrate or energy ration in a feedlot until the animal is ready to be marketed for slaughter. This category can also be used for cattle finished on grass, for a speciality market.
Forage crops
Forage crops do not have to be reseeded every year. These crops are grown primarily for feed (hay or silage), but could be used for seed or occasional grazing.
Forages
Plant material; mainly plant leaves and stems, including flowers and heads if present. Forage can be stored in various forms such as hay, silage, greenfeed and other processed forms (e.g., cubes or pellets).
Free range
Hens that roams the barn floor and when weather permits go outside to pasture.
Free run
Hens that roam the entire barn floor. Some of these barns may be equipped with multi-tiered aviaries.
In-field winter grazing or feeding
In-field winter grazing or feeding is the practice of keeping grazing livestock in the field (cropland or pastureland) over winter, where they are fed hay or graze on crop residues instead of being confined in paddocks closer to the barns. Cattle, sheep or other grazing livestock are normally moved over the winter to different feeding locations so that their manure can be distributed more widely and the nutrients, especially nitrogen, used to greater advantage for pasture or other crops in the subsequent year. Also called swath grazing and bale grazing.
Inputs
All pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, biopesticides, and other pesticides. Include inputs from treated seeds or applied using a sprayer, granular applicator, or other application method.
Manure (liquid or semi-solid)
Mixture or slurry of liquid and solid animal waste (with or without bedding) that can be pumped, but normally requires agitation prior to pumping.
Manure (solid)
Solid mixture of animal waste (usually containing some bedding) that is dry enough to be placed in a heap.
Manure pack
A thick layer of manure that develops over time in outdoor confined feeding areas by livestock (e.g. cattle) manure deposits. May be deposited over top of bedding material.
Mixed breed
A calf that contains three or more breed types.
No till or zero till
No tillage prior to planting. Seeding and fertilizer operations are done with implements that minimize soil disturbance. More than 60% of the previous crop's residues remain on the soil after planting. This is also often called low disturbance direct seeding with no prior tillage. For fallow land, weed control is done by herbicides only (for example, chem fallow).
Nurse crops
A field crop used to assist in establishment of a forage crop. The nurse crop establishes quickly, providing shelter from competition with weeds or other undesirable plants, while the forage crop is establishing.
On farm sales
Sold directly to the public for consumption (include direct on farm sales and market gardens).
Organic waste
Includes crop residues, fruit and vegetable culls and pruned branches, canes or vines.
Permanent wetlands
Similar to seasonal wetlands, except they are usually flooded year-round, except for during periods of extreme drought. They also include lakes, reservoirs and dugouts.
Pest management
Refers to management practices used to control weeds, insects, diseases or other pests.
Plug or restore previously drained wetlands
Digging up the topsoil and allowing it to revert back to a wetland. Maybe removing the tile drainage around it, or filling (plugging) any ditches or similar structures that remove water from it. Not seeding it; avoiding passing over it with equipment.
Pure breed
A calf originating from parents that are both the same breed.
Ration
The daily feed allowance for an individual animal, prepared from various feed types or sources. These feed types can be provided separately or mixed together.
Remote or Offsite Watering System
A watering system that reduces livestock impact on surface water bodies by pumping water from the source to a watering trough located some distance upslope from the water source.
Retail sales
Sold to local stores or chains who then sell products to the customer (include local bakeries, butcher shops, coffee shop, gift stores, independent groceries and large grocery chains).
Seasonal wetlands
Normally have water present until mid-summer or early fall and, in most years it is too wet to plant a crop in these areas. Examples include ponds, sloughs, potholes, marshes and treed wet swamps. Don't consider permanent wetlands.
Setback Distance
Distance between the normal shoreline of a seasonal or permanent wetland or waterway, extending upslope to the edge of manure, fertilizer or pesticide applications.
Vegetable, fruit, berries or nuts
Exclude herbs, nursery and greenhouse crops, sod, floriculture, Christmas trees, maple trees, mushrooms, ginseng and other field crops.
Waterway
Channels that contain flowing water year round or for at least part of the year, usually in spring. Examples include drainage ditches, draws or coulees, grassed waterways, streams, creeks and rivers.
Wholesale
Sold in bulk or in large quantities to a wholesaler who then sells products to retailers.
Windrowed Crops or Swathed Crops
Strips of hay or grain cut by an implement and left on a field to be grazed.