Acre
1 acre = 43,560 sq. ft or 0.405 hectares
Artificial Insemination
The use of frozen semen from selected sires to breed animals. It allows farmers to use top genetics to improve each generation of new animals.
Avian Influenza (AI or Bird Flu)
A virus that infects wild birds and domestic poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese). Some forms of the flu in birds are worse than others.
Barrow
A male pig that has been castrated.
Bedding
Material such as straw, wood chips or sand used as a floor covering in barns for animal comfort.
Biological Control
Controlling plants, diseases, and animal pests using natural enemies; or inhibiting the reproduction of pests by methods that result in the laying of infertile eggs, etc.
Biological Diversity
Richness and abundance of species, and variety of natural communities. Both the number of species and the number of individuals within each species are important in considering the extent of biological diversity in an area. Also referred to as biodiversity.
Biosecurity
A program to protect barns, animals and poultry from outside dirt and germs. Visitors are asked to wear clean clothes, wash their boots and even sometimes have a shower to ensure they don’t bring any germs into the facility.
Biotechnology
1) bio = life, technology = practical application of knowledge 2) the application of science and engineering in the direct and indirect use of living organisms, or parts or products of living organisms, in their natural or modified forms (e.g. using microorganisms to make wine or cheese)
Boar
Adult male pig.
Bovine
Animals that are members of the cattle family.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Commonly known as "mad cow disease," BSE is a slowly progressive, incurable disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle, first diagnosed in Britain in 1986. Consumption by cattle of BSE-contaminated ruminant proteins in animal feed has been cited as one possible means of transmission.
Broiler Chicken
A meat chicken raised to the weight of 2.65 kg or under.
Buck
Male goat.
Buck
Mature, male deer.
Buckling
A young, male goat (teenager).
Buffer strip
Helps prevent water contamination by filtering out soil, fertilizers and manure before they enter a stream.
Buffer Zone
This is the naturalized area that farmers often leave next to a body of water such as a stream or pond. Buffer zones help to prevent water contamination by filtering out soil, fertilizers, and manure and other nutrients before they enter a stream. They also can reduce soil erosion, and promote biodiversity by providing shelter and food for a wide variety of animals, birds and fish.
Bulk Milk Tank
A refrigerated stainless steel storage unit in which milk is cooled quickly to 1°C to 4°C (35° F to 39° F) and stored.
Bull
A mature, male bovine.
Calf
A newborn bovine.
Calf hutches
The white, domed, igloo-like structures that some farmers use as individual housing units for dairy calves.
Candling
A process where the egg is passed over a strong light to make the interior of the egg visible. This allows the grader to see the condition of the shell, the size of the air cell and whether the yolk is well-centered.
Cervids
Elk and deer are both Cervids, which means they are members of the Cervidae (or deer) family.
Chevon
Meat that comes from adult goats.
Chick
The term for a baby chicken (male or female) until it is about three weeks of age
Cockerel
A young male chicken.
Colostrum
The first milk that any animal (including humans) produce after they give birth. This milk helps to pass along the mother’s immunity to disease to her offspring.
Conservation or no tillage farming
In conservation tillage, crops are grown with minimal or no cultivation of the soil. Any organic matter remaining from a previous year´s crop is left on the soil, building up its organic matter. In addition, populations of beneficial insects are maintained, soil and nutrients are less likely to be lost from the field and less time, labour and fuel are required to prepare the field for planting, thus reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
Contour Farming
Field operations such as plowing, planting, cultivating, and harvesting on the contour, or at right angles to the natural slope to reduce soil erosion, protect soil fertility, and use water more efficiently.
Corn
Corn is a crop that is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. It is usually used in one of two ways: Corn Silage: The whole plant is harvested while it is still green and is stored in a silo. After the silage is stored in the silo, the wet corn undergoes fermentation, or pickling. In this process, the corn is changed by a bacterial process to make it tastier and easier to digest by the cows. When the silage comes out of the silo it is more palatable. The same process turns wet hay into haylage. Grain Corn: Only the kernels from the plant are harvested and are stored in a dry form. Grain corn is usually ground up and mixed with any barley or oats, a protein food like soybean meal, plus vitamins and minerals.
Cow
A mature, female bovine.
Cow/calf farm
Beef cows and calves typically live on pasture in spring, summer and fall on farms called cow/calf farms where they eat a diet of mostly grasses.
Crop Rotation
Farmers use crop rotation to improve soil health and control pests. For example, the roots of a grain crop like wheat are similar to the grass in your lawn while the roots of corn tend to me more like a carrot, or tap root. Planting different crops each year also help keep insects and weeds from building up as different crops are appealing to different pests.
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