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| Parents & Teachers - Farm Glossary These are words you’ll hear on the farm. Did you hear a word during your visit that you’ve never heard before? Do you want to know some of the cool agriculture lingo before you visit? Learn some of the words below, and you'll be ready to go! A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A agriculture (noun) - the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products alfalfa (noun) - a deep-rooted European leguminous plant (Medicago sativa) widely grown for hay and forage animal husbandry (noun) - a branch of agriculture concerned with the production and care of domestic animals animal welfare B barn (noun) - a usually large building for the storage of farm products or feed and usually for the housing of farm animals or farm equipment beef cattle (n. pl.) - cattle developed primarily for the efficient production of meat and marked by capacity for rapid growth, heavy well-fleshed body, and stocky build biodynamics blight (noun) - a: a disease or injury of plants resulting in withering, cessation of growth, and death of parts without rotting b: an organism that causes blight bovine (noun) - any of a subfamily (Bovinae) of bovids including oxen, bison, buffalo, and their close relatives breed (noun) - a group of animals or plants presumably related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most character broiler (noun) - a bird fit for broiling; especially: a young chicken of up to 2 1/2 pounds (1.14 kilograms) dressed weight broody hen buck (noun) - a male animal buckling bull (noun) - a male bovine bushel (noun) - any of various units of dry capacity butterfat (noun) - the natural fat of milk and chief constituent of butter consisting essentially of a mixture of glycerides C calve (verb) - to give birth to a calf; also : to produce offspring candling (v.) - to examine by holding between the eye and a light; especially : to test (eggs) in this way for staleness, blood clots, fertility, and growth capon (noun) - a castrated male chicken casein (noun) - …one that is produced when milk is curdled by rennet, is the chief constituent of cheese… cattle (n. pl.) - domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use; specifically : bovine animals on a farm or ranch… cheese (noun) - a food consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd of milk separated from the whey chick (noun) - 1 a : a domestic chicken; especially : one newly hatched b : the young of any bird… chicken (noun) - the common domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) especially when young; also : its flesh used as food … clutch (noun) - a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks… cob (noun) – a male swan cockerel (noun) - a young male of the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) cold frame (noun) - a usually glass- or plastic-covered frame without artificial heat used to protect plants and seedlings outdoors colt (noun) - a : FOAL b : a young male horse that is either sexually immature or has not attained an arbitrarily designated age combine (noun) – …a harvesting machine that heads, threshes, and cleans grain while moving over a field companion planting compost (noun) - a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land… cow (noun) - the mature female of cattle (genus Bos)... CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) cud (noun) - food brought up into the mouth by a ruminating animal from its first stomach to be chewed again… cull (verb) - to select from a group… cultivate (tr. verb) - 1 : to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops; also : to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants) 2 : to foster the growth of <cultivate vegetables>… curd (noun) - the thick casein-rich part of coagulated milk
D dairy cow bedding (noun) - …material to provide a bed for livestock… doe (noun) - the adult female of various mammals (as a deer, rabbit, or kangaroo) of which the male is called buck draft horse E ecosystem (noun) - the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit environment (noun) - …the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival… erosion (noun) - the action or process of eroding... estrus (noun) - a regularly recurrent state...during which the female of most mammals will accept the male and is capable of conceiving... ewe (noun) - the female of the sheep especially when mature; also : the female of various related anima ewe-lamb fertile (adjective) - …capable of sustaining abundant plant growth… felt (tr. verb) - 1 : to make out of or cover with felt 2 : to cause to adhere and mat together 3 : to make into felt or a similar substance felting (noun) - the process of making felt fertilizer (noun) - a substance (as manure or a chemical mixture) used to make soil more fertile (adj.) - …capable of sustaining abundant plant growth… filly (noun) - a young female horse usually of less than four years… fleece (noun) - the coat of wool covering a wool-bearing animal (as a sheep) flock (noun) - a group of birds or mammals assembled or herded together… foal (noun) - a young animal of the horse family; especially : one under one year fodder (noun) - something fed to domestic animals; especially : coarse food for cattle, horses, or sheep... food chain (noun) - an arrangement of the organisms of an ecological community according to the order of predation in which each uses the next usually lower member as a food source G gizzard (noun) - the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for grinding the food… goat (noun) - any of various hollow-horned ruminant mammals (especially of the genus Capra) related to the sheep but of lighter build and with backwardly arching horns, a short tail, and usually straight hair grass fed graze (verb) - ...to crop and eat in the field... grazier (noun) - a person who grazes cattle; broadly : Rancher H harvest (verb) - to gather in (a crop)… hay (noun) - herbage and especially grass mowed and cured for fodder… haymow (noun) - a mow especially of or for hay hay wagon heat (noun) – see estrus heifer (noun) - a young cow; especially: one that has not had a calf heifer-calf hen (noun) - a female chicken especially over a year old; broadly : a female bird… herd (noun) - a : a number of animals of one kind kept together under human control b : a congregation of gregarious wild animals… hitch (verb) - …to catch or fasten by or as if by a hook or knot <hitched his horse to the fence post>… homeopathy homestead (noun) - the home and adjoining land occupied by a family hoof humane (adj.) - marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals I irrigation (noun) - to supply (as land) with water by artificial means K kid (noun) - a young goat: the flesh, fur, or skin of a kid kids (noun) - a young person; especially : Child-- often used as a generalized reference to one especially younger… L lamb (noun) - 1 a : a young sheep; especially : one that is less than one year old or without permanent teeth b : the young of various animals (as the smaller antelopes) other than sheep… lanolin (noun) - wool grease especially when refined for use in ointments and cosmetics legume (noun) - the fruit or seed of leguminous plants (as peas or beans) used for food b : a vegetable used for food; 2 : any of a large family (Leguminosae syn. Fabaceae) of dicotyledonous herbs, shrubs, and trees having fruits that are legumes (sense 3) or loments, bearing nodules on the roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and including important food and forage plants (as peas, beans, or clovers) livestock (noun) - animals kept or raised for use or pleasure; especially : farm animals kept for use and profit M mare (noun) - a female horse or other equine animal… market (noun) - (1) : a meeting together of people for the purpose of trade by private purchase and sale and usually not by auction (2) : the people assembled at such a meeting… mash (noun) - a mixture of ground feeds for livestock microorganisms (noun) - an organism of microscopic or ultramicroscopic size MIG (Management Intensive Grazing) milk (noun) - a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young; especially : cow's milk used as a food by human nutrition (noun) - The sum of the processes by which an animal or plant takes in and utilizes food substances O organic farming oxen (noun, pl.) - a domestic bovine mammal (Bos taurus); broadly : a bovine mammal… P parasite (noun) - an organism living in, with, or on another organism in parasitism parasitism pasture (noun) - 1 : plants (as grass) grown for the feeding especially of grazing animals 2 : land or a plot of land used for grazing 3 : the feeding of livestock pen (noun) - 1 a : a small enclosure for animals b : the animals in a pen <a pen of sheep> 2 : a small place of confinement or storage… photosynthesis (noun) - synthesis of chemical compounds with the aid of radiant energy and especially light; especially : formation of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and a source of hydrogen (as water) in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to light plow R ram-lamb recycle (v.) - to pass again through a series of changes or treatments: as a: to process (as liquid body waste, glass, or cans) in order to regain material for human use b: RECOVER; 2: to adapt to a new use: ALTER; 3: to bring back rooster (noun) - 1 a : an adult male domestic fowl : … b : an adult male of various birds other than the domestic fowl 2 : a cocky or vain man rotational grazing rumen (noun) - the large first compartment of the stomach of a ruminant in which cellulose is broken down by the action of symbiotic microorganisms ruminant (noun) - ruminant mammal ruminant (adj.) - (1) : chewing the cud (2) : characterized by chewing again what has been swallowed b : of or relating to a suborder (Ruminantia) of even-toed hoofed mammals (as sheep, giraffes, deer, and camels) that chew the cud and have a complex usually 4-chambered stomach… S self reliance shear (verb) - ...to cut or clip (as hair or wool) from someone or something... sheep (noun) - any of various ruminant mammals (genus Ovis) related to the goats but stockier and lacking a beard in the male; specifically : one (O. aries) long domesticated especially for its flesh and wool … shepherd (noun) - one who tends sheep… silage (noun) - fodder converted into succulent feed for livestock through processes of anaerobic acid fermentation (as in a silo) silo (noun) - 1 : a trench, pit, or especially a tall cylinder (as of wood or concrete) usually sealed to exclude air and used for making and storing silage 2 a : a deep bin for storing material (as cement or coal) b : an underground structure for housing a guided missile squeeze stall (noun) – a compartment for a domestic animal in a stable or barn… stallion sustainability (noun) - of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agriculture> b: of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods sustainable agriculture T teamster (noun) - one who drives a team or motortruck especially as an occupation trace minerals tractor (noun) - a 4-wheeled or...automotive vehicle used especially for drawing farm equipment... U udder (noun) - a large pendulous organ consisting of two or more mammary glands enclosed in a common envelope and each provided with a single nipple W wean (verb) - to accustom (as a child) to take food otherwise than by nursing… weed (noun) - a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially : one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants... wether whey (noun) - the watery part of milk that is separated from the coagulable part or curd especially in the process of making cheese wool (noun) - the soft wavy or curly…undercoat of various hairy mammals and especially the sheep Y By permission. From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary©2005 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (www.Merriam-Webster.com). The FARM Institute - Post Office Box 1868 - Edgartown, Massachusetts 02539 - (508) 627-7007 |