List of Important Agriculture Terms

A

acre (ac) → A unit of area traditionally defined as the area of one chain (66 feet) by one furlong (660 feet), equivalent to 43,560 square feet (0.001563 sq mi; 4,047 m2), or about 0.40 hectare.

acre-foot → A unit of volume defined as the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot. One acre-foot is equal to 43,560 cubic feet (1,233 m3).

aeroponics → The dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices in a particular region.

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.

agricultural cooperative → Also called a farmers’ co-op or simply a co-op it is 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 economics → A branch of economics optimizing the production and distribution of food, fiber, and other products of agriculture.

agricultural engineering → A branch of engineering concerned with agricultural production and processing. 

agricultural extension → The application of new knowledge and techniques obtained through scientific research to agricultural practices by educating farmers and agricultural communities, with the goals of improving the efficiency and productivity of agriculture, improving living standards in rural areas, and raising awareness of environmental issues. 

agricultural land → Any land devoted solely to agriculture, The term is often used interchangeably with farmland, cropland, and arable land.

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. 

agricultural science → 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.

agritourism → Any primarily agricultural operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. e.g. farm stands and “You-Pick” operations

agrobiology → The study of plant nutrition and growth, as a means of increasing crop yield.

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

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. 

agrology → The branch of soil science concerning the production of crop plants. 

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

algaculture → A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of algae.

animal unit → A standard measure, based on feed requirements, used to combine various classes of livestock according to size, weight, age, and intended use. 

animal-free agriculture → Also called veganic farming, it is any agricultural practice or farming method that does not make use of animals or animal products.

apiculture → Also called beekeeping, it is the maintenance of colonies of bees, commonly in man-made beehives. 

aquaculture → Also called aquafarming it is the cultivation of aquatic organisms, either freshwater or saltwater, including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, and others. 

arable land → Any land which is capable of producing viable agricultural crops in its present state, and which does not require substantial clearing or other improvements apart from routine tillage operations

artificial selection → Also called selective breeding, it is 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. 

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

B

biofuel → Any fuel that is produced from recently living biomass.

bioturbation → The mixing and turning of soil caused by organisms moving through the soil.

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

broadcast seeding → A method of seeding that involves scattering seed over a relatively large and imprecise area, either by hand or mechanically. 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. 

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.

bumper crop → Any crop that yields an unusually large or productive harvest.

C

carryover → The supply of a farm commodity that is not yet used at the end of a marketing season and subsequently stored and made available for sale in the next marketing season. 

cash crop → Also called a profit crop, it is any crop that is grown so that it can be marketed and sold for profit.

catch crop → Any fast-growing crop that is grown between successive plantings of a primary crop on the same land. 

cattle cycle → The pork cycle, i.e. a cyclical fluctuation of supply and prices, as observed in cattle markets. 

cereal → Any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain.

chaff → The dry, scaly, protective casing around the seeds of cereal grains, or any other similar plant material. Chaff is generally inedible by humans but is often used as fodder for livestock or is plowed into the soil as a type of green manure.

chemigation → 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.

citriculture → The cultivation of citrus fruit trees.

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. 

collective farming → Also called communal farming it is 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. 

combine harvester → Also simply called a combine it is 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. 

companion planting → The practice of planting different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons.

compost → Any mixture of ingredients, commonly decomposing plant and food waste and/or other recycled organic materials, that is used to fertilize and improve soils.

conservation tillage → Any tillage practice which aims to reduce soil erosion and preserve natural soil conditions, generally by leaving significant amounts of crop residue to cover previously harvested agricultural land.

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.

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. 

copse → A forest that has been coppiced.

corporate farming → The practice of large-scale agriculture on farms owned or greatly influenced by corporations or large private businesses. 

cover crop → Any plant that is planted as soil cover rather than for the purpose of being harvested.

crop → Any plant, animal, or other product of a living organism that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. 

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. 

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. 

crop weed → Any weed or undesirable plant that grows among crop plants. 

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.

cropdusting → Also called aerial application or topdressing it is the use of an agricultural aircraft to apply protective chemicals or other amendments, especially pesticides and fertilizers, to crops from above. 

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

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). 
2. Another name for tillage, especially the shallow, selective secondary tillage of row crop fields.

custom harvesting

D

damping off → A disease of newly germinated seedlings caused by any of a variety of fungi which spread in warm, damp conditions and parasitize roots and lower stems.

dead stock → All implements, tools, appliances, and machinery used on a particular farm; sometimes inclusive of seed, fertilizer, and feedingstuffs.[7]

deadheading → The practice of removing dead or spent flowers from a live plant in order to encourage further flowering, to prevent seed development, or to improve the plant’s appearance

deblossoming → Also called deflowering it is the practice of removing flowers, spent or unspent, from live plants for any reason, especially to encourage or improve the subsequent growth, reproduction, health, or appearance of the plant’s non-flower parts. 

defoliant → Any herbicidal chemical which causes leaves or other foliage to detach and drop from a plant. 

deintensified farming → Any agricultural operation which was formerly intensive but has since become deliberately extensive.

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..

dewatering → The removal of water from a crop plant by pressing and compacting layers of plant material for long periods of time. 

dipping → The process of immersing a live animal into a bath containing a liquid formulation of insecticide (and sometimes also fungicide), as a means of removing lice, ticks, or other ectoparasites which may otherwise cause disease. 

dockage → Waste material which is removed from grain as it is being processed, prior to milling.[7]

drip irrigation → Also called trickle irrigation it is a type of micro-irrigation system that supplies water and/or fertilizers to crops by allowing it to leak slowly from perforated plastic or rubber tubes into the soil surrounding the plants’ roots, with the primary goal of delivering water directly to the root zone and thereby minimizing wasting due to evaporation and runoff. 

E

ecology → The scientific analysis and study of interactions between organisms and their environment. 

economic maturity → The optimum time at which to harvest a tree or stand of trees (or any other perennial plants), as determined by the age at which the growth rate slows enough to cause the average annual profit over the life of the stand to begin to decrease

edaphology → The scientific study of the influence of soils on living organisms, particularly plants, and of how soils are used and modified by humans for agriculture.

edge effects → Changes in ecological characteristics (e.g. population or community structure) associated with the boundary between two dissimilar habitat types, ecosystems, or agricultural land uses.  

energy crop → Any crop grown exclusively as a source of fuel for the purpose of energy production. 

extensive agriculture  → Also called extensive farming it is 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.

F

farm → An area of land devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food or other crops. 

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

farm gate value → The market value of an agricultural product minus the subsequent costs of transporting, storing, marketing, and selling the product to a consumer; the net value of the product as it is at the “farm gate”, i.e. upon leaving the agricultural operation, before such costs are added to the market price. 

farm stand → A type of retail outlet which sells fresh produce directly from a particular farm or group of farms. 

farm water → Water that is committed for use in agriculture of any type. Farm water may include water used in the irrigation of crops as well as in the watering of livestock.

farm-to-table → A social movement which promotes the consumption of locally produced foods, and particularly the serving of such foods at public establishments such as restaurants and school cafeterias. This is usually accomplished by purchasing food directly from the farmers or producers (rather than an intermediate retailer), or by the restaurant or school cultivating its own food. 

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.[4]

feedlot → A type of animal feeding operation, typically consisting of a densely concentrated area of enclosures or “pens” containing individual animals.

fertilizer → 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.

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.

field day → A large public trade show for the agricultural industry at which agricultural equipment, techniques, and business ideas are exhibited and demonstrated.

floriculture → Also called flower farming it is a branch of horticulture involving the cultivation of flowering plants and ornamental plants for gardens and landscaping as well as for commercial floristry.

fodder → Any agricultural foodstuff used to feed domesticated livestock, and more specifically food given to the animals directly, as opposed to that which they forage for themselves.

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.

forage → Any plant material, especially leaves and stems, eaten by grazing livestock, especially that which is grazed by animals in pastures.

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.

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. 

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.

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.  

G

germination → The sprouting of a seedling from a plant seed, the development of a sporeling from a spore, or the growth of a pollen tube from the pollen grain of a seed plant.

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.

glyphosate → An organophosphorus chemical widely used as a post-emergent broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant, especially to kill annual broadleaf weeds and grasses that compete with crop plants. 

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.

grain → Any small, hard, dry seed (with or without the outer shell or other parts of the fruit) that is harvested for human or animal consumption, or the plant from which these seeds are harvested. 

grain drying → The process of removing or reducing the moisture content of harvested grain to prevent spoilage during storage. 

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.

grazing → 

1. A type of herbivory in which the herbivore feeds on grasses and other non-woody vegetation, as opposed to browsing, which involves feeding on taller trees and shrubs.
2. A method of animal husbandry which relies on this type of herbivory, whereby domestic livestock such as cattle are allowed to roam freely, often on wild pasture that is unsuitable for farming, in order to graze wild grasses and other forage.

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. 

Green Revolution → Also called the Third Agricultural Revolution it is the dramatic increase in agricultural production that occurred worldwide during the second half of the 20th century.

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. 

H

hardpan → Any dense, resistant layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil, that is difficult to dig or till and largely impervious to water and root growth. 

harrow → A farm implement used to break up and smooth out the surface of a plot of soil. 

harvest index → The weight of the harvested grain portion of a grain crop as a percentage of the total above-ground dry weight of the crop plants at maturity.

harvested acres → For a particular crop, the number of acres of cropland that are actually harvested, as opposed to planted but not harvested. 

harvesting → The process of gathering a ripe crop from an agricultural field. 

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

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.

haycock → A small pile of hay left to dry in a field.

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).

hayloft → A storage area in the upper part of a barn or stable, used for storing hay or other fodder.

hayseed → The seed of grasses and legumes that are used for producing hay, especially when shaken from mown hay, and therefore sometimes inclusive of weed seed.[8]

headland → A wide strip of land at each end of a planted field used for turning or maneuvering large farm machinery such as ploughs. 

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.

hinny → A domestic hybrid equine that is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, i.e. the reciprocal cross to the mule.

hog → Another name for a pig or domesticated swine, especially one weighing at least 120 pounds (54 kg) and being prepared for market

hog off → To harvest a grain crop by allowing domestic pigs to eat it when the grain is nearly ripe, often because it is a poor crop that is not worth harvesting for market.[8]

hogget → A domestic sheep between one and two years old that has not yet been sheared, or the meat or wool of such an animal.[8]

homegrown → Cultivated or produced locally, as with crops or livestock raised on one’s own property 

honey plant → Any plant used by bees as a source of nectar for making honey, especially one that imparts a distinctive flavor to the honey made from it.

horticulture → The cultivation of plants for any purpose, including for food, materials, and decoration. 

hotbed → An area of decaying organic matter (e.g. manure) that is warmer than its surroundings as a result of the decomposition of organic substances by microorganisms. Hotbeds enclosed by a small glass cover are often used as a kind of natural hothouse.

hybrid → An offspring resulting from sexual reproduction between parent organisms belonging to different breeds, strains, varieties, species, or genera, thereby combining different biological characteristics in a single organism. 

hybrid vigor → Improved or increased size, strength, durability, yield, or any other biological function or quality in a hybrid offspring, relative to the same characteristics as observed in its parents.

I

indicator species → Any species whose natural (i.e. uncultivated) presence or status can reveal the qualitative health or condition of its local environment.

industrial crop → Any crop that is specifically grown in order to yield a useful product for human industrial processes, such as fuels, fibers, oils, rubber, chemicals, resins, waxes, or dyes; the term generally also includes energy crops.

intensive agriculture → Any system of agricultural production that uses relatively large inputs of labor, fertilizer, and/or capital per unit land area and is characterized by high production outputs.

intercropping → A type of multiple cropping involving the cultivation of two or more crops in proximity, usually with the goal of producing a greater yield within a given area of land by making use of resources or ecological processes that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop.

irrigation → The application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals.

L

liming → The application of calcium- and magnesium-rich minerals (collectively known as lime) to soil.

livestock → Any domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting in order to produce labor and/or agricultural commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. 

lynchet → A type of agricultural terrace made from earth, or a strip of green, unploughed land left between two areas of ploughed land, often used to mark a temporary boundary between fields.

M

manure → Any organic matter that is used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture, typically consisting of animal excreta, compost, and/or plant material. 

manure spreader → Also muck spreader or honey wagon it is a machine used to distribute manure over an agricultural field as fertilizer. 

mariculture → A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms in the open ocean, enclosed sections of the ocean, or saltwater tanks or raceways.

mast → The fruit of forest trees and shrubs, e.g. acorns and nuts, especially when accumulated on the ground.

meadow → An open field vegetated primarily by native grasses, herbs, and other plants, with few or no trees and shrubs. 

mechanized agriculture → The use of agricultural machinery to mechanize the work of agriculture, thereby substantially increasing the productivity of an agricultural operation. 

mill → Any structure or device used to break solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting.

minimum tillage → A type of conservation tillage designed to conserve soil quality by minimizing the amount of soil manipulation necessary for successful crop production.

minor crop → A crop plant that is high in value but is not widely grown.

monocropping → Also continuous cropping, it is the practice of growing a single crop repeatedly on the same land for many consecutive growing seasons.

monoculture → The practice of growing or raising a single crop or livestock species, variety, or breed on a particular area of land at a time. 

mulch → Any layer of material applied to the surface of soil, especially for the purpose of conserving soil moisture, improving soil health and fertility, reducing weed growth, and enhancing the soil’s aesthetic appeal. 

multigerm seed → Any type of seed product sold as a cluster of seeds fused together and which produces more than one plant when it germinates.

multiple cropping → The practice of growing two or more crops on the same area of land in the same growing season. 

N

net farm income → The return, both monetary and non-monetary, to farm operators for their labor, management, and capital, after all production expenses have been paid; i.e. gross farm income minus production expenses. 

no-till farming → Any method of growing crops or maintaining pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage, and typically involving minimal or no seed bed preparation.

non-program crop → Any agricultural crop or commodity not covered by a federally funded commodity program.

nurse crop → Any annual crop plant used to assist in the establishment of a perennial crop. Nurse crops may help to reduce the incidence of weeds, prevent soil erosion, and shade the perennial crop’s seedlings from excessive sunlight; often the nurse crop itself is harvested for a particular product.

nutrient pollution → The contamination, particularly of surface water sources, by excessive inputs of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. 

O

once grown seed → Seed obtained from plants that have been grown from a certified seed intended for use by the farmer on his own farm, and not for resale.

open range → A type of rangeland on which livestock, particularly cattle, roam freely regardless of land ownership and without being enclosed by fences.

orchard → Any intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. 

orchardry → The cultivation of trees or shrubs in an orchard. 

P

pannage → The practice of releasing livestock, especially pigs, into a wild forest so that they can feed on fallen mast such as acorns, beechnuts, and chestnuts.

pastoral farming → Also called livestock farming or grazing it is a sedentary form of pastoralism in which livestock are raised on the same pastureland for most or all of their lives, rather than continuously being moved as in traditional nomadic pastoralism. 

pastoralism → A type of animal husbandry in which herds of domestic animals are released onto large areas of vegetated outdoor land, known as pastures, for grazing, traditionally by fully or partially nomadic peoples who move around with their herds, and generally in places where environmental conditions such as aridity, poor soils, and extreme temperatures make growing crops difficult or impossible.

pasture → Any land used for grazing, especially enclosed tracts of farmland grazed by domesticated livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. 

pastureland → A type of agricultural land used as pasture for grazing animals.

pellet mill → Also pellet press it is a type of mill or machine press used to compress and mold bulk quantities of powdered or fine-grained material into compact, high-density, homogeneous units called pellets. These are often much easier to store, transport, and distribute than in their original form. 

permaculture → An approach to land management that adopts arrangements observed in healthy natural ecosystems, with particular emphasis on utilizing creative design principles derived from whole systems thinking. 

permanent crop → Any crop produced from a perennial plant which produces crops repeatedly over multiple seasons, rather than having to be replanted after each harvest.

pharming → Also called molecular farming, molecular pharming, and biopharming it is the use of genetic engineering technologies to insert one or more genes that code for useful pharmaceuticals into a host plant or animal that would otherwise not express those genes, creating a genetically modified organism. 

pioneer crop → A crop grown to improve the general fertility of a parcel of land prior to sowing another, typically more valuable crop on the same land.

pisciculture → Also called fish farming it is a branch of aquaculture involving the raising of fish in tanks, enclosures, or hatcheries. 

plantation → A large-scale estate which specializes in farming cash crops, most commonly cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane, opium, fruit trees, rubber trees, and forest trees.

plow → Any farm implement used to loosen or overturn soil in preparation for sowing seed or transplanting, a practice known as plowing.

plow pan → A hard layer in the subsoil caused by excessive compression due to repeated plowing at the same depth over multiple consecutive seasons.

plowshare → The large metal blade that is the leading edge of the mouldboard of a plough, used to cut through large amounts of soil to the bottom of the furrow. 

polyculture → The practice of growing or raising more than one species, variety, or breed at the same time and place, often in imitation of the biodiversity of natural ecosystems. 

polytunnel → A type of greenhouse in the form of a typically semi-circular, elongated tunnel made from a steel frame covered with transparent polyethylene; temperature, humidity, and air circulation can be adjusted by the opening and closing of doors or vents. 

postemergent → Occurring after the stage in a plant’s life when the first leaves emerge from beneath the soil. 

postharvest → 

1. The stage of commercial crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, drying, cleaning, sorting, packing, and/or any other processing.  
2. Any activities that occur after agricultural products leave or are sold from the farm or ranch where they were produced.

poundage quota → A quantitative limit on the amount of an agricultural commodity that can be produced and/or marketed under the provisions of a governmental price support program.

power take-off (PTO) → A device that transmits electrical and/or mechanical energy from a power source (e.g. a running engine) to an attached implement or a separate machine which is either pulled behind on a trailer or mounted on the vehicle itself. 

precision agriculture (PA) → A large-scale agricultural management strategy relying on advanced technologies such as GPS, remote sensing, and satellite imagery to collect data and generate datasets and maps which can then be used by variable-rate applications to optimally distribute resources.

precision seeding → A method of seeding that involves placing seed with attention to precise spacing and depth, either by hand or mechanically, as opposed to broadcast seeding. 

precleaning → Removing unwanted foreign material such as weeds, seeds, dirt, stems, and cobs from harvested grain before it is dried.

preemergent → Occurring before germination, or before the stage in a plant’s life when the first leaves emerge from beneath the soil. 

prices paid index → An economic index used to monitor and indicate changes in the prices paid by farmers for goods and services used in crop and livestock production as well as those needed for farm family living. 

prices received index → An economic index used to monitor and indicate changes in the prices received by farmers for their products at the point of first sale, usually the farm itself or a local market. Together with the prices paid index, it is used to calculate the parity ratio.

prilled → Pelletized and sold in the form of small, round, solid globules, as is common with many fertilizers, compound animal feeds, and other agrochemicals.

primary tillage → Any general-purpose tillage that is relatively deep and thorough and which leaves the soil surface with a rough, unfinished texture, such as plowing, as opposed to subsequent, shallower, and more selective secondary tillage. Primary tillage is usually performed immediately after the last harvest, with the objectives of loosening, softening, and aerating the soil to a particular depth, incorporating crop residues and/or fertilizers, and killing weeds.

priming → 

1. The process of moistening seeds in order to initiate germination prior to sowing in soil or other substrate.[7]
2. The process of removing ripened leaves from tobacco plants by hand.

produce → A generalized term used to refer to a variety of farm-produced food crops, usually including fruits and vegetables and sometimes also grains and other products.

program crop → A crop for which deficiency payments are paid by a government agency to participating producers, e.g. wheat, corn, barley, grain sorghum, oats, upland cotton, and rice.

pruning → The selective removal of certain unwanted plant parts such as branches, buds, or roots, from crops or landscape plants during cultivation for any of a variety of reasons.

.

push–pull technology → An agricultural pest control strategy that utilizes the intercropping of repellent “push” plants and attractive “pull” plants to divert pests, typically insects, away from vulnerable cash crops.

R

raised-bed gardening → A type of horticulture in which the soil surface is raised above the surrounding ground level and usually enclosed in some way within a structure known as a raised bed. 

ranching → The practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses on an area of land called a ranch.

rangeland → Any grassland, shrubland, woodland, wetland, or desert area that is grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. 

ratooning → The practice of harvesting a crop plant (particularly a monocot species) by cutting most of the above-ground portion of the plant but leaving the roots and the shoot apices intact so as to allow the plant to recover and produce a fresh crop in a subsequent growing season. 

recalcitrant seed → Seeds that cannot survive the effects of drying or freezing (generally, temperatures less than 10 °C (50 °F)) 

roller → An agricultural implement, typically tractor-drawn, used for flattening an area of land by breaking up large clumps of soil, pushing stones into the soil, and generally creating a smooth, firm seedbed, especially following ploughing or disc harrowing.

roguing → The practice of identifying and removing plants with undesirable characteristics (e.g. plants that are diseased or of an unwanted shape, color, or variety) from agricultural fields, often by hand. 

rotational grazing → The practice of periodically moving herds of grazing livestock between enclosed sections of pasture known as paddocks, allowing the animals to graze the new paddock while the unoccupied paddocks recover and regrow vegetation.

roughage → Any animal feedstuff with high fiber content, such as hay or straw.

row cover → Any flexible, transparent or semi-transparent material, such as fabric or plastic sheeting, that is used as a protective covering to shield plants from extreme temperatures and wind, as well as from insect damage and large herbivores.

row crop → Any crop that can be planted in rows wide enough to allow it to be tilled or otherwise cultivated by agricultural machinery specifically designed for that purpose.

S

scarify → 

1. To stir a soil surface with an implement possessing tines, e.g. a wire rake, but without turning the soil over completely, often to remove shallow-rooted weeds.
2. To use a sharp tool to create a nick or slit in the hard outer coat of a seed in order to aid the penetration of moisture to the endosperm and thereby speed up germination.

scion → An aerial or above-ground plant structure, e.g. a stem or branchlet, that is grafted onto the rootstock of another plant.

scythe → A handheld agricultural tool designed with one or more curved blades, sharp on the inside edge, used for mowing grass or harvesting crops.

season extension → Any method that allows a crop to be grown and/or harvested beyond its natural outdoor growing season or harvest season. 

second → To hoe between rows of rootcrops that have previously been thinned out.

seed crop → A crop grown specifically so that seeds can be harvested from the mature plants, as opposed to crops grown for their edible or usable non-seed parts.

seed dressing → The process of coating seeds with clay, biofertilizers, pesticides, or inert materials to give them a uniform shape and to increase their size and weight in order to improve visibility, ease of planting, germination rates, and resistance to disease.

seed drill → A mounted or tractor-drawn machine that automates the action of sowing crop seeds.

seedbed → The local soil environment in which seeds are sown.

seedling → The young plant that germinates from a plant embryo contained within a seed.

sericulture → The cultivation of silkworms with the goal of producing silk.

sharecropping → A type of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to cultivate a portion of his or her land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.

shifting cultivation → A type of agriculture in which specific plots of land are cleared and cultivated temporarily then abandoned, reverting to their natural vegetation over many more seasons.

sickle → A handheld agricultural tool designed with one or more curved blades, sharp on the inside edge, and typically used for reaping grain crops or cutting succulent forage for feeding livestock. 

silage → A type of animal fodder made from the green foliage of crop plants preserved by a process of fermentation and storage. 

silo → Any structure designed for storing bulk materials. In agriculture, tower silos are commonly used to store fermented grain known as silage.

silviculture → The practice of managing or directly controlling the establishment, growth, composition, and quality of natural or deliberately planted forests.

slurry → Liquid waste from animals that is stored in tanks or open-air lagoons, treated, and then distributed as a fertilizer.

soil amendment → Any product which is added to soil to improve the soil’s quality.

soil compaction → The degradation of soil structure.

soil science → The scientific study of soil as a natural resource, including its formation, classification, and mapping; the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils; and how these properties relate to the use and management of soils for agricultural purposes.

sowing → Often used interchangeably with seeding and planting.The process of distributing seeds upon an area of fertile soil.

sprout damage → The undesirable germination of wheat kernels that often occurs on unharvested wheat when wet field conditions persist in the final stage of crop maturation.

stook → An upright conical or tent-like arrangement of sheaves of the cut stalks of a grain crop, placed so as to keep the grain-heads off the ground prior to collection for threshing.

stubble-mulching → The practice of leaving the stubble or crop residue essentially in place on a plot of cropland as a surface cover during a fallow period. 

subsistence agriculture → Agricultural production that is practiced in order to meet the needs of the farmer or producer, as opposed to that practiced in order to generate profit by selling the agricultural products to consumers. 

subsoiler → A tractor-mounted farm implement used for tilling soil at depths much below the levels normally worked by moldboard plows, disc harrows, or rototillers. 

sun-cured → (of a food) Having been dried by a process in which the freshly harvested food (e.g. tomatoes) is exposed to direct sunlight in open air, often for multiple days, causing most of the water of the fresh weight to be lost by evaporation.[13]

support price → A legislated minimum price for a particular commodity, maintained through a variety of mechanisms, such as minimum import prices, nonrecourse loans, and purchase programs.

swather → A type of agricultural machinery that cuts hay or small grain crops and forms them into a windrow, with the goal of decreasing the time required for drying the crop to a moisture content suitable for harvesting and storage.  

T

tedder → A tractor-drawn machine that uses rapidly moving pitchfork-like tines to aerate or “wuffle” freshly cut hay during the process of haymaking.

tenant farmer → A person who operates and resides on farmland owned by a landlord.

terrace → A sloped plane such as a hillside that has been landscaped into a series of flat surfaces or platforms resembling steps.

threshing → The process of loosening the edible part of a grain or other crop from the chaff to which it is attached, without removing the bran.

tillage → 

1. The preparation of agricultural soil by any of various types of mechanical agitation
2. The land that is tilled.

tractor → A type of heavy engineering vehicle designed specifically to deliver very high tractive effort or torque at slow speeds for the purpose of hauling a trailer or machinery.

transhumance → A type of pastoralism involving the seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures.

trap crop → Any plant that is cultivated in order to attract the attention of agricultural pests, usually insects, and thereby distract them away from nearby crops. 

tree farm → A wild forest that is managed for timber production, or a plantation or nursery where trees are deliberately planted and cultivated for commercial sale.

V

vermicompost → A type of compost produced as a result of the decomposition processes performed by certain species of earthworms as they feed on decaying organic matter.

vermiculture → The cultivation of worms, usually red wigglers and other types of earthworms, for the purpose of producing vermicompost.

vertical farming → The practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, usually indoors as a type of controlled-environment agriculture and by incorporating soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics.

viticulture → The cultivation of grapes, especially for use in winemaking.

volunteer → Any plant, especially a feral crop plant or crop descendant, that grows in an agricultural field or garden unintentionally.

W

water rights → The right of a landowner to make use of the banks, bed, or waters of a water source, e.g. a river, stream, pond, spring, or underground aquifer. 

water-meadow → A flat area of grassland that is periodically flooded through the use of controlled irrigation in order to increase agricultural productivity. 

weed of cultivation → Any plant that is well-adapted to environments in which the land is cultivated for growing some other plant. 

wildcrafting → The human practice of foraging for uncultivated plants or fungi from their natural or “wild” habitats, primarily for food or medicine.

windbreak → One or more rows of closely spaced trees or shrubs planted in such a way as to provide shelter to an adjacent agricultural field from the wind, thereby protecting the area from excessive cold and soil erosion.

winnowing → The process or technique, performed either manually or mechanically, by which grain is separated from chaff. 

X

xeriscaping → The practice of gardening or landscaping so as to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.