Gro-pedia

an individual’s responsibility to exercise care over possessions entrusted to him or her

See Bullock

Animals bred for meat production sold before they are ready to be killed. A farmer breeds them and rears them through their early life when they are at greatest risk from disease but because they are small they need relatively little food. They are sold as stores to someone who […]

Single ingredient animal feedstuffs. ‘Straight’ barley means just barley and nothing else. Farmers may buy or grow two or three straights and mix them to produce a balanced diet.

a piece of land to be divided into smaller lots, typically for housing

The mother of a calf raised for beef production.

a weed that has developed resistance to herbicides; the increased use of herbicides following the introduction of herbicide-tolerant GMO crops has led to a proliferation of superweeds

instruments, tools or inventions developed through research to increase efficiency

a person who pays rent to live on another’s land

Ferguson’s invention of a connection that permitted a tractor to lift as well as drag a plough or other implement. This made it possible to cultivate a much wider range of soils than before.

to beat out a grain or seed from a stalk by treading, rubbing or striking with a flail, or with a machine

Strictly a secondary flowering/seedbearing stalk in wheat or other cereal plant. Desirable in that the plant produces a greater number of seeds per seed planted. The term is sometimes used loosely to refer to any, including the primary, flowering stalk.

Apply fertiliser to a growing crop.

Cutting down weeds and grass that have grown too long. The equivalent of mowing the lawn.

a feed combination of hay, corn, barley, field grasses, cotton seed, and bakery or grocery by-products

‘Turnip’ Townsend devised a winter feeding regime whereby root crops were grown for animal fodder. Prior to this most livestock was slaughtered in the autumn and the remainder barely survived on hay until the spring. Modern silage systems have largely replaced the root crops.

Is a practice by the nomadic herdsmen (e.g. Fulani cattle-rear) that involves moving from place to place in search of pasture/fodder and water for their animals. It may also be used to avoid incidences of diseases, pests and weather conditions that could harm the animals; e.g. the movement from wetter […]

a farm that is seeking organic certification, but is still within the required three-year period between ceasing the use of agrichemicals and being granted permission to use the organic seal

A cereal crop that is a cross between rye and wheat.

generally refers to small farms on the outskirts of cities that produce crops for local markets