Gro-pedia

A chemical used to control or destroy fungi in crops.

an acronym for Good Agricultural Practices, a voluntary protocol aimed at improving food safety; the USDA and other agriculture agencies offer GAP audits to verify that farmers and food processors are following the practices

An adult, female sheep that is not in lamb when others are. Often she has been kept away from the ram because of problems at a previous lambing. Gelt ewes are fattened for sale to the meat trade at a time when lamb is in short supply.

 the DNA code in the cells of all living things; they determine physical characteristics such as fur color

A female sheep that has been weaned but not yet sheared. i.e. about 6 months to 15 months old.

classification system of food quality

this typically refers to a meeting house utilized by local farmer associations

a type of plant with jointed stems, slender flat leaves and spike like flowers such as corn and wheat

Grass that is sown in the expectation that it will only last for a limited period before being ploughed up. There are short-term leys (1 or 2 years), medium-term leys (up to 5 years) and long-term leys (5-7 years). Beyond that the land will probably be permanent pasture.

the inside of a corn kernel exposed after the outer covering, or hull, is removed

water held underground that has seeped through soil layers and bedrock

The poultry feed equivalent to weaner pellets – suitable for fast growing juvenile birds.

A measure of the quality of wheat and its suitability for certain processes. In practice it is a measure of the viscosity of a broth made from the grain. A sample of the grain is ground, mixed with water and heated. It is put into a narrow tube and the […]

to gather a crop when it is finished growing

The stems of potato plants

Dried grass used for animal feed. It is cut, left to dry in the field and then baled. It is fed to livestock through the winter when fresh grass not available. Nowadays rarely used except for horses as it’s production is unreliable in the UK climate. See our stock and crops […]

See hefting

the acclimatising of a flock of hill sheep to ‘their’ part of the hillside. A hefted flock is worth more to a farmer than one that has not been acclimatised as they roam far less and are easier to manage.

A young female cow. A maiden heifer has not yet had a calf.