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Letham Shank - Agriculture terms Category: Agriculture and Industry > Agriculture and the Countryside Date & country: 15/11/2007, UK Words: 234

Hand
A measurement used to indicate the height of a horse, consisting of 4 inches (101mm).

Harrow
A shallow working trailed implement used to break down clods. Disc harrows may be used for primary cultivation whereas tined harrows are used pre or post sowing.

Harvest
Gathering a crop from the field when it is ripe.

Hawthorn
A spring-flowering thorny shrub(Crataegus) commonly used to make stockproof hedges. If untrimmed will grow into a small tree.

Hay
Grass that is cut and allowed to dry naturally in fields before being baled. This is stored and fed to livestock over the winter. It is less used now due to the unreliablility of the weather and relatively low feed value.

Headland
The area of a field adjacent to a fence or hedge where machinery turns. This is normally cultivated last to avoid compaction in the soil.

Hectare
Measurment of area consisting of 10,000 sq. metres. Equal to roughly 2.47 acres.

Hedge
A field boundary composed of shrubs such as hawthorn or blackthorn dense enough to keep livestock in the field and provide shelter. Hedges require regular maintenance to prevent them becoming sparse and less effective.

Hefted
A hefted flock is one which by instinct remains on the same area. (e.g. one hill) Hefted flocks culled by MAFF in the foot and mouth 'epidemic' were irreplacable.

Heifer
A young female cow of over 12 months old, which may or may not have had a calf.

Herbicide
A substance used to control weeds. May be selective or total. Glyphosate (Roundup) is a total herbicide, Cheetah S (Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl) will kill only wild oats in cereals and some other crops.

Hirsel
A scottish term for a flock of sheep on a farm(generally on a hill) which are looked after by one shepherd. Traditionally this was 400-600 ewes.

Hogg
A young sheep from the time it is weaned to its first shearing.

Humus
The final stage in the decomposition of soil organic matter. It is essential in maintaining soil structure.

Hundredweight
Measure of weight equal to 112 lbs. or 1/20th of a ton. (2240 lbs) Now is approximated to, but does not equal 50 kg.

Hurdle
A small portable gate made of wattle but nowadays of aluminium or steel. Commonly used to make temporay sheep pens in buildings or outlying fields.

IACS
(Integrated Administrative Control System) The method used to control the amount of crops grown on farms by the EU. Finacial penalties apply to those who do not follow the rules to the letter.It has been superceded by an even more complex and bureaucratic system (2005) called the SFP (Single Farm Payment).

Indian Summer
A period of unusually mild dry weather occurring in Autumn.

Insecticide
A pesticide used to control unwanted insects either in a growing crop or in grain stores and mills.

Kilogram
SI unit of weight. 1,000 kg = 1 tonne. 1kg = 2.2 lb.(Pound)

Lactation
The period after birth in which the mother produces milk for the offspring.

Ladybird
A colourfull small beetle whose larvae prey on aphids (greenfly)making them welcome on all farms.

Lambing
The period of the year when the flock is synchronised to give birth in an interval of a few weeks. The process of an individual ewe giving birth.

Leaching
The loss of nutrients, pesticides, lime, or other elements of the soil by the action of water as it percoolates through the soil profile.

Leaf Miner
The larvae of certain moths and flies which live in the laminations of a leaf. They leave lighter coloured patches or trails as they eat the tissue.

LERAP
(Local Environmental Risk Assessment Plan) A set of regulations which control use of certain pesticides adjacent to watercourses. Records must be kept when a 'Lerap' applies to any operation.

Ley
Field sown with grass for one or more years. Short term leys usually yield heavier crops than longer leys due to the grass varieties used. They may be noted as a three year ley, 5 year ley etc.

Licks
Minerals, vitamins and trace elements may be given to livestock via enhanced salt blocks. Animals lick the blocks for their taste and ingest the essential ingredients.

Lifters
Attachments for the header of a combine which assist in combining a lodged crop by easing it off the ground.

Lime
Generally ground limestone which is used to neutralize soil acidity. Essential for crop growth and application rates average 5000kg/ha.

Linkage (three point)
The lift system universally used on tractors to attach and lift machinery such as ploughs, cultivators, drills etc. consisting of two lower powered lift arms and a fixed top central link.

Lodging
The term used to describe a crop which is falling over due to bad weather, (wind/rain) disease, or an inherent varietal weakness. Severe lodging makes harvesting extremely difficult due to moisture being trapped in the closely packed stems and lack of airflow.

MAFF
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food Monolithic government department that changed it's name to DEFRA after the Foot & Mouth fiasco.

Malting
The process of taking barley, steeping it in water, germinating it and then drying it. The dried product is malt and has many uses in food manufacturing and alchohol production.

Mangold
Large, red or gold coloured root vegetable resembling a elongated turnip. Used as animal feed but a relatively low value food source.

Manure
A mixture of bedding straw and animal dung which is lifted out of sheds and stored in heaps (middens) for a period to decompose before being spread on the land. Provides a useful amount of organic matter and some nutrients.

Marker
A device fitted to many soil working implements to allow the tractor driver to return down the field at an exact distance from the previous bout by following a groove in the soil made with a disc or tine. The mark may be followed by the wheel or the centre of the tractor.

Mart
(Auction) Marts are places centrally located where animals are brought to be sold at auction.

Mayweed
(Matricaria) A common difficult to control daisy like weed.

Meadow Grass
An annual grass which is a pernicious weed in cereal crops.

Metering (Seed)
A seed metering unit on a seed drill controls the flow of seed in relation to ground speed so that exactly the correct weight/area is sown.

Mildew (Powdery)
A common disease of most plants but of significance in cereals. White fluffy pustules appear on leaf or stem if rubbed off a brown stain is revealed. May spread to the ear if unchecked.

Molluscicide
A pesticide used to control unwanted slugs and snails.

Monoculture
Planting the same crop in the same field year after year with no crop rotation.

Mouldboard
That part of a plough which actually turns the soil after the share has cut the furrow bottom.

Nematicide
A pesticide used to control unwanted nematodes (eelworms), generally in root crops such as potatoes.

Net Blotch
Primarily of barley, this disease appears as small brown lesions which develop to produce a network of brown lines.

Nitrogen
Generic term used by farmers for fertilisers supplying nitrogen to plants (e.g. ammoniun nitrate)

Nitrogen fixation
The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to plant compounds by microorganisms in soil and root nodules. (e.g. in legumes such as clover or peas)

Node
The point on a plant stem where a leaf or leaves are attached. A new stem leaf or even root may grow from this point.

Oat
It is thought that oats are native to Britain and can be grown on sites of low fertility. Used as horse fodder and of course for Scottish porridge and oat cakes.

Organic
Low output farming using rotations, clover, and very few artificial fertilisers, pesticides and antibiotics.

Organophospates
A class of insecticide that was originally synthesized during World War II as a nerve warfare agent. Compulsory sheep dipping in the UK exposed many people sensitive to these compounds. Examples of OPs include chlorpyrifos and sarin.

Pathogen
Any micro-organism that causes a disease in plants or animals.

Pea
On a farm scale two types of pea are grown: Vining peas for human consumption, and combinable peas generally for livestock feed.

Pesticide
Generic term for any Plant Protection Product which may be subdivided into herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

ph
The acidity index of the soil. Various crops perform better at optimum ph so certain crops may be suited to particular fields or areas. ph may be raised (more alkaline) by the application of ground limestone.

Phosphorus
An elemental nutrient required for crops. Normally applied as a phosphate.

Plough
A device which has changed little over the centuries used to turn the top layer of soil over and bury trash ready for the next crop.

Poaching
Damage to grass and soil caused by excessive animal treading in wet weather particularly round feeders etc.

Pollard
To cut the top off a fairly young tree at a height of 2 meteres or more to produce a straight stem with a 'bushy' top.

Polled
An animal bred without horns. Usually refers to cattle.

Pollen
Fine particles containing the fertilizing element of plants (male) formed by the anthers of plants. Most allergies are caused by grass and tree pollens.

Pollen Beetle
A small (about 3mm) shiny black beetle which can occasionally become a pest in canola. It can destroy the flowers whilst still buds, in it's attempts to reach the pollen.

Potassium
An essential elemental nutrient required for crop growth, normally supplied as inorganic 'K'.

Pound
Measure of weight consisting of 16 ounces. There were 2240 pounds in a ton. (not tonne).

Power harrow
A shallow working secondary cultivator with rotating tines which stir up and break the soil down to a seedbed. Regularly have seed drills fitted to carry out two operations with one pass.

Propane
A liquefied petroleum gas (C3H8) containing more heat value than natural gas that is used for grain drying.

PTO
Power Take Off. A splined shaft at the front or rear of a tractor used to supply power to attachments such as mowers or power harrows. Standard speeds are 540 & 1000 rpm.

Quarter
A old measure of weight used in grain. Wheat-4½ cwt, Barley-4cwt, Oats-3cwt.

Raddle
A sticky coloured paste applied to a ram`s belly at breeding time to enable served ewes to be marked. Sometime refers to a harness carrying a wax block which serves the same purpose.

Ragwort
A weed which is gaining in population due to it's being uncontrolled on roadside verges etc. It is poisonous to livestock when wilting and should be controlled.

Rhizome
A stem of a plant which grows underground in a horizontal manner producing roots and shoots at the nodes. Once these shoots establish the rhizome may be severed and the new plants will survive. Some rhizomes may also store food for the plant. See also Stolon.

Rhynchosporium
A particular problem on barley large ovel lesions with brown margins spread all over the surface of a leaf if uncontrolled.

Rigg and Furrow
Undulations in pasture especially on clay soils due to land being cosistently ploughed in the same manner to give 5 or 7 yard 'riggs'. This assisted drainage but made travel with modern machinery more difficult.

Roller
Implement used to firm down seedbeds to give better soil/seed contact to improve germination. Also used to push down stones in cereals and grass to prevent damage to harvesting machinery.

Rotation
Changing crops in a field an an annual basis to maximise yield and minimise disease, soil damage etc.

Ruminant
A hoofed animal such as cattle, sheep, goats and deer with a complicated stomach of 4 parts rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum and which chew the cud.

Runoff
A general term applying to water which for many reasons remains on the surface of land and flows to the lowest point possibly causing erosion or leaching in the process.

Rust
A fungal disease of many plant species but a problem on cereals and beans. It removes green leaf area and drains the plant of strength reducing yield and quality.

Rye
Now a minority crop, rye will grow on poor 'hungry' soils. Resembling barley with awns but with a much taller straw it is still favoured in Eastern Europe.

Seedbed
Land which has been cultivated sufficiently to provide a fine enough particle size and is firm enough to allow seeds to germinate quickly and evenly.

Septoria
The main disease of wheat in the UK. Septoria tritici can have devastating effects on wheat by removing green leaf area. It appears as grey/green striped lesions which expand and develop to eventually turn the whole leaf brown.

Set-aside
Land that is compulsorily removed from production for one or more years. Compensation is given towards the value of crop that could have been grown.

SFP
Single Farm Payment. The EU scheme ostensibly designed to simplify the subsidisation of food production but soon became complex and bureaucratic.

Share (Plough)
That part of the plough which operates horizontally and cuts the furrow bottom.

Shuttle
A device on a tractor or handler which allows direction to be reversed at the flick of a lever with no requirement to use the clutch.

Side Knife
When combining crops suchas canola where the foliage is dense and tangled, a vertical sideknife is used on the combine header to cut through the stems and prevent the header becoming entangled in the crop. (Picture)

Sidlings
When working a field with multiple slopes, it may be necessary to traverse across the hill. The tractor and implement tend to slide down this slope or crab across the hill, these bouts are sidlings.

Silage
Silage is grass which is mown wilted chopped and ensiled in a clamp where anerobic fermentation takes place. Thus most of the nutrients are maintained in the silage.

Silo
A tower, generally cylindrical made of steel or concrete used to store grain or silage in an airtight atmosphere. It is filled from the top and emptied at the bottom.

Slag
A by-product of the iron industry, slag consists of mainly silica and lime with many trace elements. This may be used to improve the fertility of grassland.

Slurry
Animal dung mixed with water and urine which can be handled as a semi-liquid.

Spear (Grain)
A tubular, pointed instument about 2 metres long which has apertures that may be opened once it has been pushed into a pile of grain allowing a representative sample to be taken.(Picture)

Sprayer
A term used for an implement used for applying pesticides or liquid fertiliser to crops. Generally nozzles convert liquid under pressure to droplets

Spreader
(Manure) spreader is an implement resembling a trailer which has powered rotors to chop and spread manure evenly.

Staggers
Medical condition caused by a lack of magnesium in lactating stock.

Steer
A castrated bull.

Stirk
Generally, a heifer or bullock over twelve months old.

Stolon
A stem running horizontally on the soil surface which may produce shoots or roots. See also Rhizome.