Farm words glossary

Used in: America, Canada (and older titles in Australia and NZ)

A unit of land area: about 0.405 hectares, or 4,047 square meters. One hectare is about 2.47 acres.

Convert acres and hectares

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

Paying to graze your livestock on someone else's land for a while, usually charged per head per week.

Also called: Custom grazing or pasture lease (America, Canada)

Livestock services

Used in: America, Canada

A way to count grazing stock by size: one AU is a 1,000 lb cow (with or without a young calf). A 1,300 lb cow is about 1.3 AU. Herd AU = head × average weight ÷ 1,000.

Grazing rotation planner

Used in: America

Two USDA farm programs for crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat, run by the FSA. ARC pays when crop revenue for the county (or the farm) falls below a guarantee; PLC pays when the national average price for the year falls below a set reference price. The choice is made crop by crop at the county FSA office.

Also called: Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage

Used in: America, Canada

A grazing measure: the forage one mature cow (traditionally about 1,000 lb, with or without a calf) eats in a month. Used to set stocking rates and grazing leases. One AUM is about 30 animal-unit days (AUD).

Grazing rotation planner

Used in: America, Canada, Australia

Growing weaned calves on pasture or forage until they are heavy enough to go to a feedlot or be finished.

Used in: America, Canada

Hay baled wetter than dry hay (often about 40-60% moisture) and wrapped in plastic so it ferments like silage. A baleage bale weighs more than a dry hay bale of the same size because of the water, so budget feed on dry matter.

Also called: Wrapped round bales, bale silage (Australia, New Zealand)

Work out a feed budget

Used in: America, Canada

Your local cash price for grain minus the futures price for the nearest contract month, usually in cents per bushel. A $4.10 cash bid with $4.35 futures is a basis of 25 cents under (-0.25). Basis changes with local supply and demand, freight and storage, so watch it as well as the futures price.

Compare prices with your break-even

Used in: Everywhere

The price a crop has to sell for just to cover what it cost to grow: total cost per acre (minus any other income) divided by the yield. Break-even yield is the same idea the other way round - cost per acre divided by the price. Our Crop break-even calculator works both out from your own costs.

Also called: Cost of production per bushel

Used in: America, Canada

A grain measure. It is a volume, but grain is traded by a standard weight per bushel that depends on the crop - for example 60 lb for wheat and soybeans, 56 lb for corn.

Used in: Auctions everywhere

A fee, usually a percentage, that the buyer pays the auctioneer on top of the hammer price. Always check the sale terms before you bid.

Auction services

Used in: Australia

How Australian cattle and sheep prices are quoted: cents per kilogram of live weight (lwt), or of carcase weight (cwt) after dressing. Not to be confused with the American cwt (hundredweight).

Also called: $/cwt (America, Canada)

Convert livestock prices

Used in: Australia, NZ (spelled "carcass" in America, Canada)

The weight of an animal after slaughter and dressing (hide, head, feet and organs removed).

Also called: Dressed weight, hot carcass weight

Used in: America, Canada

When a later futures month (or a later cash bid) is priced higher than the nearby one, the market is paying you to store grain. Storing pays only if the carry is more than your storage cost per bushel per month (bin costs, interest, shrink and drying).

Also called: Market carry, contango

Used in: America

A small set amount per head (or per unit of product) collected when livestock or crops are sold, used for research and promotion of that product.

Also called: Levy (Australia, New Zealand)

Livestock sale value calculator

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

An on-farm auction of machinery, tools, equipment and sometimes stock - often when a farm is sold, leased out or someone retires.

Also called: Farm auction or estate sale (America, Canada)

Auction services

Used in: America

The local office of your state's land-grant university, in most counties. It gives free, research-based help on crops, livestock, soil and forage tests, farm business and 4-H. Every state's Extension service is linked in our state guide.

Also called: Cooperative Extension

Find your state's Extension service

Used in: America

A USDA program run by the FSA: landowners take environmentally sensitive cropland out of production and plant long-term cover such as grass or trees, under a 10 to 15 year contract, in return for a yearly rental payment. Sign-ups are announced by the FSA.

Used in: America, Canada

What one farmer typically charges another for machine work such as planting, spraying, combining or baling, per acre, per hour or per bale. Many state Extension services publish a custom rate survey, a useful guide when you hire work or price your own machinery.

Also called: Custom hire, contract work (Australia, New Zealand)

Used in: America, Canada

In America and Canada, 100 lb (about 45.4 kg). US cattle prices are usually quoted in dollars per cwt. The old British hundredweight is 112 lb.

Work out a sale in $/cwt

Used in: Everywhere

The sale of a whole herd or flock, for example when a farmer retires or changes enterprise.

Used in: Everywhere

Carcass weight divided by live weight, times 100. It varies with the animal, how full it was and how it is processed.

Also called: Yield

Used in: Everywhere

What is left of a feed once all the water is taken out. Feed needs and feed tests are usually given in dry matter, so wet feeds like silage go less far per tonne than hay or grain.

Work out a feed budget

Used in: Australia

A way to compare the feed needs of different stock: roughly what one mature, non-breeding sheep needs to keep its weight. Larger or breeding animals count as several DSE.

Also called: Stock unit (New Zealand), animal unit (America, Canada)

Used in: America

A USDA program run by the NRCS that shares the cost of conservation practices on working farms and ranches, for example cover crops, grazing fences and water lines, or manure storage. Apply at your local USDA Service Center.

Used in: America, Canada

Young cattle sold to be grown out or fattened further, rather than for slaughter straight away.

Also called: Store cattle (Australia, New Zealand)

Livestock services

Used in: Everywhere

A yard where cattle (or sheep) are fed a grain-based ration for a set number of days to finish them for market.

Used in: Everywhere

The three numbers on a fertilizer bag or tag, like 18-46-0: the percent by weight of nitrogen (N), phosphate (P₂O₅) and potash (K₂O); a fourth number is often sulfur (S). So 100 lb of 18-46-0 holds 18 lb of N and 46 lb of P₂O₅. Australian and New Zealand labels give P and K as the elements instead (P = P₂O₅ × 0.436, K = K₂O × 0.830).

Also called: Fertiliser analysis (Australia, New Zealand)

Work out lb of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O per acre

Used in: Everywhere

Cattle that have reached market weight and condition and are ready for processing.

Also called: Prime or fat cattle (Australia, New Zealand), fed cattle (America)

Used in: Everywhere

A farmland cash lease where part of the rent moves with the year’s yield and price: usually a guaranteed base rent plus a bonus when gross revenue is above a trigger, or rent as a percent of gross revenue, often with a floor and a cap. Our Cash rent & flexible lease calculator compares it with a fixed cash rent.

Also called: Flex lease, bonus lease

Cash rent & flexible lease calculator

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji

Owning land outright, with no end date - as opposed to leasehold, where you hold the land for a set term.

Also called: Fee simple (America, Canada)

Real estate services

Used in: America

The USDA agency with an office in most counties. It runs farm loans and disaster programs such as LIP (livestock deaths), ELAP, LFP (drought grazing losses) and ECP (fence and land repair after a disaster). Tell your county FSA office about losses soon - each program has deadlines.

Farm storm & disaster plan

Used in: America

How much spray mix (water or other carrier plus product) a sprayer puts on each acre. The product label gives the carrier volume to use; calibrate the sprayer so it really applies that rate.

Also called: L/ha (metric: 1 GPA = 9.35 L/ha)

Plan a spray tank mix

Used in: Auctions everywhere

The winning bid when the auctioneer's hammer falls - before any buyer's premium, GST, VAT or other charges.

Used in: Australia

The machine that cuts, threshes and cleans grain crops in one pass. In America "header" usually means just the front that cuts the crop.

Also called: Combine or combine harvester (America, Canada, New Zealand)

Machinery services

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji (and alongside acres in Canada)

A metric unit of land area: 10,000 square meters, or about 2.47 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Convert hectares and acres

Used in: Everywhere

A young female bovine that has not yet had a calf (some markets also use it for a cow with her first calf).

Used in: Everywhere

How long a tractor, header or other machine has run, shown on its hour meter. Servicing, fuel use (litres per hour) and the value of used machinery are all measured in engine hours.

Also called: Hour meter reading

Work out fuel use

Used in: Fiji

Land owned by Fiji's indigenous landowning units. It covers most of Fiji and is generally leased (through the iTaukei Land Trust Board) rather than sold.

Real estate services

Used in: Everywhere

Holding land or a building for a set number of years under a lease, rather than owning it outright.

Used in: Auctions everywhere

One item or group of items sold together at an auction, each with its own lot number.

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

The number of young counted at marking (or branding) for every 100 females joined. Weaning % works the same way with the count at weaning, and scanning % with the young counted at pregnancy scanning.

Also called: Calf branding % or calf crop % (cattle; America, Canada)

Work out your marking %

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, UK

The energy in a feed that an animal can use, usually given in megajoules per kilogram of dry matter (MJ/kg DM) on a feed test. It is used to compare feeds and to work out how much energy stock are getting.

Also called: Often compared with TDN or NE in America and Canada

Compare feed costs per MJ

Used in: New Zealand

The National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme: cattle and deer are tagged with RFID ear tags and registered, and their movements recorded.

Used in: Australia

The National Livestock Identification System: cattle carry electronic (RFID) ear tags, and sheep and goats are identified too, so animals can be traced from property to property.

Used in: America

The USDA agency that helps farmers and ranchers plan and pay for conservation on their land (soil, water, grazing, wildlife), through programs such as EQIP and CSP. It shares the local USDA Service Center with the FSA.

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

A fenced area of a farm used for grazing or crops.

Also called: Field or pasture (America, Canada)

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

When a property or item at auction does not reach the seller's reserve price, so it is not sold under the hammer. Talks with the highest bidder often follow.

Also called: No sale / bought in

Auction services

Used in: Everywhere

How much pasture is in a paddock, usually in kilograms of dry matter per hectare (kg DM/ha). Farmers estimate it by eye, with a pasture ruler or a rising plate meter; the cover left when stock move out is called the residual.

Also called: Herbage mass, feed on offer (FOO)

Plan a grazing rotation

Used in: Everywhere

The splined shaft on a tractor that drives implements like mowers, balers and pumps. Check the PTO speed (540 or 1,000 rpm) matches the implement.

Machinery services

Used in: Auctions everywhere

The lowest price the seller will accept. It is usually kept secret; if bidding does not reach it, the item is passed in.

Used in: Everywhere

The forage you leave standing when stock move out of a paddock, in lb of dry matter per acre (or kg DM/ha) or as a height. Leaving enough helps the pasture grow back faster; "take half, leave half" is a common rule of thumb.

Also called: Post-grazing cover (Australia, NZ)

Grazing rotation planner

Used in: America, Canada

How many seeds weigh one pound, printed on many US seed tags (wheat often 12,000-18,000, soybeans 2,500-3,500, corn about 1,300-2,000). Divide the seeds you want per acre by it to get pounds of seed per acre.

Also called: Thousand seed weight (TSW) elsewhere

Work out a seeding rate

Used in: America

The ton used for hay, feed, fertilizer and grain in the United States: 2,000 lb, about 907 kg. Hay prices are usually quoted in dollars per ton, so a 1,200 lb round bale is 0.6 of a ton.

Also called: Ton; tonne is the metric ton (1,000 kg)

Feed budget in tons and bales

Used in: America, Canada

The weight cattle lose between the farm and the scale (mostly gut fill), or a percentage taken off the scale weight in a private sale ("pencil shrink"). It changes what a $/cwt bid is really worth.

Also called: Curfew or weighing loss (Australia)

Livestock sale value calculator

Used in: Everywhere

Grass or crops cut green and stored airtight (in pits, bunkers or wrapped bales) so they ferment and keep. Haylage is drier than silage; hay is dried in the paddock before baling.

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

A large pastoral property that runs cattle or sheep, often over thousands of hectares.

Also called: Ranch (America, Canada)

Real estate services

Used in: Everywhere

A male bovine castrated when young, usually raised for beef.

Also called: Bullock (for older steers in Australia, NZ and Britain)

Used in: Everywhere

How many animals (or pounds of live weight) are on one acre at the same moment while a paddock is grazed - for example 25,000 lb per acre in a small paddock. Different from stocking rate, which is over the whole season and the whole place.

Grazing rotation planner

Used in: Everywhere

How many animals a piece of land carries over time - for example DSE per hectare in Australia or AUMs per acre in America.

Used in: America, Canada

The energy value of a feed shown as a percentage of its dry matter, from a forage or feed test. Higher TDN means more energy per pound. Handy for comparing feeds on cost per pound of TDN.

Also called: MJ ME/kg DM (Australia, New Zealand)

Compare feeds per pound of TDN

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

The hydraulic arms on the back of a tractor that lift and hold implements. Categories (1 to 4) must match between tractor and implement.

Also called: Three-point hitch (America, Canada)

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada

A metric tonne is 1,000 kg. A US "short" ton is 2,000 lb (about 907 kg) and a British "long" ton is 2,240 lb (about 1,016 kg).

Also called: Metric ton

Convert tonnes, tons and lb

Used in: Everywhere

The weight in grams of 1,000 seeds. It differs between crops, varieties and seed lots, so it is used to turn a target number of plants into a seeding rate in kg/ha.

Also called: Seed weight, 1,000-kernel weight

Work out a seeding rate

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji

A light vehicle with an open tray or tub at the back - the everyday farm vehicle.

Also called: Pickup or pickup truck (America, Canada)

Machinery services

Used in: America

The two main alerts from the National Weather Service. A watch (hurricane, tornado, winter storm, flood, fire weather) means the conditions are possible - get ready. A warning means it is happening or expected soon - act now. Red Flag Warning is the fire-weather version.

Also called: Advisory (a lower level)

Farm storm & disaster plan

Used in: Everywhere

How much spray mix (water plus product) a sprayer puts out per hectare or acre, usually in L/ha or gal/ac. The product label often gives the range to use; calibrating the sprayer checks what it really puts out.

Also called: Carrier volume, spray volume, gallons per acre (America)

Work out a spray tank mix

Used in: Australia, New Zealand

A young animal recently taken off its mother's milk - for cattle usually around 6 to 10 months old.

Also called: Weaned calf or lamb (America, Canada)

Used in: Everywhere

An animal about one to two years old. In Australian cattle markets yearlings are young cattle sold at lighter weights.