Quite often we are asked by our readers for a glossary of terms on a particular subject. Here is one that should be of considerable interest to all landowners whether you are farming or not.
- Composting – the controlled aerobic decomposition of raw organic material.
- Conservation Crop Rotation – a system for growing several different crops in planned succession on the same field.
- Conservation Drainage – refers to several emerging technologies and methods that provide the benefits of conventional agricultural drainage.
- Conservation Planning – involves assessing a farm’s natural resource challenges and opportunities and identifying appropriate conservation practices.
- Conservation Tillage – any method of soil cultivation that leaves the previous year’s crop residue on fields.
- Contour Buffer Strips are permanent, narrow bands of grasses/legumes planted on the contour between wider strips of crops farmed on a contour and are designed to reduce soil erosion and runoff on sloped fields.
- Contour Farming – growing crops “on the level” across or perpendicular to a slope rather than up and down the slope.
- Contour Stripcropping – growing strips of row crops such as corn and soybeans alternate in a planned rotation with equal-width strips.
- Controlled Burning – the intentional periodic use of fire to manage perennial vegetation.
- Cover Crops - grasses, legumes, forbs or other herbaceous plants that provide seasonal cover on cropland.
- Dead Animal Composting – involves specialized on-farm facilities and practices to completely compost livestock/poultry carcasses on the farm or safely store them until they can be removed for off-farm disposal.
- Fencing – is most often used for pasture management and to exclude livestock from cropland as well as environmentally sensitive areas.
- Feedlot Runoff Control Systems – integrated structures and practices for collecting, storing and treating livestock manure and feed wastes.
- Feedlot/Wastewater Filter Strips – areas of grassy vegetation engineered to receive and treat feedlot wastewater.
- Field Border – a type of conservation buffer consisting of a grassy border along one or more edges of a field.
- Forestry/Woodlot Management – the art and science of tending forests, woodlots, tree plantations or agroforestry plantings …
- Grass Planting – establishing or restoring permanent, perennial conservation cover consisting of native or non-native grass mixes.
- Grass Waterway – a type of conservation buffer, designed to prevent soil erosion while draining runoff water from adjacent cropland.
- Grassland Management – keeps grass stands healthy so they continue to provide long-term conservation benefits.
- Gully/Grade Stabilization - an embankment or spillway built across a drainageway to prevent soil erosion.
- Habitat, Duck Nesting - provide various duck species with critical nesting and brooding habitat.
- Habitat, General – preserves natural upland or wetland ecosystems and the plants and animals that thrive there.
- Habitat, Pheasant – attracts and supports healthy pheasant populations by ensuring adequate food, water and cover.
- Habitat, Rare & Declining – ecosystems that once flourished but now are severely diminished or degraded.
- Invasive Species Management - specialized weed management strategies to suppress invasive plant species.
- Irrigation Water Management – primarily aims to control the volume and frequency of irrigation water applied to crops.
- Livestock Exclusion or Access Control – the temporary or permanent exclusion of livestock from a designated area
- Livestock Watering Systems - ensure that livestock have ready access to clean drinking water from sources such streams, ponds, springs or wells.
- Manure/Ag Waste Facility Cover – rigid, semi-rigid covers or flexible membranes designed to prevent spills and control odors.
- Manure/Ag Waste Storage - pit, lagoon or above-ground structure that safely holds manure or other ag waste.
- Manure Digester – collects manure and convert the energy stored in its organic matter into methane, which is used to produce energy.
- Manure Management - planning ensures careful handling and use of livestock manure to obtain its full value as a crop nutrient.
- Manure Storage Abandonment – permanently removing facilities that are no longer used or can no longer serve their intended purpose.
- Milkhouse Wastewater Treatment – systems involve specialized technologies and processes to treat milking-related wastewater.
- Nutrient Management – using crop nutrients as efficiently as possible to improve productivity while protecting the environment.
- Pasture and Hay Planting – establishing or re-establishing long-term stands of native or introduced grasses/legumes for livestock forage.
- Pest Management - in agriculture involves the safe and environmentally sound use of pesticides to control crop pests.
- Riparian Buffer, Forested – linear multiple-row plantings of trees, shrubs and grass designed primarily for water quality and wildlife habitat purposes.
- Riparian Buffer, Grass Filter Strip – strips of grass and/or legumes,typically 20 feet to 120 feet wide, planted next to a water body.
- Roof Runoff Management – specially designed high-capacity gutters, downspouts and outlets to collect rain and snowmelt from roofs.
- Rotational Grazing – is a management-intensive system of raising livestock on subdivided pastures called paddocks.
- Stream Crossing – stabilized fords, culverts or bridges that allow livestock, people, equipment or vehicles to cross a stream …
- Stream Habitat - is restoring or enhancing stream ecology to support desired fish and other aquatic species.
- Streambank & Lakeshore Protection- using vegetation or materials such as riprap or gabions to stabilize stream, river or …
- Terraces - earthen embankments, ridges or ridge-and-channels built across a slope to intercept runoff water and reduce soil erosion.
- Tree/Shrub Planting - for conservation purposes is establishing perennial woody plants for reforestation, habitat restoration, tree or forest farming, riparian buffers, windbreaks, or floodplain wetland restoration
- Water and Sediment Control Basin – (WASCOB) small earthen ridge-and-channel or embankment built across a small watercourse within a field.
- Water Well - a hole drilled, dug, or driven into an aquifer to provide water for various agricultural uses.
- Well Sealing - permanently closing a well that is no longer used or is deemed unsafe.
- Wetland Restoration – reestablishes or repairs the hydrology, plants and soils of a former or degraded wetland …
- Wetlands, Constructed – are man-made systems engineered to approximate the water-cleansing process of natural wetlands.
- Wind Erosion Control - practices reduce soil erosion by slowing wind speed, which prevents soil particles from detaching and becoming airborne.
- Windbreak, Field – linear plantings of trees/shrubs designed to reduce wind speed in open fields.
- Windbreak, Living Snow Fences – trees/shrubs planted strategically along roads to trap snow and keep it from blowing and drifting.
- Windbreak, Shelterbelt – windbreaks designed to protect farmsteads and livestock from wind and blowing snow.
