Month: February 2008

globe: A ball-shaped vegetable such as the globe artichoke or a variety of mangel. Growing globe-shaped vegetables can diversify farm products and provide additional income.

metabolised energy: the proportion of energy from feed which is used by an animal through its metabolism. Abbr ME. Understanding metabolised energy can help farmers manage livestock nutrition more effectively, ensuring better growth and productivity.

primitive: Referring to an early stage in an organism’s development. Helpful content: Understanding primitive traits in plants and animals can provide insights into their evolution and adaptation. This knowledge can inform breeding programs and conservation efforts on farms.

Country Planning: Country planning noun the activity of organizing how land is to be used in the countryside and the amount and type of building there will be. Also called rural planning. Implementing country planning practices supports sustainable land use and rural development.

The ratio of carcass weight to liveweight, expressed as a percentage. Dressing percentage is used to evaluate slaughter efficiency. For example, achieving higher dressing percentages to improve meat yield and processing profitability.

shifting cultivation: An agricultural practice using the rotation of fields rather than of crops. Short cropping periods are followed by long fallows and fertility is maintained by the regeneration of vegetation. A form of cultivation practised in some tropical countries, where land is cultivated until it is exhausted and then left as the farmers move on to another area. In shifting cultivation, the practice of clearing vegetation by burning is widespread. One of the simplest forms involves burning off thick and dry secondary vegetation. Immediately after burning, a crop like maize is planted and matures before the secondary vegetation has recovered. Where fire clearance methods are used, the ash acts as a fertiliser. Farmers benefit from understanding and managing shifting cultivation for sustainable land use and productivity.