Month: October 2016

Best practices for handling and managing livestock to reduce stress and improve welfare. For example, implementing livestock handling guidelines to improve productivity and ensure humane treatment.

Centrifugation: The separation of components of a liquid in a centrifuge. Also called centrifuging. Using centrifugation in dairy and food processing helps farmers and producers separate and refine products efficiently.

Salmonella: A genus of bacteria found in the intestines, which are acquired by eating contaminated food. Different species cause food poisoning and typhoid fever. Farmers benefit from understanding and preventing Salmonella infections to ensure food safety and public health.

spiked: referring to a farm implement with spikes, e.g., a spiked chain harrow. Using spiked implements improves soil aeration and preparation, promoting healthy root growth and better crop yields.

Common: Common adjective belonging to several different people or to everyone common land noun an area of land to which the public has access for walking COMMENT: About 80% of common land is privately owned and, subject to the interests of any commoners, owners enjoy essentially the same rights as the owners of other land. Commoners have different types of ‘rights of common’, e.g. to graze animals, or to extract sand, gravel, or peat. Managing common land involves balancing public access with sustainable land use practices.

emaciation: Becoming extremely thin. Scab causes emaciation in sheep. Managing emaciation is crucial for farmers to ensure the health and productivity of their livestock.

rainwater harvesting: The collection and storage of rainwater for agricultural use. Rainwater harvesting helps farmers manage water resources and reduce dependence on external water supplies.

Condition Scoring: Condition scoring noun a method of assessing the state of body condition of animals; scores range from 0–5 for cattle and 1–9 for sows. Low condition scores indicate thinness, and high scores fatness. A score of about 3 is ideal. ‘Condition scoring is the ideal on-farm method of assessing cow body reserves as it requires no specialist equipment or weighing facilities and once you get a grasp of the points system it is relatively quick to do.’ [Dairy Farmer]. Using condition scoring helps monitor and manage livestock health and nutrition.

henhouse: A small wooden building for keeping hens. Properly maintaining a henhouse provides a safe and comfortable environment for hens, improving their health and productivity.

scar: A mark left on the skin surface after a wound has healed. Farmers benefit from recognizing scars in livestock to monitor past injuries and health status.