Animal Production Search Terms

The following is a list of animal production terms used to index searches in Resources and Learning.

Animal Protection and Health: Includes medicines, supplements, strategies for reducing and treating diseases, and other topics.

Aquaculture: The cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, including freshwater and marine species, for food or other purposes.

Continuous Grazing: The practice of grazing animals on the same pasture throughout the growing season.

Feed Additives: Substances added to feeds to alter, improve or maintain feed characteristics or quality.

Feed Formulation: The development of a feed ration that will satisfy the daily nutritional requirements of an animal.

Feed Management: Includes rations, additives, supplements and other topics.

Feed Rations: The combination of feeds needed to satisfy the daily nutritional requirements of an animal.

Feed/Forage: Includes feed, grazing and pasture management topics.

Free-Range: A system where animals are not confined and can freely roam and forage over a large area of open land. Includes day-range.

Genetics: Includes resources on the use of genetic information to enhance desired traits in livestock.

Grazing Management: Includes rotational, continuous, multispecies and other grazing strategies.

Herbal Medicines: Plant-based remedies for livestock ailments.

Heritage Breeds: Traditional animal breeds valued for their genetic diversity and traits that help them thrive in local environments, and under a variety of farming practices.

Homeopathy: The treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy animal would produce symptoms of the disease.

Housing: Any structure in which animals receive protection from weather and predators.

Implants: The use of small containers or pellets of a solid drug implanted in the body to achieve sustained release of the drug.

Inoculants: Additives to silage that help preserve it.

Livestock Breeding: The evaluation and pursuit of genetic traits that are beneficial to livestock production.

Manure Management: Includes resources related to the capture, storage, treatment and use of animal manure.

Meat Processing: Includes resources on meat processing facilities, regulations, safety and quality.

Meat Processing Facilities: Facilities used to prepare meat products for the market. Includes mobile processing units.

Meat Product Quality/Safety: Includes resources that can help producers address issues related to food quality and safety.

Mineral Supplements: Supplements given to livestock to promote optimal health and reproduction.

Multispecies Grazing: The practice of two or more livestock species grazing the same land either together or separately in a single growing season.

Parasite Control: Management practices that reduce parasite infections in a herd and parasite populations in pastures, while avoiding the development of resistance to treatments.

Pasture Fertility: The monitoring and management of nutrient levels for optimal pasture quality.

Pasture Renovation: A series of actions to change and improve the plant composition of a pasture.

Preventive Practices: Any actions intended to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases at a livestock operation.

Probiotics: Live, nonpathogenic, nontoxic microbial organisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.

Processing Regulations: Includes resources that can help producers and processors learn about and comply with regulations.

Range Improvement: Structural and non-structural changes to a range, such as seeding or prescribed burning, and installation of fencing or water systems.

Rangeland/Pasture Management: The ecological management of rangeland or pasture for livestock grazing.

Rotational Grazing: The practice of strategically moving livestock to fresh pasture so that previously grazed pasture may regenerate.

Stocking Rate: The number of animals that can be supported by a unit of pasture.

Stockpiled Forages: Forage that is not grazed during the prime growing season so that it can accumulate and be grazed in fall and winter.

Therapeutics: The use of antibiotics to treat animals that are exhibiting signs of illness.

Vaccines: Given to livestock to prevent certain diseases.

Watering Systems: Systems that deliver water to animals in a pasture.

Winter Forage: Forage that is grown to serve as a feed resource during winter months.