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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glossary of agriculture | 35/41 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_agriculture | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:50:17.200809+00:00 | kb-cron |
subsistence agriculture Agricultural production that is practiced in order to meet the needs of the farmer or producer, as opposed to that practiced in order to generate profit by selling the agricultural products to consumers. Subsistence agriculture usually refers to farmers growing various food crops strictly for use by themselves and their families, typically on smallholdings, with the output of the farm targeted principally at fulfilling basic survival needs and local requirements, and generally implies small amounts of inputs, use of crude or traditional farming tools, reliance on unskilled labor (often family members), low yields, and little or no surplus. It primarily occurs in the developing world, though most modern subsistence farmers also participate in trade to some degree.
subsoiler Also flat lifter. A tractor-mounted farm implement used for tilling soil at depths much below the levels normally worked by mouldboard ploughs, disc harrows, or rototillers. While most such tools break up and turn over surface soil to a depth of 15–20 centimetres (6–8 in), subsoilers can often extend the action to as deep as 75 centimetres (30 in). They typically consist of three or more heavy, curved shanks fitted with replaceable points and sometimes with horizontal wings, which are used to lift and shatter the hardpan that builds up in deeper layers due to soil compaction.
succession planting
suckle To supply or take milk from the breast or udder of an animal, used especially to describe the nourishment of newborn mammals including swine and cattle.
suckling An infant or young animal that suckles milk for most or all of its nourishment; one that has not yet been weaned.
sugar bush A natural or cultivated stand of maple trees used for the production of maple syrup.
summer fallow The practice of deliberately not producing crops from a particular field or area of cropland (fallowing) during the summer, or during the regular growing season. The term may also refer to the unused land itself. Intensive cultivation depletes soils of moisture and nutrients and disrupts many of the natural ecological processes that would ordinarily restore them, which are typically most active during the summer. Fallowing fields in the summer thus maximizes the opportunity for impoverished soils to recover by allowing these processes to continue instead of interrupting them with another season of cultivation. It is a common technique in dryland farming.
summer range Also summer pasture. Land or pasture reserved for grazing during the warmer months (i.e. spring and summer), when wild or cultivated forage is abundant and can satisfy all or nearly all of an animal's feed requirements, such that the need to supply fodder for sustenance is greatly reduced and thus feed costs are cheaper. More generally, the term may describe the areas occupied or frequented during the warm season by open-range livestock or wild animals which exhibit seasonal migration patterns, moving between higher, cooler elevations in the summer and lower, warmer elevations in the winter. Contrast winter range.
sun-cured Also sun-dried. (of a food) Having been dried by a process in which the freshly harvested produce (e.g. tomatoes) is exposed to direct sunlight in open air, often for multiple days, causing most of the water of the fresh weight to be lost by evaporation.
sunscald Also southwest injury. Permanent damage to the bark covering tree trunks and branches, often in the form of conspicuous cracks and fissures, caused by an abrupt change from relatively high daytime temperatures to freezing conditions at night, usually during the winter in warm temperate or subtropical climates. These conditions may compromise the health of trees growing in orchards, and may damage flowers and fruits as well.
super seeder
support price A legislated minimum price for a particular commodity, maintained through a variety of mechanisms, such as minimum import prices, nonrecourse loans, and purchase programs.
sustainable agriculture
swampbusting The drainage of a natural swamp or wetland in order to make the land arable for the cultivation of agricultural crops, or to render it usable for any other purpose.
swathe
swather Also windrower. A machine that cuts hay or small grain crops and forms them into windrows, with the goal of decreasing the time required for drying the crop to a moisture content suitable for harvesting and storage. A sickle bar or mower cuts the stems of the crop, and a reel helps the cut stems fall neatly onto a conveyor, which then deposits them into a windrow with all stems oriented in the same direction. The mown strip left behind is called the swathe.
sweetening The sowing of additional seed of the same crop into a previously sown field without disrupting the original planting, in order to supplement thinly planted areas which did not or are not expected to germinate at the same density as the rest of the field. Even when the original seed is uniformly sown, it may fail to establish at the expected density due to low viability or adverse weather conditions such as a late frost.
swill A mixture of water and discarded kitchen refuse that is fed to livestock (especially swine); or any liquid food for animals.
swine Also pig or hog. Any member of several species of omnivorous mammals of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, flat snouts, and thick hides covered with sparse, coarse hair; the term may be applied to such animals both collectively and individually. Adult males are called boars and adult females are called sows. Domestic swine are commonly raised for their meat, known as pork, and wild swine are often hunted.
== T ==
tagging See crutching.
tailing See docking.
tailrace A manmade channel or millrace built to carry water away from a mill, water wheel, turbine, or mining operation. Compare headrace.