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Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.

Aquifer

An area of underground permeable rock that stores groundwater.

Arable

Land hat is suitable for growing crops.

Bycatch

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing.

CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations)

Area where livestock are raised in very high densities.

Contour plowing

An agricultural technique in which plowing and harvesting are done parallel to the topographic contours of the land to minimize soil erosion.

Cover crops

Plants, such as rye, alfalfa, or clover, that can be planted immediately after harvest of the main food crops to minimize soil erosion.

Drip irrigation

An efficient method of supplying water to crops using tubes that drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.

Fallow

Inactive and unproductive land.

Fertilizer

A substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility.

Flood irrigation

An efficient method of distributing water to crops using canals to allow water to flow over the whole field.

Furrow irrigation

Moderately efficient method of supplying water to crops by digging trenches to allow the water to flow through.

GMO crops

Crops which have had the genes of another organism inserted into them to enhance certain positive trait

Green revolution

Period of agricultural advancement that increased production through improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, and mechanization.

Groundwater

Water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers.

Intercropping

An agricultural method in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management)

An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques to control pests and minimize the use of chemical pesticides.

Monoculture

Agricultural practice of growing a single crop species over a large area of land.

No-till agriculture

An agricultural method in which farmers do not turn the soil between seasons, used as a means of reducing erosion.

Overgrazing

Destruction of vegetation caused by too many grazing animals consuming the plants in a particular area at a rate faster than they can recover

Perennial crops

Plants that do not die at the end of the growing season but live for several years, which means they can be harvested annually without replanting.

Pesticide treadmill

The process through which a farmer uses more pesticides, with increasing costs, as the effectiveness of pesticides decreases due to resistance.

Pesticides

Chemicals that kill crop-destroying organisms

Saltwater intrusion

Movement of salt water into freshwater aquifers in coastal areas when groundwater is withdrawn faster than it is recharged by precipitation.

Slash-and-burn agriculture

A farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear the land for growing crops.

Soil salinization

Salt buildup in the soil from evaporation of irrigation water.

Spray irrigation

An moderately efficient method of supplying water to crops using large overhead sprayers.

strip cropping

cultivation in which different crops are sown in alternate strips to prevent soil erosion.

Subsistence farming

Producing just enough food to meet the needs of your family.

Terracing

Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides and mountain slops to use for farming.

Soil Tilling

The turning over of soil before planting crops.

Waterlogging

Degradation of the soil that occurs when soil remains underwater for prolonged periods.

Windbreaks

Rows of large trees or bushes planted between fields to help block the wind and prevent soil erosion.

Aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions

Biocontrol

Use of one kind of organism that is a predator or parasite of a pest species in order to reduce or eliminate populations of the pest.

CCD (colony collapse disorder)

A condition in a beehive where the worker bees die causing the colony to stop functioning

cone of depression

lowering of the water table around a pumping well

Crop rotation

the system of growing a different crop in a field each year to preserve the fertility of the land

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Program in which people buy shares of a local farmer's crop and receive fruits or vegetables each week during the summer and fall.

Feedlots

Places where livestock are concentrated in a very small area and raised on hormones and hearty grains that prepare them for slaughter at a much more rapid rate than grazing; often referred to as factory farms.

Fishery

a commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region

Green Manure

Freshly cut or still-growing green vegetation that is plowed into the soil to increase the organic matter and humus available to support crop growth.

Groundwater recharge

A process by which water percolates through the soil and works its way into an aquifer.

HYV (High Yield Variety )crops

Crops such as Rockefeller Rice which have been selectively bred to produce more food per hectare.

Manure lagoon

Human-made pond lined with rubber built to handle large quantities of manure produced by livestock.

POPs (persistent organic pollutants)

Long-lived carbon-based compounds such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial compounds (ex BPA, PCBs, PBDEs)

synthetic fertilizer

Produced commercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels. Also known as inorganic fertilizers.

Trawling

type of fishing done with net dragged across bottom the of the sea

USDA Organic

a certification for products that contain at least 95% organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of approved non-agricultural substances (as listed by USDA) or non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.