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The following definitions explain terms used in this briefing room.
At the bottom of this page are links to online glossaries that provide
additional information.
Antibiotic. A substance that destroys or inhibits
the growth or action of microorganisms.
Aquaculture. The production of aquatic plants or animals
in a controlled environment, such as ponds, raceways, tanks, or
cages, for all or part of their life cycle.
Backgrounding. The preparation of young cattle for a feedlot,
getting them accustomed to confinement facilities and feeds.
Barrow. A male hog that has been castrated before
reaching sexual maturity.
Boar. An uncastrated (sexually intact) male hog.
Bovine. Pertaining to cattle, both beef and dairy.
Broiler. A young chicken produced for meat.
Broodfish. Fish kept for egg production, including males.
Broodfish produce the fertilized eggs that go to hatcheries.
Bull. A sexually mature, uncastrated bovine male, generally
employed for breeding purposes.
Byproduct. A product other than muscle meat harvested or manufactured from livestock.
Cattle cycle. Cyclical increases and decreases in cattle inventories over time, which arise because biological constraints prevent producers from instantly responding to price. In general, the cattle cycle is determined by the combined effects of cattle prices, climatic conditions, and the time needed to breed, calve, and raise cattle to market weight.
Confinement. Keeping an animal within buildings, corrals, or pens during all stages of production.
Cow. A mature bovine female, usually having had
a least one calf.
Creep feeder. A small feeding pen built with a small entrance
through which only young, small animals can enter. This prevents
larger animals from crowding the smaller ones from the feed.
Crustacean. Invertebrate animals with many jointed legs
and a hard external shell, such as crawfish, shrimp, softshell crabs,
and prawns.
Cull. To remove from the herd or flock, usually undesirable
and/or inefficient (unprofitable) breeding stock that will be sent
to slaughter.
Doe. A female goat, deer, or rabbit.
Dressed weight. The weight of a chilled animal carcass.
Carcasses typically have the feet, head, hide, and internal organs
removed, although there are some variations across species.
Drying off. The process of using certain management practices,
such as reducing milking frequency and changing feed rations, to
stop milk production. A dry cow is not lactating.
Ewe. A female sheep.
Farrow. To give birth to a litter of pigs.
Farrow-to-finish operations. Operations where pigs are farrowed
and finished to a slaughter weight of 225-300 pounds
Feeder cattle. Cattle, ready to be finished for market,
weighing 550 to 650 pounds or heavier. Usually yearling cattle (between
1 and 2 years old) with a big frame.
Feeder pigs. Young pigs, usually weighing 40 to 60 pounds,
ready to be finished for market.
Feedlot. Facility where cattle are confined in a small area
and fed carefully mixed, high-concentrate feed to fatten them. On
average, cattle are fed here about 5 months, although this can vary
from 3 months to 9 months, depending on their weight when they enter
and their desired final condition.
Fed cattle. Slaughter cattle (usually steers and heifers)
that have been finished on concentrated feed.
Fingerlings. Young, small fish. For trout, fingerlings are
defined as fish from 1 to 6 inches long. For catfish, fingerling
weight is 60 pounds per 1,000 fish and less.
Finishing. The stage of production
prior to slaughter where animals are typically fed rations of grain
or other concentrates. The finishing stage is designed to increase
an animal's weight and produce desirable carcass characteristics.
Game birds. Birds, such as pheasant, grouse, partridge,
or quail, that are widely hunted for sport.
Farm-raised
game can be sold if they are produced following appropriate
State regulations.
Gilt. Female hog, usually less than 15 months of age,
which has not produced a litter.
Heifer. A bovine female that has not given birth to a
calf.
Hen. An adult female chicken or turkey.
Hog production phases. Four commonly used categories that
describe stages of the hog production process: 1) breeding and gestation—the
breeding of females and their maintenance during the gestation period;
2) farrowing-to-wean—the time from the birth of baby pigs until
weaning; 3) nursery—the care of pigs immediately after weaning
until about 30-80 pounds; and 4) finishing—the feeding of hogs
from 30-80 pounds to a slaughter weight of 225-300 pounds.
Kid. A young goat.
Lactation. The process of secreting milk.
Lamb. A term that refers to both young sheep and the
meat obtained from sheep that are generally slaughtered within 12-14
months of birth.
Marbling. Fat interspersed within lean beef muscle. Distinguished from exterior fat that does not directly affect meat quality. More marbling is usually associated with higher palatability.
Market hog. A barrow or gilt ready for slaughter, weighing
240 to 260 pounds.
Mohair. The long, lustrous fleece covering Angora goats,
used for special kinds of cloth.
Mollusk. Invertebrate animals with soft body coverings and
shells of one to eight parts or sections. This group includes clams,
mussels, oysters, abalone, and snails.
Mutton. Meat from older sheep that were once part of a breeding
herd.
Packer. A firm that slaughters or slaughters and processes
livestock or poultry.
Pig. Name applied to domesticated swine of all ages and
sizes in most countries of the world except the United States, where
“pig” commonly means younger animals (typically those weighing less
than 100 pounds) while “hog” refers to all larger animals.
Poult. A young turkey of either sex, usually not more
than 2 months of age.
Pullet. A female chicken less than 1 year old, or a young
female chicken before she begins to lay eggs.
Ram. A male sheep that has not been castrated, generally
employed for breeding purposes.
Red meat. Refers to the carcass after slaughter for beef,
veal, pork, lamb, and mutton.
Rooster. An adult male chicken.
Sow. A female hog that has produced at least one litter.
Stag. A male animal castrated at or near maturity after
having developed definite masculine characteristics.
Steer. A bovine male castrated before reaching sexual
maturity.
Stocker calves. Young, growing animals on pasture with very
little other feed, with the intention of increasing weight and maturity
before being placed in a feedlot.
Tom. A male turkey.
Veal. Meat from the carcass of a young calf.
Vealer. Calves fed (usually only milk) for early slaughter,
usually less than 4 months and 350 pounds.
Vertical integration. The linkage of firms in different
stages of production or marketing under the ownership of a single
firm (from Gail L. Cramer and Clarence W. Jensen, Agricultural
Economics and Agribusiness, Sixth Edition, John Wiley and Sons,
Inc., 1994).
Yearling mutton. Meat from sheep that are generally slaughtered
when they are older than 14 months of age, but were never a part
of the breeding herd and show carcass maturity characteristics more
advanced than those of lamb.
Other Online Glossaries for Livestock and Animal Products
Below are links to other online glossaries from government,
university, and other non-commercial sources. Some focus on individual
animal species or products, some are for livestock in general,
and others focus on animal products and food safety.
Glossaries by Species or Product
Glossary
of Beef Production Terms, Purdue University Extension Service
Swine Production
Glossary, University of Pennsylvania Veterinary College
Dairy
Glossary Index, California Department of Agriculture
Defining
Fisheries: A User's Glossary, Division of Marine Fisheries,
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Glossary
of Terms, StreamNet website, Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission
Glossaries for General Livestock and Animal Products
Glossary
of Important Terms, Introduction to the Animal and Poultry Industries,
North Carolina State University
Breeds of Livestock,
Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University
Glossary
of Forage Terms, Forage Information System, Oregon
State University
Glossary
of Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, USDA
Glossary
of Food Safety Terms, Iowa State University Extension Service
Grazing Management
Terms, University of California Cooperative Extension
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