Ag Terminology

Through this whole blogging experience, I have used a number of words that you, my followers, may find  a little foreign. So I have created a complete agriculture dictionary for you, just to clear up any confusion!

Cattle

Cow: A mature female that has already produced a calf
Bull: An intact male, used for breeding purposes
Heifer: A female under 2 years of age that has not yet had her first calf
Steer: A castrated male, used for market beef purposes
Calving: A period of time where the cow herd gives birth to calves
Breeding: When a cow is bred to a bull, either naturally (buy the bull himself) or artificially (through artificial insemination) in order to get into calf
Weaning: The process of separating a calf from its mother and her milk


Sheep

Ram: A mature, intact male sheep used for breeding
Ewe: A female sheep able to produce lambs
Whether: A castrated male sheep, used for market

Horses

Stallion: A mature, uncastrated male horse
Mare: A mature female horse
Gelding: A mature, castrated male horse
Colt: A male horse under 3 years of age
Filly: A female horse under 3 years of age
Foal: A newborn baby horse

Swine

Boar: An intact male pig used for breeding
Sow: A mature female that has produced a litter
Barrow: A castrate male pig, often used for market purposes
Gilt: A young female pig who has not yet produced a litter

Goats

Buck: Mature breeding male
Doe: Mature female of any age
Kid: A young goat of any sex



Processing: Often involving tagging, tattooing, and vaccinating cattle
Castration: the removal of testicles on any male animal, in order to prevent breeding. Can be performed by cutting or banding. The end result is a steer in beef cattle, a gelding in horses, a barrow in swine, or a whether in sheep.