Agronomy – branch of
agriculture dealing with crop production and soil management
AI – artificial
insemination
All-in/all-out production –
production system where animals are moved in and out of
facilities in distinct groups to help reduce the spread of
disease; facilities are normally cleaned and disinfected
thoroughly between groups
Animal welfare – The
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has defined
animal welfare as “a human responsibility that encompasses
all aspects of animal well-being, including proper housing,
management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment,
responsible care, human handling, and, when necessary,
humane euthanasia.”
Antibiotic – a chemical substance produced by a
microorganism that has the capacity to inhibit the growth of
or to kill other microorganisms
Antimicrobial – an agent
that kills bacteria or suppresses their multiplication or
growth; includes antibiotics and synthetic agents
Aquifer – layer of
permeable rock, sand, or gravel that contains or conducts
groundwater
Backfat – amount of fat
over a pig’s back; an indicator of the overall fat content
of the animal; used in selecting breeding stock and in
grading carcasses
Barrow – a male hog that
has been castrated
Balanced diet – feed
that has all the nutrients an animal needs to stay healthy
and grow normally
Belly – lower side of a
hog remaining after the loin and spareribs are removed; used
to make bacon |
Biosecurity
program – a program to help prevent diseases from
being spread between herds; the program isolates animals,
controls human traffic in and around the operation and
includes facilities
sanitation
Boar – intact male pig;
used for breeding
Boston butt – upper part
of the pork shoulder
Breeding herd – includes
boars and females in gestation, breeding and farrowing
stages of production
Carcass – the two sides
of the same processed animal
Case-ready – meat that
is pre-priced and prepackaged by the processor for immediate
display in the meatcase
Cold storage – the
system whereby meat is stored under refrigeration or in the
frozen state for a period of time to provide flexibility in
the marketing of various products; not intended to take the
heat out of products but rather maintain their previous cold
state achieved before entering the facility; stocks of
various products in cold storage may fluctuate during the
year depending upon the supply and demand for that product.
For instance, hams are collected in cold storage throughout
the fall in anticipation of the huge demand for hams during
the Christmas season.
Conservation plan – a
combination of land uses and practices to protect and
improve soil productivity and to prevent soil deterioration
Consumption – the total
amount of a product consumed. Note: No direct measurement of
meat consumption is available, so for pork and other meats,
consumption is assumed to equal other disappearance since we
know that the product was not exported or left in storage
but do not know for sure how it was used.
Contract production – a
business model in which one or more phases of the pig
production enterprise is performed by a person or company
(referred to as a “grower”) that does not own the pigs;
growers provide land, buildings, labor, utilities and waste
management services in return for a per pig or per pig space
fee
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