Vocabulary List

Term / Abbreviation

Definition

Notes

Agroecology

the application of ecological principles to designing agricultural systems in a way that respects diverse sociocultural contexts and attends to power dynamics. As a science, a practice, and a social movement, agroecology has been put forth as a promising pathway for transitioning to more sustainable, resilient, and just agri-food systems

 

GDF

Grassroots Development Framework

IAF (Inter-American Fund) term

Bed

Raised area in a field.

 

Crop Type

Species, A species can have many different types of varieties e.g. of species/crop type= Tomato or Cucumber.

 

Varietal

Variety is a taxonomic rank used to classify plants. The comparative term for variety in the animal kingdom is subspecies.

Most varieties are true to type, which means that they produce offspring which are similar to the parent plant.

eg. Beafsteak Tomato, boston pickling cucumber

 

IFOAM

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements is the worldwide umbrella organization for the organic agriculture movement, which represents close to 800 affiliates in 117 countries.

https://www.ifoam.bio/

Genetic (Seed)

 

 

Stunting

 

 

Wasting

 

 

Hybrid (Seed)

produced by companies through careful pollination of two specific varieties. Normally, this highly selective plant breeding is done to bring together two traits in each of the chosen varieties so that the resulting seed has both of the traits.

 

Plot trial

 

 

Sheet & Rill Erosion

 

 

Wind Erosion

wind removing soil from an area. Most often occurs on flat land in dry or sandy areas

 

Leeching

loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil, due to rain and irrigation.

 

Tillage

 

 

Cover Crops

A specific crop grown for the benefit of the soil. suppress weeds, stop erosion, fix N or provide nutrients when tilled in. not harvested. eg. clover, rye

 

Conventional Till

 

 

Reduced Till

 

 

Strip Trial

 

 

CPG

Consumer Packaged Goods

 

CPG Premiums

 

 

CRP

 

 

Fieldprint

 

 

Soil type

 

 

Soil texture

12 classes based on Relative percentages of Clay, Silt, Sand

 

WWOOFERS

(World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.) generally labour exchanged for room and board

 

pick sheets

amount of each crop to harvest on a specific day, determined by pre-orders or desired market quantities

 

GH

Greenhouse

 

NRCS

National Resources Conservation Service

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/

Infiltration (Soil)

Soil infiltration refers to the soil's ability to allow water movement into and through the soil profile. ... Infiltration rates are a measure of how fast water enters the soil and are typically expressed in inches per hour.

 

Aggregation (Soil)

 

 

Status - Organic

Certified Organic (CO)- has completed the application process of a recognized Certifying Body (CB) and completed the necessary transition time

can market products as ‘Organic’ using their CB logo

Status - Transitional

has applied to an organic certification program and is currently documenting and complying with necessary standards for a defined period of time until deemed eligible for organic status

in Canada it generally takes a minimum of 12 month to 3 years of organic management practices and inspections before an operation is considered ‘eligible’ for organic status

Fertilizer NPK

NPK fertilizers are three-component fertilizers providing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).

NPK is a rating system describing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in a fertilizer. consisting of three numbers separated by dashes (e.g., 10-10-10 or 16-4-8) . eg A 50-pound (23 kg) bag of fertilizer labeled 16-4-8 contains 8 lb (3.6 kg) of nitrogen (16% of the 50 pounds), an amount of phosphorus equivalent to that in 2 pounds of P2O5 (4% of 50 pounds), and 4 pounds of K2O (8% of 50 pounds). Most fertilizers are labeled according to this N-P-K convention,