Agriculture The practice of cultivating a field in which to grow crops or rear animals for food or raw materials.

Arable farming The cultivation of crops that need to be replanted after each harvest.

Cash crop A crop grown to be sold rather than used by the farmer.

Cereal A grain such as wheat, rice, maize, barley, rye or millet. Cereals provide many people with their basic source of food.

Crop A plant grown for food or to make textiles, fuel or other products.

Cultivation The preparation of land before crops are planted, and the planting, tending and harvesting of these crops.

Dairy farming Raising cows, goats or sheep to produce milk, butter and cheese.

Farming The growing of crops or the keeping of animals for food and raw materials. Farms range in size from small-scale community patches, to large international businesses. Modern machines enable farmers to carry out jobs, such as sowing crops or milking cattle, more quickly and efficiently.

Fertilizer A substance that is added to soil to increase its fertility and provide nutrients essential to plant growth. Some fertilizers are produced chemically, but others, such as manure, occur naturally.

Fibre crops Plants such as cotton, flax and hemp that are turned into fabrics.

Fodder Food grown to feed livestock.

Free range A type of farming where animals such as pigs and chickens are allowed to move around freely instead of being confined in pens.

Genetically modified (GM) crops Crops that have been artificially changed in a laboratory, for example to taste better or to resist pests. Some people are worried about the long-term effects of GM crops.

Harvest The process of gathering crops. In wealthy countries, most farms use a combine harvester—a huge machine that gathers and cuts stalks, then separates the grain from the stalks.

Horticulture The practice of cultivating a garden on a small scale to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and other plants.

Intensive farming Methods used to increase food production, such as using fertilizer or pesticides on crops. In intensive farming, animals are kept indoors and fed a mixture which makes them gain weight in as little time as possible or produce more eggs or milk.

Irrigation The diversion of water from rivers or lakes to dry arable land. This may be achieved by digging channels to redirect water, or piping water to fields where it is distributed by sprinklers.

Organic farming Farming that does not use artificial pesticides or fertilizers.

Ox A bovine trained as a work, or draft, animal. Oxen are used for ploughing, for pulling carts, hauling wagons, for threshing grain by trampling and for powering mills or irrigation machines.

Pastoral farming Raising animals such as pigs, cows or sheep for meat, dairy products, wool or skins.

Permanent crops Crops that occupy the land for a number of years and do not need replanting after every harvest. Such crops include fruit trees and shrubs, nut trees and coffee shrubs.

Pesticides Chemicals designed to kill or harm pests that damage crops.

Rice A cereal that is the main food for millions of people. Rice is grown in flooded fields called paddies. Seedlings are planted in rows under water. After harvesting, the rice is threshed, to separate out the grain, then winnowed, to lose the husks and grit.

Shifting cultivation A system of arable farming where farmers grow crops for as long as the land is fertile, then move on when the soil becomes exhausted. The most common method is slash and burn, in which land is cleared by burning patches of forest.

Subsistence farming Subsistence farming produces only enough food for a farmer’s family or local community.

Tractor A powerful vehicle that can pull a plough or other machinery. Its huge rear tyres make it easier to move across muddy fields.

Yield The mass of a crop produced, measured in kilograms per hectare (or bushels per acre). By improving growing conditions—for example, by growing fruit and vegetables in a greenhouse with a constant source of light and extra carbon dioxide—a higher yield can be obtained (in this case by reducing the growing time). The use of fertilizer or pesticides on crops are also designed to improve yields.

Consultant: Lloyd Jenkins