| D.C |
Direct current e.g. electrical current from batteries. |
| D Horizon |
Parent rock, underlying soil horizon. See Soil
Horizon |
| Dagging |
Removal of wool from the posterior of sheep coated with
faeces. |
| Daggy Wool |
A discoloured and dirty part of a fleece. |
| Dags |
Wool contaminated with faeces which is either adhering
to, or has been
clipped from, the posterior of sheep. |
| Dam |
1. a. barrier constructed across a waterway to control
the flow or raise the
level of water.
b. A body of water controlled by such a
barrier.
2. A female parent. Usually of a four-legged animal. |
| Dambo |
A class of complex shallow wetlands in central,
southern and eastern Africa. They are generally found in higher
rainfall flat plateau areas, and have river-like branching forms. |
| Dark fibres |
Non-white fibres in white wool, either pigmented or as
a result of staining,
often by urine. |
| Dead man |
An anchor to which a strainer, angle, or corner post is
tied back.
It is buried firmly in the ground. |
| Dead wool |
Wool plucked from a dead sheep. May contain
cellular debris from the skin known as scud. |
| Debenture |
An instrument, usually under seal, issued by a
company or public body as evidence of a debt or a security for a loan
of a fixed sum of money, usually at interest. It contains a promise to
pay the amount mentioned in it, and is usually called a debenture on
the face of it. In company practice there are restrictions on the
description of debentures. Mortgage debentures must be secured on land
belonging to the borrowing corporation or guarantor corporation.
Debenture stock need not be directly so secured. |
| Debone |
Remove the bones from meat |
| Debit |
(a) An entry recorded on the left side of an account in
a double entry system ledger i.e. an increase in an asset amount or a
decrease in liability account.
(b) A negative balance in a bank account. |
| Debt |
An obligation to pay, such as a loan or account payable. |
| Debt Ratio |
The ratio of total liabilities
to total assets at any
time; a measure of solvency. |
| Debt Service |
The payment of debts according to a specified schedule. |
| Debt Servicing Ability |
Net cash flow before principal and interest payments
(loan payments). |
| Debt/asset
Ratio |
The ratio of liabilities
to total assets;
a measure of solvency. |
| Debt/equity Ratio |
The ratio of total liabilities
to owner's
equity; a measure of solvency.
Syn. Gearing
Ratio, Leverage Ratio |
| Debt/Sales Ratio |
Determined by expressing annual total debt (interest
and capital) repayments as a
percentage of gross sales. |
| Debtor |
A current
asset which represents an amount owed to an entity by another
entity or individual. Syn. Account
Receivable |
| Debtors
Ledger |
A
subsidiary ledger to the General
Ledger containing details of transactions and balances
relating to each individual or entity that owes money to a business |
| Deciduous |
Broad-leaved
trees or shrubs that drop their leaves at the end of each growing
season, as contrasted with plants that retain their leaves for more
than one year. |
| Decile |
Deciles are used to give an element a ranking based on
10 divisions e.g.
Rainfall Deciles
give a better idea of relative rainfall than
comparison with an average. |
| Decision Analysis |
A rigorous and methodical
procedure for weighing up the expected benefits and costs of a possible
action. Ensures the decision maker has considered the the
potential risks and their attitude to taking such risks. |
| Decision
Tree |
A diagram that
traces out all the possible strategies and outcomes for a particular
decision or sequence of related (usually risky) decisions. |
| Declared plant |
Plants may be
”declared” by the Boards or other authorized bodies
under the appropriate acts in each state. If a plant is
declared, all landholders are obliged to control that plant on their
properties. |
| Decomposer |
Heterotrophic
organisms, chiefly the micro-organisms, that breakdown the
bodies of dead animals or parts of dead plants and absorb some of the
decomposition products while releasing similar compounds usable by
producers. |
| Decreaser
Plant |
Plant species of
the original vegetation that will decrease in relative amount with
continued overuse. |
| Deduction |
A sum which is taken from another; usually from a
receipt. |
| Deed |
An instrument
written or printed on paper or parchment, signed, sealed and delivered
(subject to statutory modification) recording the agreement of the
parties whose deed it is. |
| Deep litter system |
System of
keeping poultry in a house, on the floor of which is placed litter
composed of wood shavings saw dust, etc., of about 15 cm depth. |
| Deferment |
Delay of livestock
grazing on an area for an adequate period of time to provide for plant
reproduction, establishment of new plants, or restoration of vigour of
existing plants. cf. deferred
grazing. |
| Deferred
Grazing |
See Grazing
Deferred. |
| Deferred
Liability |
An obligation that
must be fulfilled by a future sacrifice after the current accounting
period. c/f. Current
Liability |
| Deferred Rotation |
Any grazing
system, which provides for a systematic rotation of the deferment among
pastures. |
| Deflation& |
A general decrease
in the level of all prices. |
| Deflocculating
agents |
Substances
which delay or hinder the sedimentation or agglomeration of finely
divided particles in suspensions. |
| Defoliation |
The removal of plant leaves, i.e. by grazing or
browsing, cutting, chemical defoliant,
or natural phenomena such as hail, fire, frost or pest attack. |
| Degradable Protein |
This refers to the protein in the feed that is used by rumen
bacteria to satisfy their own protein requirements, it is converted
into microbial protein which the ruminant can use. |
| Dehiscence |
The opening of an anther or fruit, permitting the
escape of reproductive
bodies contained within. |
| De-horning |
Removal of the
horns from a cow or bull at any age. |
| Demand |
The amount of a service or
product that consumers are prepared to buy at range of prices c.f. Supply. |
| Demand Curve |
Graphical representation of
the amount of a service or product that consumers are prepared to buy
at range of prices. |
| Denitrification |
Biological
reduction of nitrate or nitrite to gaseous nitrogen or nitrogen oxides. |
| Density |
1. The number of individuals, usually plants, per
unit area. It is not a measure of cover.
2. In wool, a term to denote the compactness of the fleece; the close
proximity of fibre growth on a given surface of skin. |
| Depletion |
Reduction of a
reserve, eg a mineral deposit or a forest. |
| Depreciation |
(a) The loss in
value of an asset over its useful life. Total depreciation is the
difference between purchase cost and salvage value. Allocation of the
loss over the life of the asset is done by various means such as
straight line (prime
cost, reducing (declining/diminishing) balance, sum of years
digits or change in market value. (b) Of exchange rate (see exchange
rates). |
| Depreciation
Recapture |
Taxable income
that results from selling a depreciable asset for more than its
adjusted tax basis. |
| Depth of Staple |
A term applied
to the length of staple on the body of the sheep. |
| Dermal |
Of the skin
(generally human or animal). |
| Dermis |
In animals the inner layer of
the skin lying immediately beneath the epidermis, and consisting of a
loose network of collagen and elastic fibres which support the
principal blood vessels and nerve fibres. Fat cells may often
be found in the deepest zone of the dermis. |
| Desertification |
The process by
which an area or region becomes more and through loss of soil and
vegetative cover. The process is often accelerated by excessive
continuous overstocking and drought. |
| Detergent |
A cleansing
agent for removing dirt, grease, etc. |
| Detritus |
Fragmented
particulate organic matter derived from the decomposition of debris. |
| Detritusphere |
The part of the soil associated with decomposing
residues. |
| Detrivore |
An organism (plant
or animal) that feeds on the organic remains or other organic debris
from autotrophic
(mostly plant) organisms. |
| Devaluation |
See Exchange
rates. |
| Development Budget |
A cash
flow, partial
or profit
budget used to assess the expected profitability and financial
feasibility of a major change to the farm that will take some time to
reach full capacity. |
| Development In
Animals |
Progressive
specialisation of cells. |
| Dewlap |
Area between the
front legs of cattle, particularly the loose skin characteristic of Bos indicus
cattlea. a pendulous fold of skin
under the throat or between the fore legs of cattle (Bos
indicus breeds).
b. any similar part in other animals, as the wattle of fowl or the
inflatable loose skin under the throat of some lizards. |
| Diaminochlorotriazine |
A breakdown product of Atrazine
- considered harmful in the environment. |
| Diammonium
phosphate (DAP) |
(NH4)2HPO4
A fertiliser containing phosphorus (46%) and
some nitrogen (18%). |
| Diazotrophs |
Bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen gas into a more
usable
form e.g. Azospirillum,
Herbaspirillum, Azotobactor and Acetobactor spp. |
| Dicotyledons |
Members of the
larger of two classes into which flowering plants are divided. |
| Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) |
This system is used to correct bias errors at one
location with measured bias errors at a known position. A reference
receiver, or base station, computes corrections for each satellite
signal for all satellites in view. Differential GPS are measured at two
stations, one of which has known coordinates. Correction values can
then be used to calculate the exact position of the unknown points from
the roving receiver. In this way it is possible to calculate the exact
position of survey control stations. |
| Diffusion |
The movement of
ions or molecules from a region of higher concentration to regions of
lower concentration of those ions or molecules. |
| Digestibility |
The proportion
of an animal's feed intake (i.e. feed eaten) that is
digested.
The undigested part is excreted. |
| Digester |
Tank
used to contain biosolids during the anaerobic digestion process that
produces biogas. |
| Digestible
dry matter
(DDM) |
The proportions
of the total dry matter which is able to be digested. |
| Devil's Grip |
A serious defect in
conformation of sheep, appearing as a depression immediately behind the
withers
and associated with short yolk
stained wool of poor character.
the condition sometimes extends down behind the shoulder blades and
even right round the girth. |
| Digestible
Energy (DE) |
The amount of food
energy remaining after making an allowance for loss of energy in the
faeces, expressed as megajoules per kilogram dry matter. |
| Diluent |
A material used
to dilute another. |
| Diminishing
Balance Depreciation |
A method
of calculating the annual depreciation
of an asset by reducing the value of the asset
by a
fixed percentage of the opening (depreciated) value of the asset each
year. |
| Diminishing
Returns |
A decline in the
rate at which total output increases as more and more inputs are used;
a declining marginal physical product. |
| Dingo |
Australian wild
dog. |
| Dingy (of wool) |
Discolouration
due to condition and dust. |
| Dioecious |
Bearing male
and female flowers on different individuals of the same plant species. |
| Dipping |
or spraying of animals (usually cattle and sheep) to
kill external
parasites (ectoparasites). |
| Direct
Drilling |
The establishment
of a crop or pasture by sowing directly into an uncultivated paddock,
after the resident weed population has been sprayed by herbicide. |
| Direct Seeding |
See Direct
Drilling. |
| Discount |
(a) Accounting -
the sum deducted from the amount of a bill in consideration of cash
being paid or early payment. (b). A form of interest where the interest
is deducted from the original loan (eg. Bank bills). commonly also used
by stores offering goods at less than normal recommended retail price.
(cf Discounting) |
| Discount Factor |
The adjustment factor used to
adjust future values to present values. See Discounting
and Interest
Rate Formulae |
| Disc
ploughs and offset discs |
These break up undisturbed soil by inverting it to bury
surface weeds and trash. Regular use of disc ploughs reduces soil
aggregates to small particles and produces a compacted layer or plough
pan which prevents air, water or roots penetrating the subsoil. When it
rains, soil particles on the surface may collapse together to form a
crust
which repels air and water and is difficult for seedlings to break
through. Offset disc ploughs, which have two rows of discs running at
angles to each other, serve a similar purpose. They are usually used as
a second tillage implement, and for initial tillage on lighter soils. |
| Discount
Rate |
The interest rate
used to find the present value of an amount to be paid or received in
the future. See Interest
Rate Formulae |
| Discounting |
The process of
reducing the value of a sum to be paid or received in the future by the
amount of interest that would be accumulated on it to that point in
time. See Interest
Rate Formulae |
| Discretionary
trusts |
(Family
Trusts) can act in the same way as a natural person. Each trust has a
trustee (often a proprietary limited company), with wide discretionary
powers in relation to the distribution of both income and capital. |
| Diseconomies Of
Size |
A production
relation in which the average total cost per unit of output increases
as more output is produced. |
| Disk flowers |
The tubular
flowers that compose the central part of a head of flowers, e.g. daisy
family. |
| Disker |
A tillage implement that uses disks rather than tynes
to penetrate the soil (see Disc
ploughs). |
| Dispersible
powder (water) |
Equivalent to a water
soluble powder. |
| Dispersion |
In soil, the
destruction of a soil structure so that each particle behaves as a unit. |
| Dispersion Test |
Is carried out as
part of the Slaking test. Due to a lack of bonding, clay particles
diffuse slowly from the soil aggregate and produce a spreading cloud.
cf. Slaking
Test |
| Disposal |
Getting rid of
something. |
| Diurnal |
Active during
daylight hours. |
| Diversification |
The production of
two or more commodities for which production levels and/or prices are
not closely correlated (c.f. specialisation). Advocates of
diversification argue it provides greater income stability while
specialised farms may benefit from economies
of size. |
| Diversity |
The distribution
and abundance of different plants and animal communities within an area. |
| Dividend |
The payment made
out of profits to shareholders of a company. |
| Dividend Yield |
The dividend as a
percentage of the market price of the share. |
| Divisible |
Telling
when one number is divisible by another |
| Docking |
To surgically
shorten a young animal's tail. In sheep itis done to prevent faeces
(dung) sticking to it. The short part of the tail remaining
is called a "dock". Docking is done by knife, hot iron or
rubber rings and is usually done at the same time as castration. Syn.
Tailing |
| Doe |
Deer: Mature female, used for breeds
other than red deer.
2. Goats: Mature female.
"Nanny goat" is used but doe would be the preferred
term for angora or milking goats. |
| Dog tucker |
Dog food. |
| Doggy |
Of wool - lacking
a defined staple crimp. Normally
applicable only to Merino wool. |
| Dogs |
See gudgeon. |
| Doing |
To
describe how stock are growing or their state of health, e.g. doing
well or badly. "Not doing" = performing badly. |
| Dominant |
The condition where one allele
(dominant) masks the effect of the other (recessive) allele. |
| Donor value |
Derived from the value of the sum of all inputs used to
create a product compared with ‘receiver value’
favoured by economists—what the purchaser is willing to pay. |
| Dormancy |
see Seed
Dormancy. |
| Dosing |
Same
as Drenching |
| Double
Entry Accounting |
The accounting
method (system) of recording transactions that requires that any
increase in one account reflects an increase or a decrease in another
account, so that the total debits
of each entry equal the total credits. |
| Double fleece |
Fleece wool
which is more than 12 months wool growth (also called overgrown). |
| Double Knock technique |
The use of a second weed-control tactic to eliminate
survivors of the first tactic. Pre-sowing, this can be an application
of glyphosate, followed by paraquat or by a full-cut tillage operation.
It is intended to delay the development of herbicide resistance. |
| Down-calver |
A cow about to
calve. |
| Down
Payment |
The portion of the
cost of purchasing a capital
asset that is financed from owner's equity. |
| Down tube |
Jointed tube
containing flexible drive shaft connecting shearing handpiece to an
individual electric motor or overhead gear. |
| Down-type wool |
Wool of
characteristic appearance and handle grown by sheep derived from
crossing fat lamb breeds such as the Suffolk, Hampshire |
| Draft |
(a)
(noun) a group of livestock separated from the rest of the herd or
flock.
(b)
(verb) to select cattle or sheep from a herd or flock.
Also
(c)
A Bill
of Exchange
(d)
A preliminary outline of a written document |
| Draft
off or drafting |
Removing
certain animals from a group. This
can done by driving the animals out of a group (cut off or drift off)
or driving them up a race and removing them through a special gate
(drafting gate). |
| Drake |
Adult male duck. |
| Drawings |
Withdrawals of
cash and non-cash assets
from the business by the owners. |
| Drenching |
The application of
liquid medications and vaccines to the animal's stomach via the mouth
and throat |
| Dressed carcass |
The basis for
most meat animal transactions and is the body after slaughter from
which the viscera, skin and head (except for pigs) and some other parts
have been removed. Usually
abbreviated to carcass (not to be confused with the entire dead body of
an animal). |
| Dresser skin |
Woolly lambskin
which is suitable for processing into leather with the wool attached
for rugs, car seat covers, coats, etc. |
| Dressing
Percentage |
Carcase
weight as a percentage of the live-weight at
slaughter. On average about 50% of the live weight of
sheep remains on the carcase (55% for cattle and 75% for pigs). |
| Drift |
(a) The natural
movement of animals.
(b) Vegetative material moved and deposited by wind and water.
(c) Of Agricultural chemicals: term applied to
the movement through the air of fumes or small particles of liquids or
dusts from the site of application. Drift
of hormone weedkillers onto susceptible crops may cause considerable
damage. There are three types of
drift· Drift of fumes This
may arise from the use of volatile esters of hormone weedkillers where
the ester evaporates or volatilises from the sprayed plant surfaces
after application. · Drift of spray This
occurs when liquids are atomised
(i.e. broken into very small particles) to form a mist.
The particles of liquid are so small and light that
they move through the air, sometimes for considerable distances, before
settling. · Drift of dusts Small
particles of solids, i.e. dusts, may drift. cf. spray drift. |
| Drill
Seeding |
Planting seed
directly into the soil with a drill in rows, usually 15-60cm apart. cf.
broadcastseeding. |
| Drone |
A male bee, especially a
honeybee, that is characteristically stingless, performs no work, and
produces no honey. Its only function is to mate with the queen bee. |
| Dropper |
(a) A post in a fence used to space wires, but not
set in the ground. Made of light timber, steel or plastic.
(b) A tube
which hangs down to carry the milk or pulsation tubes in a milking
machine. |
| Drought |
(a) A prolonged
chronic shortage of water, as compared to the norm, often associated
with high temperatures and winds during spring, summer and autumn. (b)
A period without precipitation
during which the soil water content is reduced to such an extent that
plants suffer from lack of water. |
| Droving |
The act of
driving sheep or cattle slowly on long journeys |
| Drummer |
Slowest shearer
on the board who shears at the bottom of the board furthest away f rom
the wool table. |
| DrumMuster |
An Australian scheme to reduce pesticide pollution by
organised collection, central storage and disposal of used pesticide
drums. |
| Drupe |
A simple fleshy
fruit in which the inner part of the ovary wall develops into a hard,
stony or woody endocarp, e.g. peach. |
| Dry |
A female animal
that has completed her lactation and is not producing milk. |
| Dry Finishes |
A season in which
rainfall is inadequate to ensure the maturity of crops. |
| Dry Matter |
The various
mineral and organic material (carbohydrate, protein, fats or oils, and
vitamins) in feedstuffs. Measured by drying the material to be tested. |
| Drylot |
An enclosure of limited size usually bare of vegetation
and used for fattening livestock Syn. Feedlot,
Feedyard |
| Dry Period |
In dairy cattle
the length of time between the completion of one lactation and the
start of the next lactation. cf Lactation
Period |
| Dry
Sheep Equivalent |
Is a measure based
on the feed requirement of grazing animals, hence can be used to assess
the capacity of land to carry livestock. The standard unit is
represented by the ability to maintain a 45 kg wether at constant body
weight from one year to the next. Other animals are rated in relation
to this. Click
here for a table of DSEs |
| Dryland Agriculture |
Agriculture based on natural
rainfall i.e. not irrigated. Syn. Rainfed Agriculture |
| Drying Off |
The last stage of
lactation when milk production decreases and eventually stops. Cows are
usually forced to dry off by the fanner after 300 days lactation. See
also Lactation
Period |
| DSE |
See Dry
sheep equivalent. |
| Dual Purpose Breeds |
Breeds of (a)
cattle considered useful for both beef and milk production, (b) poultry
considered good for egg laying and as table birds, (c) pigs, the
females of which are kept for crossing with either bacon or pork type
boars, and (d) sheep that have been bred and selected for production of
wool and meat. |
| Dual Use |
Use of grazing
areas by more than one kind of animal e.g. sheep and goats cf. common use. |
| Dubbing |
Cutting or
trimming of a fowl's comb to prevent injury to the comb. |
| Duckling |
Young duck. |
| Ducks-foot |
A relatively broad tyne used for shallow cultivation
and minimum tillage. |
| Dumped Wool |
A package of wool compressed
tightly for shipment and held by metal bands or wires |
| Duplex |
In relation to
soils, the condition where the A & B horizons are clearly
differentiated. |
| Durum |
A 'hard' wheat (Triticum
turgidum, formerly T. durum) used chiefly in making pasta. |
| Dust |
A powder of
finely divided active ingredient, alone or in an intimate and uniform
mixture with a finely divided inert diluent. |
| Dystocia |
Calving
difficulty. Abnormal labour or birth ( the
offspring may be too large or the dam's pelvis too small, or both). |
