| Hack |
A horse used for
riding at an ordinary gait over roads and trails. Over 15 hands. |
| Hair |
Fibre
similar in chemical composition to wool but containing a medulla. |
| Hair-pinning |
A situation when planting where stubble is not cut but is
pushed into the seeding slot, and compromises soil–seed contact.
Crop losses increase further when soil applied herbicides are used. |
| Hairy Fibres |
A term applied
to coarse, straight, usually chalky fibres in wool. In the
Merino, they are more commonly observed in the breech region and on the
folds
of the neck. |
| Halfbreed |
The progeny of
two distinct breeds. |
| Half
brother/sister |
Offspring
by different sires out of
the same dam. |
| Halo
hair |
Long
coarse fibres which stand out from the birth coat of some
lambs. Generally shed within two
months of birth.
Also called mother hair. |
| Hamstrung |
A term applied
to an animal in which the tendon above the hock has been severed. |
| Hand |
Unit of
measuring horses (1 hand = 100 mm). |
| Handle |
Feel
of wool. |
| Handpiece |
The working end
of a shearing machine. The handpiece consists of a comb and a
reciprocating cutter. |
| Handy
dog |
General-purpose
dog that will head, hunt, back, and perform all the duties required in
sheep yards and woolsheds. |
| Hard Seed |
A physiological
condition of seed in which some viable seeds do not immediately absorb
water or oxygen and germination is delayed when a favourable
environment is provided. Non-synonymous with seed dormancy. cf. dormancy seed. |
| Hard Setting
Soils |
Such soils have
been over-cultivated or overgrazed and have lost the capacity to retain
a viable structure in the surface layers. |
| Hard
Systems Analysis |
Are definable
and able to be manipulated in reality systems engineering, farming
systems research and simulation modelling are examples of hard systems. |
| Hard System Methodology (HSM) |
A system where it is assumed that
the system
is well
defined and that a scientific or technical approach will solve
problems. Typically there is a desired objective that the
system is designed to work towards. |
| Hard Systems
Sciences |
Use of
mathematics and computers to try and solve problems. Engineering relies
heavily on this approach. |
| Hardening Off |
The treatment of
tender plants to enable them to survive a harsher environment. |
| Hardheads |
Burrs causing
particular difficulties in wool processing, specifically noogoora
burr (Xanthium occidentale) and Bathurst
burr (Xanthium spinosum). |
| Hardpan |
A hardened soil
layer in the lower A
or in the Bhorizon caused by
cementation of soil particles with organic matter or with materials
such as silica, sesquioxides, or calcium carbonate. The hardness does
not change appreciably with changes in moisture content, and pieces of
the hard layer do not crumble in water. cf. caliche. |
| Hardwood
Cutting |
A section of
plant taken from woody material or older growth in order to propagate
from it. |
| Harrow |
A farm implement
consisting of a heavy frame with sharp teeth or upright
disks, used to break up and even off ploughed ground. To use
such an implement. |
| Harsh |
A term which
describes wool lacking in softness to the touch. |
| Harvest |
Removal of
animal or vegetation products from an area of land. |
| Harvest Index |
The ratio of
grain harvested to total above ground plant material produced by a crop. |
| Hatchery |
A
place where eggs are artificially incubated and where day old chicks
are sold. |
| Haulm |
The
stems and stalks of peas, beans, potatoes, etc. |
| Haustorium |
1.
In parasitic vascular plants, a specialised outgrowth from the stem or
root which penetrates the living tissues of the host and absorbs
food.
2. A specialised fungus hyphae that invades a host cell. |
| Hay |
Pasture or crop
material (usually clover, fine stemmed grasses or Lucerne) that is
dried to about 20% moisture content and baled and stacked for animal
roughage. |
| Hayfreeze |
Is the effect of
the spray-topping
technique where grasses are killed with low rates of chemical, usually
in late winter to early spring, and thereby preventing the loss of
protein which normally occurs as the grasses mature naturally. |
| Haylage |
Pasture or crop
material that is dried to about 50% moisture content and is preserved
for feeding to animals. Usually the air has been evacuated forcefully,
as in an airtight, glass-lined silo, rather than by compression of the
stack or stored in a sealed plastic wrap. Because of the high moisture
level and air-tight environment, the forage ferments and is preserved
by acid production during fermentation. Also termed 'round bale silage'. |
| Head Ditch |
In flood
irrigation, water is syphoned or discharged into the furrows or bays
from the head ditch. |
| Header |
(a) In
Australia, a grain harvesting machine. (b) In other countries, the
cutting attachment on a grain harvesting machine. |
| Heading
dog |
Dog
that goes around or heads off a group or an individual sheep. |
| Headland |
The area of land
which is left uncultivated during the initial pass of the cultivating
implement while it is turning. This area is usually 'cut out' or
cultivated last. |
| Heat |
A cow or heifer
is on heat when she is ovulating and ready to accept the bull (she is
bulling). If a cow is to be artificially inseminated then it is best to
wait some 18 hours after heat begins (since the semen can be placed
further inside the uterus and sperm have less distance to travel to
fertilise the egg). See oestrus. |
| Heavy Grazing |
A comparative
term which indicates that the stocking rate of a pasture is relatively
greater than that of other pastures. Often erroneously used to mean
overuse. cf. light and moderate grazing. |
| Hedging |
A strategy designed to minimise
exposure to
an unwanted business risk, while still allowing the business to profit
from an investment activity e.g.
reducing the risk of a decline in prices by selling a commodity futures contract
in advance of when the actual commodity is sold. |
| Hedger |
Generally
traders involved in the production or marketing of a physical
commodity. Hedgers are mainly concerned with protecting
themselves against adverse price movements. they could be
sellers of futures contracts (e.g. primary producers) or buyers of
futures contracts (e.g. a wholesaler or retailer of goods, flour miller
or grain merchant). |
| Heel
(Dogs) |
1.
Bite (usually cattle) in the heel to make them move.
2. A command to return to the owner's side. |
| Heifer |
Female (cattle)
older than a calf, from 6 months old until she has her first calf. The
term is dropped after about 2½-3years if the animal has not
had a calf. Often refers to an animal until she has her second calf.
Example: 'first-calf heifer'. |
| Hemicellulose |
A heteropolymer (matrix polysaccharide)
present in almost all plant cell walls along with cellulose. While
cellulose is crystalline, strong, and resistant to hydrolysis,
hemicellulose has a random, amorphous structure with little strength
and more easily hydrolysed.. |
| Heterotypic
Fibres |
Fibres
which occur in the fleeces of badly bred sheep. They show, at
different parts of their length, the physical structure and
characteristics of both wool and hair. |
| Hen |
A
mature female bird (e.g. chicken, turkey). |
| Herb |
A broadleaf
plant with a non-woody stem. Sometimes they provide a scent or flavour. |
| Herbaceous |
(a) Vegetative
growth with little or no woody component. (b) Non-woody vegetation,
such as graminoids
and forbs. |
| Herbage |
(a) Herbs taken
collectively. (b) Total aboveground biomass
of herbaceous plants regardless of grazing preference or availability. |
| Herbicide |
A material that
will kill or inhibit the growth of plants. Herbicides may kill
virtually all plants or be quite selective in the way they work. |
| Herbicide
Tolerance |
A characteristic
of a plant to withstand the usual commercial rates of application of
herbicide. The resistance may be genetic or by virtue of leaf
morphology. |
| Herbivore |
An animal that
subsists principally or entirely on plants or plant materials. |
| Herd |
An assemblage of
animals usually of the same species e.g. cattle. |
| Herd Recording,
Herd Testing |
Recording a
cow's production at regular intervals. |
| Heritability |
Extent to which
an animal characteristics or traits are passed on to future generations. |
| Heritage
Agreements |
A legal contract
between Government and land owner to manage land for wildlife
conservation. |
| Hermaphrodite |
Bisexual animal
- one that has both male and female organs |
| Herringbone |
A milking shed
design in which the cows are placed in angled rows with their rears to
a central operating pit. |
| Heterosis |
the
increased vigour, growth, size or yield of a hybrid progeny over the
parents that results from crossing genetically unlike parents. (Also
called hybrid vigour) |
| Heterotrophic |
Capable of
deriving energy for life processes only from the decomposition of
organic compounds. |
| Heterotrophic
Organism |
An organism that
is dependent on organic matter for food. |
| Heterozygous
(Heterozygote) |
Having
contrasting genes of a gene pair in the same organism. This leads to
the production of hybrids. |
| HGP |
Hormone Growth
Promotant. Cattle treated with hormones to produce faster growth rates.
Cannot be sold on some export markets. HGP-free animals may be sold
with identifying pink tail-tags or ear tags. |
| Hide |
Skin of an
animal (e.g. Cattle) |
| Hierarchical |
Of, relating to,
or constituting a sequentially related series of levels in a
classification scheme. |
| Hierarchy (of systems) |
A system is part of a hierarchy, i.e. it has component
sub-systems and can be viewed as a sub-system of some higher-level
system. |
| High
Country |
High mountainous
country |
| High Rainfall
Zone |
Area which
receives over 500 mm of rainfall each year and up to nine months
growing season. |
| High Tensile |
Wire of high
strength and hardness. Thinner, stronger and more difficult to work
than milder wire. |
| High-Input
Farming |
The use of large
amounts of inputs such as pesticides, fertilisers, fossil fuels and
labour to achieve maximum yields. |
| High
volume (Spray) |
Describes
a rate of application of spray which will completely wet the foliage of
treated plants and beyond which any increase in application rate would
cause run-off. The
form of application is also known as "dilute application". |
| Hill country |
Steep to rolling country, usually
with only a
small proportion accessible by wheeled tractor. |
| Hind |
Mature
female red deer. |
| Hinges |
Used
to allow the gate to swing - made up of gudgeons
and straps. |
| Historic
Cash Flow |
See Cash flow
statement. |
| Historic
Gross Margin |
Gross
Margin calculated
from actual figures. |
| Hocky |
A
term used to describe a sheep when the hocks are inclined inwards,
sometimes referred to as 'cow hocked'. |
| Hog |
General
term usually used to describe young pigs.
May be used for castrates
or barrows but not
specific (American). |
| Hogget |
A young sheep of
either sex which has cut two teeth and before it has cut four teeth
usually one to two years old. The hogget stage follows the weaner
stage. See Meat Terminology |
| Holistic |
Emphasising the
organic or functional relation between parts and whole. |
| Homeostasis |
One of the most
important features of a biotic community is that is possesses
mechanisms for self-regulation. All communities, except possibly the
very simplest types, contain within themselves regulatory mechanisms
which enable them constantly to adjust themselves to the changing
conditions of their physical environments. This ability for
self-regulation is called "homeostasis". cf. feedback. |
| Homozygous
(Homozygote) |
Having identical genes of a gene pair
present in the same organism. |
| Honeycomb |
See Reticulum |
| Horizon |
See
Soil Horizon |
| Hormonal Growth Promotants
(HGPs) |
A group of
veterinary drugs that mimic the hormones that influence animal growth.
They aim to improve the rate of food conversion of animals
particularly cattle. They may be natural or synthetic and are
normally implanted by means of a pellet under the skin of the ear. Further
information. |
| Hormone |
Secretion from
special glands within an animal's body which affects various body
functions. |
| Hormone
weedkiller |
A
weedkiller which upsets the internal mechanism of the growth and
development of a plant and may cause its death.
The symptoms of a plant treated or contaminated by a hormone weedkiller
are some forms of twisting or abnormal growth. |
| Horticulture |
The intensive
cultivation of plants. (From hortus, garden). |
| Hot
fence |
An
electric fence or a traditional fence that has been electrified. |
| Hot Wire |
A wire which
carries a current in an electric fence. |
| Horsepower
(hp) |
A
unit of power in the Imperial and U.S. Customary System, equal to 745.7
watts or 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. |
| Household
Consumption |
See Consumed on farm. |
| Humus |
The more or less
stable fraction of the soil organic matter remaining after the major
portion of the plant and animal residues have decomposed. |
| Hungerfine,
Hungry Fine |
Ultra
fine wool induced by starvation. |
| Hunt |
Ability
of a dog to drive or hunt stock away from the handler, also to back on
command while doing this.
It can do a "straight" or "zig-zag" hunt. |
| Huntaway |
Special
type of dog used for mustering.
A driving and backing dog that barks on command (New Zealand
term). |
| Hunter |
Horse trained
for riding across country |
| Hybrid |
The offspring of
parents of different species, varieties or breeds of plants or animals.
They may be fertile or sterile. The greater the difference between the genotypes of the parents,
the more likely is sterility. An example is the crossing of a horse and
a donkey; the resulting mule is sterile. |
| Hybrid
Vigour |
Qualities in a
hybrid not present in either parent. Examples are increase hardiness,
improved growth rate. |
| Hydrologic Cycle
(Water Cycle) |
The circuit of
water movement from the atmosphere through various stages or processes
on the ground (such as precipitation,
interception, runoff, infiltration, percolation,
storage) and then back to the atmosphere again by evaporation, and transpiration. |
| Hydrolysis |
Breaking up of a
substance into other substances by reaction with water. |
| Hydro-Neutrality |
Neither too much
or too little rainfall. |
| Hydrophobic
Behaviour |
Water repellence
in soils e.g. water-repellent sands. |
| Hydrophyte |
A
plant that grows wholly or partly submerged in water. |
| Hydroponics |
A
technique whereby plants are grown with their roots emersed in water to
which all essential fertiliser elements are added. |
| Hydrotropism |
The
effect of moisture on the direction of growth. |
| Hygroscopic
Materials |
Substances, such
as salt, that attract water. |
| Hyperspectral imaging analysis |
The analysis of images using a large number of channels
(corresponding to spectrum intervals). The distinction between
hyperspectral and multispectral is not defined by a set number of
spectral bands. It is best defined by the manner in which the data is
collected. Hyperspectral data is a set of contiguous bands (usually by
one sensor). Multispectral is a set of optimally chosen spectral bands
that are typically not contiguous (usually by multiple sensors).
Capturing the same object on many bands of the spectrum to generate a
data cube can reveal objects and information that more limited scanners
can not pick up. |
| Hyphae |
Threadlike
structures that compose the main body of a fungus. |
| Hypocalcaemia |
Condition in
which there is a reduced level of calcium in the blood. |
| Hypocotyl |
The
portion of a seedling between the cotyledons and the radicle (primary
root). |
| Hypomagnesaemia |
Reduction in the
amount of blood magnesium. |
