| Objective(s) |
Business objectives are the means of achieving
your business
mission or goal.
They state what
is to be achieved and when
but not how. Objectives should be SMART i.e. Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based. Some add ER
(SMARTER) i.e. Enjoyable and Rewarding
|
| Oddments |
Parts of the fleece, other than
body wool, which
are sold separately, e.g., belly, neck, pieces, locks, and crutchings.
Except for crutchings,
which are shorn at a different time, the rest are usually removed from
the fleece on a wool table after shearing, before the fleece wool is
baled. |
| Oesophagus |
The muscular membranous tube for
the passage of
food from the pharynx to the stomach. |
| Oestrogens |
Chemical
compounds found
in animals as hormones but also found in the leaves of legumes. When
found
in plants they can reduce the fertility of ewes. The particular
compound
involved appears to be formononetin. Some cultivars of subterranean
clover
have very high formononetin cultivars Yarloop, Dwalganup and Dinninup.
Others have very little cultivars Daliak, Seaton Park. |
| Oestrus,
oestrum |
The
period during which
a Female animal (cow, heifer or ewe) is willing to receive a male
(bull, ram etc). Also known as heat
or bulling in cattle. |
| Offal |
The internal organs of the body
that are removed
when the body is "dressed" after slaughter.
Can be divided into edible offal (heart, liver,
kidney, etc.) and inedible offal (lungs, stomach and intestines)
although the tripe may be saved from the stomach of cattle and in some
countries most of the internal organs are considered edible. |
| Off
Farm Income |
Income
produced outside
the farm business which provides cash flow. |
| Off
Farm Investment |
Capital
that is invested
outside of the farm business. |
| Off-shears |
Newly-shorn sheep.
A sale term. |
| Off
Side |
The
right-hand side of
an animal. Compare with near
side. Syn. Far side |
| Off-sort |
Fleece which, when classing or
grading, does not
fit the established fines and is binned. |
| Ohm |
Unit of resistance.
The ohm scale is a reverse one, i.e., low numbers
indicate heavy load, and high numbers indicate light load. |
| Oil based |
Dissolved or formulated in an oil
or similar
petroleum fraction which is not soluble in water. |
| Oligopololy |
A
situation where there are only a few sellers of a certain product or
service so that each will each will be substantially affected by the
behaviour of each of the others |
| Oligotrophic organism |
These organisms have ability to multiply and maintain
activity in low carbon soils |
| Omasum |
The
third division of the stomach of a ruminant
animal, located between the
abomasum and the reticulum.
Also called manyplies or bible. |
| On-the-drop |
Animal about to give birth. |
| On-the-go sensors |
Sensors that function while machinery is operating
giving real time information. |
| One-Pass
Crop Establishment |
Where a
combined operation
weed control, tillage
and sowing is completed
at one time. |
| Oomycetes ( Water moulds) |
A group of filamentous, unicellular Heterokonts,
physically resembling fungi. They are microscopic, absorptive organisms
that reproduce both sexually and asexually and are composed of mycelia,
or a tube-like vegetative body (all of an organism's mycelia are called
its thallus). |
| Open
Systems |
Are
those that have flow
of matter, energy and/or information between the system and its
environment
c.f. closed
systems. |
| Opening
Break |
See Opening
Rains, Break
of Season |
| Opening
Rains |
The
first seasonal rains
in the autumn which result in germination. They are followed by further
rains which support growth till the spring. When the opening rain is
followed
by prolonged drought it is usually called a false opening or false
break. |
| Opening
Value |
Balance
or value at the
start of the accounting period e.g. in Cash
Flow Budgets or Livestock
Schedules. |
| Operating
Costs |
Costs
for the purchase
of inputs and services that are used up relatively quickly, usually in
one production cycle (Variable
Costs + Overhead Costs). |
| Operating
Items |
All
revenues earned and
expenses incurred in the normal course of the business, eg for a farm
business
from and for the running of the farm enterprises plus (or minus) the
overheads
and sundry items. |
| Operating
Profit |
The profit
from the operations of the business for the current accounting period,
eg for a farm business the
enterprise contributions, less overheads
plus or minus sundry
items. |
| Operating
Profit Margin
Ratio |
The
value represented
by
net farm income from operations, plus interest expense, minus
opportunity
cost of operator labour and management, expressed as a
percentage of gross revenue. |
| Operating
Return |
The
rate of return of
the operating profit
per hundred dollars of total asset. |
| Operation (of a system) |
see System
operation |
| Operations
Research |
The
application of mathematical
and logical techniques to certain problems with the object of
discovering
a best possible course of action. The procedure followed is usually to
express the problem in the form of a mathematical equation, the
solution
of which indicates the effectiveness of a given set of conditions. The
method may involve a sampling process, the calculation of
probabilities,
linear programming, or some other technique. The computations are
frequently
so involved or so lengthy as to require electronic data processing.
Sometimes
called "management science". |
| Opportunistic
Species |
A
species adapted for
utilising variable, unpredictable or transient environments; tends to
be
characteristic of ephemeral plants. |
| Opportunity
Cost |
The
financial returns
given up by not putting a factor of production, particularly capital,
to
a different use. |
| Opportunity
Cropping |
Means
that crops can be
sown whenever current soil water reserves, plus expected (average)
seasonal
rainfall, create the opportunity to grow a crop. |
| Option |
1. A
marketing transaction
in which a buyer pays a seller a premium to acquire the right to sell
or
buy a futures contract at a specified price.
2. In land sales - an agreement between the vendor and the prospective
buyer, to the effect that the vendor will not offer the property to any
other buyer until a certain date. The agreement should be in
writing and a payment should be made. |
| Organic
Carbon Levels |
Designating
chemical compounds
that contain carbon. |
| Organic
Matter |
Carbon-based
materials
of either plant or animal origin, which occur in all stages of
decomposition
in soils. |
| Organic
Soil |
A soil
that contains a
high percentage (greater than 20 or 30 percent) of organic matter in
the
upper layers (where living roots are primarily found). |
| Organisational
Chart |
A
diagram that shows the
workers involved in a business and the lines of authority and
communication
among them. |
| Organism |
Any
living entity; plant,
animal, fungus, etc. |
| Orthocorrected or orthorectified |
A GIS term that means the distortions associated with
terrain and image collection have been removed so you that may make
accurate measurements can be made directly from the imagery. |
| Osmoregulation |
The active regulation of the osmotic pressure
of fluids in plant and animal cells to regulate water
content; that is keeping the cell's fluids from becoming too dilute or
too concentrated. In plants it can refer to the active accumulation of
solutes as water deficits develop. |
| Osmosis |
Diffusion
of fluid through a semipermeable membrane from a solution with a low
solute concentration to a solution with a higher solute concentration
until there is an equal concentration of fluid on both sides of the
membrane. |
| Osmotic adjustment |
See Osmoregulation |
| Osmotic
pressure |
A measure of the tendency of water
to move
into one solution from another by osmosis.
|
| Osmotic
Stress |
Is type
of pressure exerted
in living bodies as a result of unequal concentration of salts on both
sides of a cell wall or membrane. Plants will exhibit osmotic stress
when
the soils are dry and/or saline and where the resulting osmotic
pressure
is so great as to draw water out of the plant or, alternatively,
prevent
its uptake by the plant. |
| Out-cross |
The
introduction of animals from the same species from a family outside the
breeding lines of the stud. |
| Output |
(a) An
amount produced
over a given time. The result or yield from a production process, such
as raising crops and livestock.
(b) A product of a system. |
| Outrigger |
An electrified wire attached to a
conventional
fence. Supported so
it is away from the fence. |
| Ovary |
The female organ that produces
ova (eggs). |
| Oven-Dry
Weight |
The
weight of a substance
after it has been dried in an oven at a specific temperature to
equilibrium. |
| Over
Trading |
A
situation where liquid
assets fall short of current
liabilities. |
| Overdraft |
Borrowing
from a bank by
arranging to overdraw (borrow) from a current account.
Usually requires security.
Theoretically repayable on demand. See Bank
overdraft |
| Overcropping |
Occurs
when the same (or
different) crops are planted on the same site for several years in
succession.
The soil losses it fertility, chemical and physical. Crop yields
decline
dramatically. |
| Overgrazed |
An area
which has experienced
loss of plant cover and accelerated erosion as a result of heavy
grazing
pressure. cf. overuse,
overstocking. |
| Overgrown |
Fleece wool which is more than 12
months wool
growth. If very
long, may be called double fleece.
Sheep with an overgrown fleece are commonly called
stragglers because they have missed a muster. |
| Overhead
Costs |
Costs
that are not directly
related to the type and quantity of products produced; a type of fixed
cost. |
| Overheads |
See Overhead
Costs |
| Overland
Flow |
Surface
runoff of water
as opposed to channelised runoff following a precipitation event. cf. runoff. |
| Overload |
Any
electrical load in excess of rated load. |
| Over-shot |
A
condition involving inequality in the length of an animals jaws in
which the lower jaw appears too short (Brachygnathia) |
| Overstocking |
Placing
a number of animals
on a given area that will result in overuse at the end of the planned
grazing
period. Not to be confused with overgrazing because an area may be
overstocked
for a short period, but the animals may be removed before the area is
over
utilised. However, continued overstocking will lead to overgrazing. |
| Overstory |
Topmost
vegetation layer
in a forest formed by the highest trees. ct Understorey |
| Overuse |
Utilising
an excessive
amount of the current year's growth which, if continued, will result in
land degradation. cf. overgrazing. |
| Ovicide |
A chemical which kills the eggs of
mites or insects. |
| Oviduct |
Long tube in hen's body through
which the yolk is
moved and in which the albumen, shell membranes and shell are formed. |
| Oviposition |
Laying of an egg. |
| Ovulation |
Shedding
of an egg from
the ovary |
| Ovulation
Rate of Ewes |
The
average number of
ova (eggs) shed from the ovaries. |
| Ovule |
The
structure that contains
the female sex-cell in plants which, after fertilisation, develops into
the seed. |
| Ovum |
The
female sex cell (egg).
Plural: ova |
| Ovum
Transfer (OT) |
Where
an egg (ovum) which has been fertilised inside a dam (its donor) is
then extracted from that animal and transferred to another dam (a
recipient) where it grows to full term and is born.
The recipient may suckle
and rear the implanted offspring. Also called ET (embryo
transfer).
|
| Owner's
Equity |
See Equity. |
| Ownership
Costs |
Costs
that result simply
from owning assets, regardless of how much they are used; fixed
costs. |
| Ownership
Profit |
The profit
that the proprietors receive as a return to their equity
in the business; calculated as operating profit plus and minus
non-operating
items. |
| Ownership
Return |
The
rate of return of
the ownership profit
per
hundred dollars of equity. |
| Ox |
An
adult castrated bull of the genus Bos, especially B. taurus, used
chiefly as a draft animal. See Meat
Terminology |
| Oxidation-Reduction
Reaction |
A
chemical reaction in
which one substance is oxidised (loses electrons, or loses hydrogen
ions
and their associated electrons, or combines with oxygen) and a second
substance
is reduced (gains electrons, or gains hydrogen ions and their
associated
electron, or loses oxygen). |
| Ozone
Concentration |
The
level of ozone a form
of oxygen in the general stratum of the atmosphere. Ozone plays an
important
part in the radiation balance of the earth cf. greenhouse
effect. |
