| Race |
1. Part of animal handling yards.
Animals are forced down a tapering laneway (the race) so they are in
single file. They can then be individually handled, drafted or given veterinary
treatment.
2. A narrow channel along which irrigation water flows
3. A fenced roadway through a farm, |
| Raceme |
An
inflorescence in which the individual flowers are borne on stems
(pedicels) along a central axis, e.g. blackberry. |
| Raddle |
A type of crayon used for marking
sheep during culling. May also be used in identifying rams' activity
during mating. |
| Radicle |
The
basal end of a plant embryo which grows into the primary root. |
| Rain Shadow |
The region of diminished rainfall
on the lee side of a mountain range, where the rainfall is noticeably
less than on the windward side. |
| Rainfall (mm) |
This is measured by volume
and expressed as height per unit area.
To maintain mass balance it is assumed that 1 gram
of water occupies 1
cm3. |
| Rainfall
Deciles |
All rainfalls received (for a year or the growing
season months or a particular month) are ranked in order from lowest to
highest. The lowest 10 per cent are delineated by the decile 1 value,
and belong to decile range 1. The next 10 per cent are in decile range
2, and so on, the highest 10 per cent being in decile range 10. The
median is equivalent to the decile 5 value. Decile ranges shown in
tables and in maps give a better indication of how dry or wet the month
or year has been than does the departure from the ‘mean' or
'average'. |
| Rainfall
Effectiveness |
Is a measure of the ability of a
plant to utilise rainfall or other precipitation. It will he affected
by factors such as soil water storage, water holding capacity,
temperature, time of year and so on. In the dryland farming regions of
southern Australia the effective rain falls between April and October. |
| Rainfall
Intensity |
The rate at which rain is falling
at any given instant, usually expressed in mm per hour. |
| Rainfall Isohyet |
Is a line on a map linking areas
which receive the same mean annual rainfall |
| Rainfall
Probability |
The likelihood of rainfall to occur
within a certain time. For example, "a 60% chance of 40 mm of rain to
fall in a month." This means it is expected that 40 mm of rain will
fall that month in 6 out of 10 years. |
| Rainfall
Simulators |
An apparatus which creates a spray
pattern of varying intensity and droplet size that can be used to
stimulate rainfall events. |
| Rainfall
Use Efficiency |
The mass (kg) of dry matter (DM) produced /unit area
/mm
precipitation (rainfall, snow & dew) received. Runoff
and
deep drainage may be included as components of the rainfall, subtracted
from it if they can be estimated, or regarded as negligible in strongly
water-limited environments |
| Rain-Fed
Agriculture |
Production system which is
dependent on natural rainfall during the growing season and on moisture
stored during fallow periods. Dryland farming is practised in regions
which are seasonally arid. |
| Raking |
One operation associated with
haymaking, in which the pasture is raked into a windrow for drying and
baling. |
| Ram |
1. To
consolidate earth around a post.
2. Mature entire male sheep. Flock ram
A non-pedigree ram used in a commercial flock. Stud
ram A pedigree
(registered) ram. Tail-up ram
A ram that is run with ewes at the end of joining to mate any
late-cycling ewes. See Meat
Terminology |
| Rammer |
Tool
used to consolidate earth around a post. |
| Ramp |
(a) Elevated race for loading stock
onto transport. (b) See Cattle
grid |
| Random,
randomisation |
To
arrange according to chance and remove bias caused by other factors. |
| Rangeland |
Land on which the native vegetation
(climax or natural potential) is predominantly grasses, grass-like
plants, forbs, or shrubs.
Includes lands revegetated naturally or artificially when routine
management of that vegetation is accomplished mainly through
manipulation of grazing. Rangelands include natural grasslands,
savannas, shrublands, most deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal
marshes and wet meadows. |
| Rangeland
Degradation |
The degeneration of a site caused
by biotic or abiotic factors which results in a lowered successional
status to the point that ecological potential is changed. |
| Rank |
Pasture that is tall and spindly
with dead leaves at the base. Low quality |
| Ratchet |
Part of
a fence strainer to retain the strain while tightening the wires. |
| Rate
Of Return (Return To Capital, Return On Investment) |
The return, usually a profit figure, divided by the
value of the assets or equity that earned that
return, multiplied by 100. |
| Rating
(Electrical) |
The value assigned by a
manufacturer to capacity or output performance under certain specified
conditions known as the rated conditions. The rating of a
machine may be assigned output in kW
at the rated speed, voltage
and frequency. |
| Real |
(a) Actual, as opposed to
imaginary.
(b) A measure at a point in time, the value of which does not alter
over time, e.g. through the effects of inflation. |
| Real
Estate |
Land, or assets
permanently attached to land. |
| Real
Interest |
The return on investment (cost of
borrowing) after the effects of inflation have been removed. (see Nominal Interest) |
| Real Terms
Dollars Or Interest |
Rates expressed without any
allowance for future inflation included, in current values. |
| Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK GPS) |
A technique based on the use of carrier phase
measurements of the GPS. A single reference station provides the
real-time corrections as close as one centimetre level of accuracy. The
system is also commonly referred to as Carrier-Phase Enhancement, CPGPS |
| Rebate |
A discount or allowance made in
price paid for goods or services. For example, a rebate on
superphosphate made by supplying firms. |
| Receipt |
A written acknowledgment of having
received money, goods, etc., specified. |
| Receipts |
Money received - usually refers to
cash |
| Receiver |
A
vessel that receives the milk from one or more milk pipelines and feeds
the releaser. |
| Reclamation |
Restoration of a site or resource
to a desired condition to achieve management objectives or stated
goals. cf. revegetation. |
| Reconciliation |
The act of bringing into agreement
or harmony any differences between two or more separate sets of
information. |
| Red-Brown Earths |
A zone of soils used for wheat
production in southern Australia (similar to Rhodo and Natri ustalfs
and xeralfs). |
| Redemption |
The buying back or clearing by
payment of something, eg the liquidation of a debt or a bond. |
| Red-Eye |
A large western merino wether. |
| Red gut in sheep |
An acute haemorrhagic enterocolitis occurring in sheep
grazing some lucerne or clover pastures, or other fresh, young green
feed. Some cases show severe abdominal distension, with rapid death.
Syn: Intestinal volvulus, torsion of mesentery, colonic bloat,
intestinal venous infarction. |
| Reduced
Tillage
Farming |
Tillage systems that leave between
15 and 30% residue cover on the soil or 560 to 1100 kg/ha of small
grain residue during the critical erosion period. This may involve the
use of a chisel plough, field cultivators, or other
implements. |
| Reductionism |
The philosophy which underlies a
scientific approach of breaking complex issues down into relatively
simple ones. cf. systems
approach. |
| Regolith |
The layer of mantle of loose,
non-cohesive or cohesive rock material, of whatever origin, that nearly
everywhere forms the surface of the land and rests on bedrock. It
comprises rock waste of all sorts; volcanic ash; glacial drift,
alluvium; wind-blown deposits; and accumulations of vegetation, such as
peat; and soil. |
| Relative Humidity |
The amount of water vapour in the
air, shown as a percentage of the maximum water vapour that the air
could hold at the same temperature and pressure. |
| Relay Cropping |
A form of multiple cropping where a second
crop is started amidst the first crop before the latter has
been harvested. |
| Releaser |
A
mechanism for removing milk from under vacuum and discharging it to
atmospheric pressure. |
| Releaser
pump |
A pump
that removes milk from the receiver and discharges it to a milk storage
vessel. |
| Releaser
pump delivery line |
Tubing
or piping of approved material through which the releaser pump
discharges to the milk storage vessel. |
| Releaser
pump suction line |
Tubing
or piping of approved material through which the releaser pump takes
suction from the receiver. |
| Remnant
Vegetation |
Is the fragments of the original
vegetation which remains after clearing for agriculture. |
| Remote Sensing |
The measurement or acquisition of
information of some property of an object or phenomenon by a recording
device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object or
phenomenon under study. Often involves aerial photography or satellite
imagery. |
| Renewability (percentage) |
Renewable energy divided by total energy used expressed
as a percentage of total energy. |
| Rennet |
See abomasum
and rennin |
| Rennin |
An enzyme that catalyses the
coagulation of milk, found in the gastric juice of the fourth stomach
of young ruminants and used in making cheeses and junkets. Also called
chymosin, rennet. |
| Renewable
Resources |
Also called non depletable. cf. non-renewable. |
| Repayment
Capacity |
A measurement of the ability of a
borrower to repay loans. |
| Repeatability |
A
statistical term used to describe the chances of traits being repeated. |
| Resident
Species |
A species that currently lives in a
place i.e. That which may be displaced by an introduced species. |
| Residual |
A term
applied to a weedkiller, insecticide, or fungicide, referring to the
persistent effectiveness of its residue.
Some pesticides may have a long residual action if they are effective
for some time after application, whereas others may be of short
residual action. |
| Residue |
1. Remains of the crop plants after
harvest has been completed. A preferred term to stubble. cf. stubble.
2. The quantity of an agricultural chemical (in the
past expressed in parts per million (ppm) but now mg/kg is favoured)
either in or on plants or animals at the time of testing. |
| Resilience |
The ability of a system to
withstand severe, usually unpredictable disturbing forces. It
involves both resistance to the disturbance and the rate and degree of
recovery from the disturbance. |
| Resistant |
A term
used to describe insects, fungi, bacteria, weeds or any living organism
able to survive the disruption of life processes brought about by
pesticides, diseases, etc., which would normally cause the death of
other similar organisms, or in some cases, other individuals of the
same species. |
| Resource |
Anything which is useful for
something be it animal, vegetable, mineral, a location, a labour force,
etc. |
| Resource base |
Resources available to a farmer especially soil. |
| Respiration |
The oxidation of food substrates by
plants and animals to yield energy for metabolism. |
| Restrictor |
An
adjustable valve placed in a milking machine air line between the
receiver and the interceptor |
| Restocker |
An animal in the market suitable
for restocking a property See also 'Store'. |
| Retained Farm
Earnings |
Net income
generated by a farm business that is used to increase owner equity, rather than being
withdrawn to pay for living expenses, taxes, or dividends. |
| Reticulum |
Second stomach of a ruminant animal, lined with a
membrane having honeycombed ridges. Syn. Honeycomb |
| Return
On Assets (ROA) |
The value represented by net farm income
from operations, plus interest expense, minus the opportunity cost
of operator labour and management. It is usually expressed as a
percentage of the average value of total assets. |
| Return
On Capital |
The ratio of net profit to total capital invested, and
expressed as a percentage. |
| Return
On Equity (ROE) |
The net return generated by the
business before gains or losses on capital
assets are realised, but after the value of unpaid labour and
management is subtracted. Usually expressed as a percent of the average
value of owner's equity. |
| Return To Capital |
See Rate of return. |
| Return To
Management |
The net return generated by a
business after all expenses have been paid and the opportunity costs
for owner's equity and unpaid labour have been subtracted. |
| Returns |
See Income. |
| Revegetation |
Establishing or re-establishing
desirable plants on areas where desirable plants are absent or of
inadequate density, by management alone (natural revegetation) or by
seeding or transplanting (artificial revegetation). |
| Revenue |
Income or returns to a business
produced by its activities. Includes cash
receipts, credit
sales and forecast
proceeds receivable, increases in inventories and capital gains. |
| Revenue
Insurance |
An insurance policy that guarantees
crop producers a minimum level of gross income per acre. It protects
against combinations of low prices and yields. |
| Reverse
flow cleaning system |
A
system whereby cleaning fluids are pumped through a milking machine
under positive pressure and regulated discharge, in the reverse
direction to normal milk flow. |
| Reverse
flow system pump |
A pump
for delivering the requisite flow of cleaning water to the milking
machine. |
| Rhizobium |
Genus of bacteria that live
symbiotically in the roots of legumes and fix nitrogen that is used by
the legume plants. |
| Rhizodeposition |
Transfer of material from roots to soil |
| Rhizome (s) |
Horizontal stems that grow partly
or entirely underground. They are often thickened and serve as storage
organs. |
| Rhizoplane |
The part of a plant's root that lies at the surface of
the soil, and where many microorganisms adhere to it |
| Rhizosphere |
The narrow region of soil that is directly influenced
by root secretions and associated soil microorganisms |
| Ribby
pelts |
Pelts
off wrinkly sheep, such as Merino, which are of restricted value for
leather manufacture. |
| Ridge-till |
A system of conservation
tillage in which the soil is left undisturbed from harvest to
planting except for strips up to 1/3 of the row width.
Planting is completed on the ridge and usually involves the removal of
the top of the ridge. Planting is completed with sweeps, disk
openers, coulters, or row cleaners. Residue is left on the
surface between ridges. Weed control is accomplished by
sprays and/or cultivation. Ridges are rebuilt during row
cultivation. See
also No-till, Strip-till, Mulch-till |
| Rig |
A male animal not properly castrated. Frequently the
testicle can't be removed because it remains in the abdominal cavity. |
|
the legal right (usually termed an easement
in common law jurisdictions) allowing a particular person, the owners
or licensees of adjacent land or the general public to walk, cross,
and/or drive across certain parcel of land. Usually to gain access to
another parcel of land that may be enclosed or may not have easy access
to a roadway. |
| Rigor
mortis |
Muscular
stiffening following death. |
| Rill |
The removal of soil by the cutting
of numerous small, but conspicuous, water channels or tiny rivulets by
concentrated surface runoff. Rill erosion is intermediate between sheet
erosion and gully erosion. c.f. sheet erosion, gully, erosion. |
| Rill
Erosion |
As sheet erosion
advances across the soil, small channels - rills - form and start to
concentrate the water. Gullies
may form from rills. |
| Ringbark |
Cutting around the trunk of a tree
to remove the bark and so disrupt the flow of nutrients and water from
the cambium and phloem layers. Death of the
tree results. |
| Ringer |
(a) The fastest shearer in the
shed. The one who has shorn the most sheep at any one shearing. (b) A
stockperson, or drover, especially of cattle. |
| Ringing |
Shearing or clipping of a circle of
wool from around the sheath of prepuce of rams and wethers; this is
often carried out during crutching. The term is also applied
to removal of urine stained wool from 'bellies'
after shearing.. |
| Ringing
sheep |
Fault
in a dog where it goes in a complete circle around the sheep and comes
back to the handler.
It fails to stop after its out-run, halfway around the sheep, and
directly opposite the handler. |
| Riparian |
Referring to or relating to areas
adjacent to water or influenced by free water associated with streams
or rivers on geological surfaces occupying the lowest position on a
watershed. |
| Rising |
Used to describe an animal about to
become a
certain age, e.g., a rising 2-year-old is an animal approaching 2 years
old. |
| Risk |
A situation in which more than one
possible outcome exists, some of which may be unfavourable. |
| Risk Premium |
The amount that a person requires
above a risk free return before being wiling to accept a particular
risk. |
| RMT |
Rapid Mastitis Test. A
simple test to detect a form of mastitis not visible to the eye.
(Subclinical) |
| Roach
Back |
A rise
in the backline of a sheep, usually towards the loin. |
| Roar |
Characteristic
sound made by male deer of some species during the mating
season. Sometimes used to describe
the mating season of deer (cf. rut).
Note Wapiti "bugle". |
| Rodent |
Any of various mammals of the order
Rodentia, such as a mouse, rat, squirrel, or beaver, characterized by
large incisors adapted for gnawing or nibbling. |
| Rod weeder |
Tractor drawn implement that has a rod that rotates
below the surface of the soil and which pulls and uproots weeds,
depositing them on the surface fully exposed to sun and wind. |
| Roomy Ewes |
Big framed ewes of good
conformation. |
| Rooster |
An adult male chicken. |
| Root |
The descending axis of the plant,
usually below ground, serving to anchor the plant and absorb and
conduct water and mineral nutrients. |
| Root mean square error (RMSE) |
A measure of the differences between values predicted
by a model or an estimator and the values actually observed from the
thing being modelled or estimated. |
| Rootstock |
The root system and lower portion
of a woody plant to which a graft of a more desirable plant is
attached. |
| Rosette |
A
circlet of leaves spreading from a short stem and pressed close to the
ground, e.g. plantains, dandelion. |
| Rotational
Grazing |
A grazing scheme where animals are
moved from one paddock to another without regard to specific graze-rest
periods or levels of plant defoliation. cf. grazing management.
See Set Stocking |
| Roughage |
Plant materials containing a low
proportion of nutrients per unit of weight and usually bulky and
coarse, high in fibre and low in total digestible nutrients. Roughage
may be classed as either dry or green. |
| Rough'em |
Rough
shearing. Opposite
to pink'em. |
| Roundup |
a. The
herding together of cattle for inspection, branding, or shipping.
b. Trademark brand of glyphosate weedicide. |
| Rouseabout(rowsing) |
A farm worker generally associated
with (shearing) shed and yard work at shearing or crutching
times. Also called a rousie. |
| Ruderal |
A plant inhabiting disturbed sites
such as roadsides. |
| Rule Of
72 |
A relation used to estimate the
time it will take for an investment to double in value; found by
dividing 72 by the percent rate of return earned on the investment. |
| Rumen |
The large, first compartment of the
stomach of a ruminant from which ingested food is regurgitated for
rechewing and in which digestion is aided by symbiotic action of
microbes. Syn. Paunch |
| Ruminant |
Cud-chewing mammals such as cattle,
sheep, goats, and deer that have a stomach divided into four
compartments rumen,
reticulum, omasum, abomasum), relying on activity of
micro-organisms and fermentation for digestion. c.f. ungulate Pigs and
poultry are
simple-stomached (monogastric) animals. |
| Run |
1. The amount of time (2 hours
each; four per day) a shearer works between rest periods in a full day.
2. an extensive grazing property. |
| Runoff |
1. The portion of precipitation on
land that ultimately reaches streams often with dissolved or suspended
material
2. The total stream discharge of
water, including both surface and subsurface flow, usually expressed in
cubic metres per second (CUMEC) of water yield.
3. The
excess of spray solution which runs off a surface after it has been
thoroughly wetted. |
| Run-off |
An area of land, perhaps separated
from the main area where young stock or dry (non-lactating) animals are
run. |
| Run-out
fleece |
Fleece
showing a variation in crimp formation between the butt and tip of the
staple. |
| Run-with-ram or
bull |
Females that have been joined or given the chance
to
mate but there is no guarantee of how many are pregnant. |
| Runt |
Small stunted pig, or other animal. |
| Russet |
Skin
blemish on apples and pears, varying from superficial discolouring to
very brown rough skin. |
| Rut |
Mating
season of deer. |
| Rye
Grass Toxicity |
A potentially fatal disease of
sheep caused by eating infected grass by the grazing animal. |
