Word Definition Translation
abattoir a place where animals are killed for meat.
agriculture the work, business, or study of farming.
arable relating to, used for, or involved in the growing of crops
artificial fertilizer
an inorganic substance that is obtained by mining or is produced
by a chemical process that is used to help plants to grow in a
healthy way.
barley
a plant that is a type of grass that produces grain. The grain is
used for making food, beer, and whisky.
barn
a large building on a farm where animals, crops, or machines are
kept.
beef the meat from a cow.
bloom if a tree or plant blooms, it produces flowers that have opened.
bone meal
a substance made of crushed bones, used as food for animals or
for helping plants to grow.
BSE
bovine spongiform encephalopathy; a disease in cows that affects
the brain and the ability to control the muscles. The disease can
be spread to humans if they eat meat from an infected cow,
where it appears in the form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
bullock a young male cow that has been castrated.
calf a young cow (plural: calves).
cereal a plant that produces grain, used as food for people and animals.
cocoa
a brown powder made from a cocoa bean. It is used for making
chocolate and chocolate-flavoured food and drinks.
collective farm
a farm that is run by the people who work there but is owned by
the government or another group of people.
combine harvester
a large machine used on a farm for cutting grain crops and then
removing and cleaning the seeds.
compost
a mixture of decaying plants and vegetables that is added to soil
to improve it.
consumption
the use of something such as fuel or energy, or the amount that
people use.
corn wheat, or any similar crop of grain that is grown as food.
cotton
a plant grown in warm regions that has white fibres in its fruit
that are used for making cotton cloth. Cotton is an important
cash crop in many areas of the world.
crop a plant grown for food, usually on a farm.
cultivation
the process of growing crops or other plants, or the use of land
for growing crops or other plants.
dairy farming the business of keeping cows and selling their milk.
domestic
1 relating to a particular country.
2 relating to people's homes and family life.
equipment
the tools, machines, or other things that you need for a particular
job or activity.
Agriculture
estimate
to say what you think an amount or value will be, either by
guessing or by using available information to calculate it.
exploit
to treat someone unfairly in order to get some benefit for
yourself.
export the practice or business of selling goods to another country.
extensive farming farming activity that takes place over a large area of land.
factory farm
a farm in which farm animals and birds are kept inside in small
spaces and are made to grow or produce eggs very quickly.
fallow
fallow land has been deliberately left for a time without any crops
or animals on it, in order to improve the soil.
farmyard an area that is surrounded by the buildings on a farm.
feed food given to animals.
fertilize
to add a natural or chemical substance to soil in order to help
plants grow.
fibre crop
crops grown for their fibres in order to make paper, cloth, or
rope, for example cotton.
GM
genetically modified: used for describing crops whose genes have
been artificially changed, or for describing foods made from these
crops.
goat
an animal similar to a sheep but with longer legs and a thinner
coat.
grain
a seed or the seeds from cereal plants such as wheat, rice, or
barley that are used for food, or the plants that they grow on.
grazing land land on which animals eat grass.
growing season
the time of year during which plants grow and develop, especially
farm crops.
harvest
the activity of collecting a crop, or the time when crops are
collected.
hay
long grass that has been cut and dried so that it can be used for
feeding farm animals.
hedge
a line of bushes or small trees growing close together around a
garden or field.
hen a female chicken.
herbicide
a chemical used for killing weeds and other plants that are not
wanted.
herd
a large group of animals of the same type that live and move
about together.
herring a long thin silver sea fish.
husbandry the activity of farming and caring for animals.
infertile infertile land is not very good for growing crops.
irrigate
to bring water to land through a system of pipes, ditches etc in
order to make plants grow.
labour
the workers in a particular country, industry, or company
considered as a group.
lamb a young sheep.
LEDC less economically developed countries.
legume a seed such as a pea or bean that grows in a pod.
livestock animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs that are kept on farms.
loam
a type of soil that is extremely good for plants to grow in. It is a
mixture of sand, silt, clay, and humus.
logging
the act of cutting down trees for wood, usually in order to sell it
at a profit.
maize
a tall plant that produces yellow seeds that are called sweet corn
or corn when cooked and eaten.
manure
solid waste from farm animals, often mixed with other
substances and used on crops to help them to grow.
market garden a small farm where fruit and vegetables are grown to be sold.
MEDC more economically developed countries
mill to crush grain into flour.
mixed farming
a system of farming that combines growing crops and
keeping animals.
mulch
decaying leaves or other plant material used for protecting the
roots of plants and improving the soil.
oat a type of grain that people and animals eat.
organic
used for describing methods of farming and food production that
do not use artificial chemicals.
overgrazing
a situation in which land is damaged because the cows or other
animals in it have been allowed to eat too much of the grass
there, or have been allowed to feed on it for too long.
paddy field a field of rice growing in water.
pasture land covered with grass where sheep, cows etc are kept.
pest
an insect or other small animal that damages plants or supplies of
food.
pesticide a chemical used for killing insects that damage crops.
plantation
a large farm where crops such as tea, cotton, and sugar cane are
grown.
plough
a piece of equipment that farmers use for turning over the soil
before putting seeds into it.
ranch a very large farm where cows, horses, or sheep are kept.
root crop
a crop that is grown so that its roots can be used for food, for
example sugar beets or carrots.
rye
a crop that produces grain that is used for making bread and
whisky.
seed
a usually small, hard part produced by a plant, that can
grow into a new plant of the same type. A seed is an ovule
that has been fertilized and contains the plant embryo and
its food.
shifting calculation
a method of farming used in tropical regions, in which an
area of land is cleared and crops are grown on it until
the soil is no longer good enough for growing them.
The area is then not used until the soil has become good
enough again.
silage
grass and plants that are preserved and used for feeding farm
animals.
silo
a tall round tower on a farm used for storing things such as grain,
crops, and food for animals.
storage the act of storing something.
straw the yellow stems of dried crops such as wheat.
sugar beet
a vegetable that grows under the ground and is used for
producing sugar.
sugar cane
a tall tropical plant with thick stems that is used for
producing sugar.
sunflower
a very tall plant that has large yellow flowers with a round
brown centre. Sunflowers produce seeds that are used for
making cooking oil.
terracing
land divided into layers that look like steps, often so that
they can be used for farming or for making a garden.
tobacco
the plant that produces leaves that are dried to make
tobacco (=a substance that people smoke in cigarettes).
topsoil the layer of soil that is near the surface of the ground.
uncultivated
uncultivated land has not been used for growing crops or
has not been changed in order to make it suitable for
farming.
vineyard a farm that grows grapes and produces wine.
wheat
a tall plant that produces grain for making bread and
other foods.
wool thick hair that grows on sheep and some other animals.