Category: F

Futures: Stocks of produce bought or sold for shipping at some later date, which may not even have been produced when they are on the market. Properly managing futures contracts supports farm financial planning and market responsiveness.

Forage Wagon: A mobile container with a pick-up attachment used for collecting and carrying cut forage. Using forage wagons supports efficient feed transportation and livestock management.

Functional Food: Food designed to be medically beneficial, helping to protect against serious conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. Also called nutraceutical, neutraceutical. Properly managing functional food production supports livestock health and consumer wellbeing.

Febrile Disease: A disease such as Newcastle disease, accompanied by a fever. Early detection and treatment of febrile diseases help prevent livestock losses and maintain herd health.

Free-Running Sleeve: A loose sleeve fitted over shafts to stop clothing from becoming entangled by riding on the shaft if contact is made, e.g., on manure spreader beater drive shafts. Properly using free-running sleeves enhances farm safety.

Fatty Liver: A condition in older cows where the animal absorbs calcium too slowly, affecting the liver. Goats are also affected. Preventing and managing fatty liver is essential for maintaining the health and productivity of livestock.

Freedom Food: An RSPCA scheme that sets out guidelines for the welfare of livestock and labels food from participating suppliers. Adhering to Freedom Food guidelines ensures ethical and humane treatment of livestock.

Frits: Trace elements fused with silica to form glass. This is crushed into small pieces for distribution on the soil. Properly managing frits supports soil health and plant nutrition.

Food Hygiene: The series of actions taken to ensure clean, healthy conditions for handling, storing, and serving food. Proper food hygiene practices ensure food safety and quality.

Frequently Asked Questions: A document containing common questions and their answers related to a particular subject. Abbr FAQ. Providing FAQs helps farmers access important information and make informed decisions.

Fortified Food: Food with vitamins or proteins added to make it more nutritional. Providing fortified food ensures high-quality nutrition for livestock and supports their health and productivity.

Followers: Young cows in a dairy herd that are not yet in milk and are being reared to replace the older stock. Properly managing followers ensures a continuous supply of productive dairy cows.

Foaling: The act of giving birth to a foal. Proper management of foaling ensures the health and welfare of mares and foals.

Fodder Radish: A type of brassica grown primarily for use as a green fodder crop. Growing fodder radish provides nutritious feed for livestock and supports soil health.

Fagopyrum: The Latin name for buckwheat, a plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat is beneficial for farmers as it improves soil health, prevents erosion, and provides a nutritious food source.

Fodder Beet: A root crop bred from sugar beet and mangolds, usually grown after cereals and used to feed stock. Properly managing fodder beet production ensures a valuable feed source for livestock.

Frog: 1. The part of a plough to which the mouldboard and share are attached. 2. A tough flexible pad in the middle of the sole of a horse’s hoof. Properly managing frogs ensures efficient plough operation and horse health.

Food Safety: The issues surrounding the production, handling, storage, and cooking of food that determine whether or not it is safe to eat. Properly managing food safety ensures high-quality food products and protects public health.

First Calf Heifer: A heifer that has borne its first calf. Managing first calf heifers ensures their health and productivity as they enter the milking herd.

Forward Creep Grazing: A grazing method where grassland allocated to ewes and lambs during the fattening period is divided into paddocks separated by portable fencing. Moving the fencing allows the animals to access new areas as one is finished. Properly managing forward creep grazing ensures efficient pasture use and livestock nutrition.

Foot Rot: A disease of the horny parts and soft tissue of sheep’s feet, occurring particularly in wet marshy and badly-drained pastures, caused primarily by the organism Fusiformis necrophorus and sometimes Fusiformis nodosus. Managing foot rot through proper practices ensures sheep health and productivity.

Farrier: A person who makes and fits shoes for horses. Proper hoof care by a farrier ensures the health and performance of horses on a farm.

Fescue: A common name for about 100 species of grasses, including many valuable pasture and fodder species. Growing fescue provides nutritious forage for livestock and supports sustainable pasture management.

Fair Average Quality: The average quality of agricultural produce based on samples taken from bulk. Abbr FAQ. Understanding fair average quality helps farmers meet market standards and ensures consistent product quality for better sales and customer satisfaction.

Felling Licence: Permission from the Forestry Commission to fell trees. Managing tree felling with proper licences ensures sustainable forestry practices and environmental protection.

Flight Feathers: The main feathers on a bird’s wing, properly called the ‘primaries’. Managing flight feathers is important for the health and welfare of poultry and other birds on the farm.

Fruitwood: The wood from a fruit tree such as apple or cherry, which may be used to make furniture. Properly managing fruitwood supports timber production and farm diversification.

Fibrous: Made of a mass of fibres. Fibrous rooted plants have roots that are masses of tiny threads with no major roots like tap roots. Growing fibrous rooted plants helps improve soil structure and prevent erosion.

Febrile: Referring to a fever. Managing febrile conditions in livestock is crucial for maintaining animal health and preventing disease outbreaks.

Farmland Bird: A bird that nests in an agricultural environment. Many are declining in numbers because of changes in agricultural practices. Protecting farmland birds supports biodiversity and ecological balance on farms.

Fallow Cultivation: A type of cultivation where the period under crops is increased and the length of the fallow is reduced. This method helps maximize land use efficiency and productivity.

Food From Britain: A trade organization specializing in marketing British food abroad. Abbr FFB. This organization helps farmers expand their markets and increase sales.

Farm Assured: Produced in accordance with the quality standards of a farm assurance scheme. This label indicates that the product meets high standards of quality and safety.

Feed Block: A block of foodstuff left out in the pasture, especially on hill farms, used by sheep to prevent loss of condition. Providing feed blocks supports animal nutrition and health in challenging environments.

Flea Beetle: A small dark beetle that causes damage to Brassica seedlings, especially during hot dry weather between April and mid-May. Managing flea beetles helps protect Brassica crops and ensure healthy growth.

Fumigate: To kill microorganisms or insects by using a fumigant. Properly managing fumigation practices ensures effective pest control and farm hygiene.

Farmyard Manure Spreader: A machine for spreading manure, consisting of a trailer with a moving floor conveyor and a combined shredding and spreading mechanism. Efficient spreading of manure helps improve soil health and crop yields.

Flail Forage Harvester: A type of forage harvester that uses a high-speed flail rotor. The cut crop passes through a vertical chute and is discharged into a trailer. Using a flail forage harvester ensures efficient harvesting and feed preparation.

Fungal: Referring to fungi. Properly managing fungal diseases helps protect crop and livestock health.

Flowers of Sulphur: Powdered sulphur used to dust on plants to prevent mildew. Using flowers of sulphur helps protect crops from fungal diseases and improve yields.

Feed Wheat: Wheat used as an animal feed and not for human consumption. Selecting appropriate feed wheat supports animal nutrition and farm efficiency.

Fenland: A large area of flat marshy land with alkaline water. Managing fenland provides opportunities for agriculture, conservation, and recreation.

Fasciation: An abnormal plant growth where several stems become fused together. This condition can affect crop yields and quality, requiring management practices to mitigate its impact.

Furze: A common shrub (Ulex europaeus) found in wasteland and formerly often cut and used as fodder after chaffing. Managing furze supports livestock nutrition and biodiversity.

Fat Class: The amount of external fat present on a beef or sheep carcass, classified from lean (class 1) to very fat (class 5). Understanding fat classes helps farmers meet market standards and optimize meat quality.

Factory Farm: A farm that uses intensive methods of rearing animals. Such methods can increase production efficiency and output, though farmers must balance these benefits with considerations for animal welfare and environmental impact.

Feed Compounds: A mixture of different ingredients, including major minerals, trace elements, and vitamins, blended to provide balanced diets for stock. Formulating feed compounds ensures optimal animal nutrition and performance.

Ferment: To produce alcohol and heat under the effect of yeast. Fermentation processes are used in making silage, wine, and other agricultural products.

Fibre: A long narrow plant cell with thickened walls that forms part of a plant’s supporting tissue, especially in the outer region of a stem. Fibre is also a hair, e.g., of a rabbit or goat. High-fibre crops and products provide valuable resources for agriculture and industry.

Foxtail Millet: The first cereal to be cultivated in China, used for silage, hay, brewing, and flour in many parts of the world, and in Britain it is used as birdseed. Properly managing foxtail millet production supports diverse crop options and agricultural productivity.