Glossary of Agricultural and Behavioral Health Terms
AgriWellness, Inc., 1210 7th Street, Suite C, Harlan, IA 51537
Telephone – 712-235-6100
Email – info@agriwellness.com
Website – http://www.agriwellness.org
Some of the definitions in this glossary were extracted from the Chicago Board of
Trade Commodity Trading Manual, available on their website: www.cbot.com.
Other definitions were obtained from literature provided by the USDA Farm
Service Agency and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. Still other definitions were devised by staff of AgriWellness, Inc.
and are copyrighted.
Suggestions for additional terms for this glossary are welcome.
Agricultural Population© – The agricultural population includes producers of
food and fiber, including farmers, ranchers, farm workers, fishers, persons
involved in lumber production, any other persons whose economic livelihood
depends substantially on agriculture and the families of all these persons.
Agrology – The scientific study of soils, as they contribute to the production of
crops.
Agricology – The science of agriculture; this term is used mainly in Canada,
Australia and Britain.
Agronomy – The scientific study of crop production and usage for food, fuel,
feed and fiber.
AI - Artificial Insemination involves the fertilization of ova in an animal such as a
cow by introducing sperm which has been collected from the male of the species
and which is deposited through a tube into the uterus by a trained technician or
farmer.
Barrow - A male pig that has been castrated.
Basis - The difference between the current cash price and the future price of the
same commodity. Unless otherwise specified, the price of the nearby futures
contract month is generally used to calculate the basis.
Beef Cattle – Cows raised mainly for their edible meat.
Broker - A company or individual that executes futures and options orders on
behalf of financial and commercial institutions and/or the general public.
Buck - Although buck has many other meanings, in agriculture buck refers to a
male deer, goat, sheep or rabbit.
Buffer Strip - Also known as a filter strip, a buffer strip is vegetation, usually
grasses, which is planted alongside streams and varying in width from 30 to 100'
or more, to help curtail fertilizer, pesticides, manure and other undesirable
substances from readily flowing into waterways.
Buying Hedge - Buying futures contracts to protect against a possible price
increase of cash commodities that will be purchased in the future. At the time the
cash commodities are bought, the open futures position is closed by selling an
equal number and type of futures contracts as those that were initially purchased.
CAFO - Confined Animal Feeding Operation, also known as concentrated or
consolidated animal feeding operation; CAFOs produce livestock in confinement
buildings or feedlots.
Call Option - An option that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to
purchase the underlying futures contract at the strike price on or before the
expiration date.
Carryover - Grain (e.g., wheat) and oilseed commodities (e.g., soybeans) not
consumed during the market year and remaining in storage at year's end. These
stocks are "carried over" into the next marketing year and added to the stocks
produced during that crop year.
Cash Contract - Contract for the purchase of grain, usually from producers, by
brokers or elevators guaranteeing a specific number of bushels.
Commodity - An article of commerce or a product that can be used for
commerce. In a narrow sense, products traded on an authorized commodity
exchange. The types of commodities include agricultural products, metals,
petroleum, foreign currencies, and financial instruments, to name a few.
Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) - A branch of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, established in 1933, that supervises the government's farm loan and
subsidy programs.
Condition Score - A number on a scale from 1 to 10 indicating the amount of fat
cover on an animal such as a cow; a score of 1 indicates the animal is very
emaciated and near death; a score of 10 indicates that the animal is grossly
obese. Scores near the middle, from 4 – 6, usually indicate well-nourished
animals.
Cow - A bovine that has given birth to at least one calf.
Cow-calf Operation - The production of cattle or beef with a herd of cows which
are bred and produce calves. Usually the calves are sold to a feedlot operator
for fattening.
CRP - Conservation Reserve Program offered by the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA), which involves planting land that is subject to erosion or
along waterways such as creeks and rivers in prairie grasses and other approved
crops which are not harvested; the CRP program is a minimal 10-year program
which pays the farmer incentives to keep the land out of production and in
compliance with approved conservation practices.
Dairy Cattle – Cows raised mainly for their milk production.
Dam – Although dam has many other meanings, in livestock production the dam
refers to the mother of an animal.
Doe - Although doe has many other meanings, in agriculture doe refers to a
female deer, goat or rabbit.
Dryland Farming – A mode of farming that relies on rainfall for moisture to
produce crops and tillage methods that minimize cultivation and possible
exposure of the dirt to air.
EPDs - Expected Progeny Differences are statistical calculations of
improvements or deductions contributed by a sire to his offspring in comparison
to the breed average. For example, a bull with a yearling weight of +5 produces
calves which weigh five pound heavier on average than all other known calves
sired by other bulls of the same breed at precisely one year (365 days) of age.
Ewe - A female sheep that has given birth at least once.
Ewe Lamb - A young female sheep that has not yet given birth.
Farrow - A term which refers to the birthing process of pigs.
Farrow-to-Finish Operation - The production of swine which involves
maintaining a herd of sows to produce pigs, which are then raised to market size
and sold by the same farm.
Filly - A female horse that has not given birth to a colt.
Forward (Cash) Contract - A cash contract in which a seller agrees to deliver a
specific cash commodity to a buyer sometimes in the future. Forward contracts,
in contrast to futures contracts, are privately negotiated and re not standardized.
Freshen – In dairying, this refers to an animal commencing to lactate after giving
birth.
FSA - Farm Service Agency offices operated by the USDA to assist farmers with
federal government programs such as crop insurance, incentives to install
conservation practices such as terraces and filter strips along waterways, the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other federal programs.
Futures Contract - A legally binding agreement, made on the trading floor of a
futures exchange, to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument sometime in
the future. Futures contracts are standardized according to the quality, quantity
and delivery time and location for each commodity. The only variable is price,
which is discovered on an exchange trading floor.
Gelding – A male horse that has been castrated.
Gilt - A female pig that has not yet given birth to piglets.
GMO - Genetically Modified Organisms. A genetically modified organism is an
organism such as plant or animal, with an artificially modified genetic make-up.
Greensnap - A condition in which corn stalks break, due to high wind, when the
corn plant is growing very quickly and is immature and vulnerable, usually around
the time of pollination.
Hedging - The practice of offsetting the price risk inherent in any cash market
position by taking an equal but opposite position in the futures market. Hedgers
use the futures markets to protect their business from adverse price changes.
Selling (Short) Hedge - Selling futures contracts to protect against possible
declining prices of commodities that will be sold in the future. At the time the
cash commodities are sold, the open futures position is closed by purchasing an
equal number and type of futures contracts as those are initially sold.
Purchasing (Long) Hedge - Buyer futures contracts to protect against a possible
price increase of cash commodities that will be purchased in the future. At the
time the cash commodities are bought, the open futures position is closed by
selling an equal number and type of futures contracts as those that were initially
purchased. Also referred to as a buying hedge.
Heifer - A female bovine that has not yet given birth to a calf.
LDP - Loan Deficiency Payment, which is the difference between the county loan
rate set by the USDA and the posted county price of the crop. These may
change on a daily basis. The Commodity Credit Corporation may pay this to the
farmer for the bushels of grain that have been produced and before they are sold
in order to guaranteed a minimal price for the commodity, such as corn.
Loan Rate - The amount lent per unit of a commodity, such as bushels of corn,
to farmers, usually by the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Long Hedge - Buyer futures contracts to protect against a possible price
increase of cash commodities that will be purchased in the future. At the same
time the cash commodities are bought, the open futures contracts as those that
were initially purchased. Also referred to as a buying hedge.
Mare - A female horse that has given birth to at least one colt.
Margin - Financial safeguards to ensure that clearing members (usually
companies or corporations) perform on their customers' open futures and options
contracts. Clearing margins are distinct from customer margins that individual
buyers and sellers of futures and options contracts are required to deposit with
brokers. Within the futures industry, financial guarantees are required of both
buyers and sellers of futures contracts and sellers of options contracts to ensure
fulfilling of contract obligations. Margins are determined on the basis of market
risk and contract value. Also referred to as performance-bond margin.
Margin Call - A call from a clearinghouse to a clearing member, or from a
brokerage firm to a customer, to bring margin deposits up to a required minimum
level.
Monopoly - Exclusive control of a commodity or service by sellers which makes
possible the fixing of prices and the virtual elimination of free competition.
Usually monopoly results in unfairly high prices demanded by the seller(s).
Monopsony - Exclusive control of a commodity or service by buyers which lead
to control of the market and the fixing of prices by virtual elimination of free
competition from other buyers. Usually monopsony results in unfairly low prices
paid by the buyer(s).
Option - A contract that conveys the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a
particular item at a certain price for a limited time. Only the seller of the option is
obligated to perform.
PRRS – Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, a swine illness
that causes respiratory distress in small pigs and affects reproductive success in
sows.
Put Option - An option that gives the option buyer the right but not the obligation
to sell (go "short) the underlying futures contract at the strike price on or before
the expiration date.
Scours - Diarrhea in livestock caused by an intestinal infection.
Shipping Fever - A respiratory disease of cattle involving coughing, nasal
discharge and general malaise which is usually spread during the shipment of
livestock.
Short Hedge - Selling futures contracts to protect against possible declining
prices of commodities that will be sold in the future. At the same time the cash
commodities are sold, the open futures position is closed by purchasing an equal
number and type of futures contracts as those that were initially sold.
Sire – In livestock production a sire is the father of an animal.
Somatic Cell Count – Refers to the number of white blood cells per milliliter of
milk as an indicator of possible bacterial infections such as mastitis; the lower the
somatic cell count, the better the dairy animal health of the herd, with 100,000
somatic cells per milliliter of milk as the usual standard of acceptability.
Spread - The price difference between two related markets or commodities.
Stallion or Stud - A male horse, usually of sufficient maturity to successfully
breed a female horse.
Steer - A male bovine that has been castrated.
Strike Price - The price at which the futures contract underlying a call or put
option can be purchased (if a call) or sold (if a put). Also referred to as exercise
price.
Wether - A castrated male sheep.
Yearling - An animal such as a bovine or horse that is approximately one year
old and not yet mature.
Behavioral Health Terms
Addictions Counselor - May be trained at the bachelors, masters or doctoral
levels, usually in counseling, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of addictions,
such as substance abuse (drug abuse, alcohol abuse, abuse of prescribed
medications) and gambling. Certified addictions counselors may diagnose and
treat addictions.
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner – Nurses who have completed a
master’s degree in an area of specialization such as midwifery, family medicine,
psychiatric nursing, and who in some states, and with proper training, may be
licensed to prescribe psychotropic medications.
Agrarian Imperative© - The agrarian imperative is a purposeful drive to acquire
the territory and resources necessary to undertake agricultural activities that lead
to the production of essentials for life: food, fiber and renewable energy. The
agrarian imperative is a basic human instinct.
Agricultural Behavioral Health© – The field of health involving the behavioral
healthcare of the agricultural population. Agricultural behavioral health entails
understanding the cultures of farmers, ranchers and others involved in the
production of food and fiber. Agricultural behavioral health requires
understanding the unique behavioral health issues of agricultural people and
methods of restoring maladjusted behaviors to wellness.
Authorization - Written permission to authorized the release of information that
is otherwise usually confidential to specific individuals and/or agencies, for a
specific purpose and timeframe (i.e., usually one year from the date of approval).
Behavioral Healthcare© - Includes treatment for mental health conditions,
substance misuse and other addictions; treatments such as psychotherapy,
psychiatric medications, support groups, etc., for these behavioral disorders are
referred to as behavioral healthcare services.
Behavior© – Observable activity of an organism, such as a human.
Chronic Mental Illness (CMI) – Diagnosed behavioral health disorders in adults
that severely disrupt daily functioning at home, in occupational settings and in the
community. CMIs usually require long-term treatments.
Consent for Treatment - The approval or consent of an individual, or in the case
of a minor-aged child or incapacitated adult, by an approved representative to
undertake treatment procedures.
CPC Administrator - Central Point of Coordination Administrator in each Iowa
county; this person is usually appointed by the county board of supervisors to
manage the mental health/developmental disability budget for the county and to
ensure that all county citizens have access to necessary services for their mental
health, substance abuse, mental retardation or developmental disability.
Culturally Appropriate Services – Services that respect the beliefs, language,
ethnic and racial background, occupational characteristics and behaviors of the
individuals and families receiving services. Culturally appropriate services for the
agricultural population take these characteristics into account, along with the
occupational activities of farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers who are
being served. The terms, cultural sensitivity and cultural competence, have
slightly different meanings; all three terms do not mean knowing everything about
the culture but imply respect for differences and willingness to accommodate the
unique characteristics of the persons being served.
DSM-IV - The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (4th Ed.),
published by the American Psychiatric Association which lists diagnostic criteria
for behavioral disorders, including symptoms and commonly used code numbers.
Evidence-Based Treatment – Therapeutic interventions or treatments that have
undergone scientific evaluation and have proven effectiveness.
Health – Overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) as well as living in a
physically and emotionally healthy way (Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration working definition).
Health Care Professional Shortage Area - Regions of the country, usually rural
areas, in which the number of available health care professionals such as family
doctors, dentists and mental health professionals per 100,000 persons are well
below the national average. The determination of health care professional
shortage area is made by state and federal officials. These areas are deemed
"underserved" in the field, such as mental health, where there is an undersupply
of available health care professionals to deliver service. Through the National
Health Service Corps, licensed mental health care professional may receive
inducements, such as repayment of education loans, to practice in a designated
mental health care professional shortage area.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - Individuals who have completed a
minimum of a masters degree in individual, marriage and family counseling
techniques and have passed a licensing examination to practice in the field.
Licensed Mental Health Counselor - Individuals who have completed a
minimum of a masters training program in counseling and human service and
have passed a licensing exam in mental health counseling.
Licensed Professional Counselor – Individuals who have completed a
minimum of a master’s training program in counseling and human service and
have passed a licensing exam in professional counseling.
Outreach Program – A method of service delivery that involves sending staff to
patients’ homes or other place where they reside; outreach programs are
implemented to increase access to services.
Pastoral Counselor – Counselors who incorporate faith principles and
spirituality within their counseling and who are affiliated with a particular faith.
Pastoral counselors often are members of the clergy (i.e., minister, priest, rabbi,
elder) of the faith in which they are certified or otherwise affiliate.
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner - Nurses who have completed a master’s
degree in psychiatric nursing and, in some states, may be licensed to prescribe
psychotropic medications.
Psychiatry - Treatment for mental health disorders by a psychiatrist. A
psychiatrist is a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy who has completed a
residency in psychiatry. Psychiatry usually involves the use of psychotropic
medications to treat symptoms of behavioral disorder. Licensed psychiatrists
may diagnose and treat behavioral health disorders.
Psychology - The science and study of behavior. Psychologists usually
complete 4-6 years of graduate study, leading to the Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree.
There are many areas of psychology, such as child, clinical, counseling,
experimental, organizational and social psychology. Psychologists who become
licensed practitioners must complete an internship and obtain a license in their
area of expertise. These psychologists usually treat behavioral health disorders
through psychotherapeutic techniques. Some psychologists are licensed to
prescribe psychotropic medications in states where this practice is approved.
Licensed psychologists may diagnose and treat behavioral health disorders.
Psychotropic Medication - Drugs and medications prescribed for the purpose
of altering behavior. For example, antidepressant medications are psychotropic
drugs designed to alleviate depression.
Primary Symptom Bearer - The member of a family or system whose
symptoms are most noticeable and serious. Usually the primary symptom bearer
is the family member whose diagnosis is indicated on the insurance claim form.
Recovery – A process of change through which individuals improve their health
and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential
(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration working definition).
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) © – Depressive illness which may be
related to the amount of sunlight and which often recurs each year. As the days
shorten in autumn and during the winter, some people develop lethargy, need for
much sleep, negative mood, desire to avoid people and other depressive
symptoms. A smaller portion of people become overly energized during the
spring and early summer. The precise causes of SAD are not fully understood,
but the illness does seem linked with decreased exposure to sunlight, decreases
in Vitamin D and increased production of melatonin by the pineal gland in those
who develop the depressed phase and the opposite conditions in those who
develop heightened energy during the spring and summer. Successful
treatments have included use of lights that emit wavelengths similar to sunlight
(several types are commercially available), antidepressant medications and
behavior management (e.g., controlling thought patterns, outdoor exercise,
stimulation) for those who develop the depressed phase and shielding the
photoreceptors in the eyes from the sun, as well as psychotropic medications
and behavior coaching for those who develop the overly energetic phase.
Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) – Diagnosed behavioral health
disorders in children and adolescents that severely disrupt daily functioning in the
home, school or community.
Social Work - A human service field which may involve specialized training in
social welfare, individual, family, group and community mental health services.
Social Workers may be licensed at the bachelor or master degree level.
Licensed social workers may diagnose and treat behavioral health disorders in
states where permitted.
Stigma – A sign or label usually associated with disgrace. The term, mental
health stigma, refers to a negative bias about receiving behavioral healthcare
services.
Stress – Although stress has many meanings, as a behavioral health concept,
stress is the mental and/or physical response of a human or animal to
uncomfortable events that affect the individual.
Wellness© – Wellness is the condition of being in maximum physical and
behavioral health.