SACE Stage 2 Agricultural Production key terms

A payment arrangement in which a livestock owner pays a landholder to graze animals on that landholder's pasture, with the owner keeping ownership of the stock.

A pasture species that germinates, grows, sets seed and dies within one year, requiring re-establishment or natural seed set each season to persist in a paddock.

A plant that completes its life cycle over two growing seasons, usually forming vegetative growth in year one and flowering, seeding and dying in year two.

Managing a pest or weed population by introducing or encouraging a natural enemy such as a predator, parasite or pathogen, rather than relying mainly on chemicals.

Large-scale crop and pasture production on extensive paddocks using machinery, typically including cereals, oilseeds, pulses and grazing enterprises rather than intensive horticulture.

The maximum number of animals a paddock can support over a defined period without degrading soil, pasture or water resources under the management system used.

The inherited ability of a pest, weed or pathogen population to survive a herbicide, insecticide or fungicide dose that would normally control that species.

A crop grown primarily to protect and improve soil between production crops, reducing erosion, suppressing weeds and adding organic matter rather than being harvested for income.

A planned sequence of different crop or pasture species grown on the same paddock over successive seasons to manage weeds, diseases, nutrients and soil condition.

A crop grown between cereal crops that interrupts the life cycles of cereal-specific weeds, pests and diseases and often improves nitrogen or soil structure for the following crop.

The portion of feed remaining after all water has been removed, used to compare feed quantity and quality and to calculate how much pasture or fodder an animal consumes.

A period in which a paddock is left without a growing crop, usually to store soil moisture and control weeds, with the soil surface managed to reduce evaporation and erosion.

The amount of feed dry matter consumed per unit of animal product or liveweight gain produced, indicating how efficiently an animal converts feed into output.

A material applied to soil or plants to supply essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium or sulfur in forms available for plant uptake.

A crop grown and then incorporated into the soil while still green to add organic matter and nutrients, particularly nitrogen when a legume is used.

The proportion of the soil surface protected by living plants, crop residue or litter, which reduces erosion, runoff, evaporation and weed germination.

A decision-making approach that combines monitoring, cultural, biological and chemical controls, applying pesticides only when pest numbers justify the cost and risk.

The downward movement of water through soil carrying dissolved nutrients, salts or chemicals below the root zone where plants can no longer access them.

A plant in the pea and bean family that forms nodules with rhizobia bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen, often used in pastures and rotations to supply nitrogen.

The increase in an animal's body weight over a period, usually expressed in kilograms per head per day, reflecting feed intake, feed quality and animal health.

The proportion of pasture grown that is actually consumed by grazing animals rather than being lost to decay, trampling, insects or being left ungrazed.

A pasture species that persists and regrows from the same root system or crown across multiple years, providing ground cover and reducing the need for annual resowing.

The timing of seasonal growth stages such as germination, flowering and maturity, which influences when crops and pastures should be grazed, sprayed or harvested.

Soil bacteria that infect legume roots and form nodules where they convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms the plant can use, in exchange for carbohydrates.

Treating legume seed or soil with a specific rhizobia strain before sowing so that effective nitrogen-fixing nodules form, especially where the species is new to the paddock.

The quantity of seed, or number of viable seeds, sown per hectare, set to achieve a target plant density for the species, seed size and germination percentage.

The proportion of seeds in a sample that produce normal seedlings under standard test conditions, used to adjust sowing rate to achieve the target plant density.

The proportion of seeds in a lot that are alive and capable of germinating, which declines with age and poor storage and affects establishment and sowing rate decisions.

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of soil, influencing the availability of nutrients and the performance of pasture and crop species suited to that paddock.

The accumulation of soluble salts in soil to levels that reduce plant growth, often linked to rising water tables, irrigation practices and insufficient leaching.

The number of animals, or animal equivalents such as dry sheep equivalents, grazed on a specified area of land for a defined period.

The amount of crop or pasture dry matter, or product, produced per unit of water used, indicating how effectively rainfall or irrigation is converted into growth.

The stage at which young animals are separated from their mothers and their diet changes from milk to pasture or prepared feed, usually a stressful period requiring good nutrition.

Controls that restrict the movement of animals, plants or produce to prevent the introduction or spread of pests and diseases within or between regions.

Practices and measures designed to prevent the entry and spread of pests, weeds and diseases onto a property and to protect animal and plant health.

The inherited ability of internal parasites such as sheep worms to survive a dose of anthelmintic that would normally kill them, reducing treatment effectiveness.

A prediction of the genetic merit an animal passes to its offspring for a particular trait, expressed relative to a breed or flock reference group.

Choosing which animals or plants become parents of the next generation, based on measured traits, breeding values or visual assessment, to shift the population's genetic performance.