Cattle glossary
71 reproduction, production, paddock, and management terms, explained in two lines.
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Abortion
Loss of the pregnancy before the calf can survive. It should always be recorded, with the date and probable cause.
Age at first calving
Age of the female when she calves for the first time. In dairy, the usual target is around 24 months.
Anestrus
Period in which the cow shows no heat. It is normal for a while after calving; if it drags on, it lengthens days open.
Animal unit
Measure that converts animals of different sizes to a reference animal in order to calculate stocking rate.
Read the full guideArtificial insemination
Breeding technique in which semen is deposited in the female without natural service.
Available water
The portion of soil water that plants can use. It ranges from field capacity to the wilting point.
Average daily gain
Kilograms an animal gains per day, calculated between two weigh-ins.
Biomass
Total amount of forage present in a paddock at a given time. It helps decide when to start grazing.
Body condition
Score of the animal's body fat reserves, usually on a 1-to-5 scale in dairy.
Read the full guideBreeding
Artificial insemination or natural service of a female in heat.
Calving interval
Time between two consecutive calvings of the same cow. It is the sum of days open and gestation length.
Read the full guideCalving rate
Ratio of calvings in a period to females of breeding age.
Carrying capacity
Animal units per hectare that the pasture can sustain, based on what grows and what the cattle can actually use.
Read the full guideCMT
Cow-side test that detects subclinical mastitis by mixing milk from each quarter with a reagent.
Read the full guideColostrum
The first milk a cow produces after calving. It is rich in antibodies, and the calf must drink it in its first hours of life.
Cost per liter
Total cost of production divided by the liters of milk produced in the same period.
Crude protein
Total protein content of a feed, estimated from its nitrogen.
Culling
Removal of an animal from the herd as a management decision: low production, reproductive problems, health, or age.
Days in milk
Days elapsed since the last calving of a cow that is being milked.
Days open
Days between a cow's calving and her next pregnancy. It is one of the most important reproductive indicators.
Read the full guideDifficult calving
A difficult calving that requires assistance. A normal, unassisted calving is called eutocia.
Dry cow
Cow that is not being milked because she is in the dry period before calving.
Read the full guideDry matter
What is left of a feed once the water is removed. It is the basis for comparing forages and calculating intake.
Dry period
Rest for the udder between dry-off and the next calving. It usually lasts about 60 days.
Read the full guideDry-off
End of lactation: milking stops so the cow can rest before her next calving.
Read the full guideEligible female
Female that can be bred in a given period: she has completed her voluntary waiting period, is not pregnant, and is not slated for culling.
Read the full guideEvapotranspiration
Water lost from the soil by evaporation and from the plant by transpiration. It is used to estimate irrigation needs.
Field capacity
Maximum amount of water the soil holds after excess water has drained.
Gestation
Period between conception and calving. In cattle it lasts about 283 days.
Growing degree days
Measure of accumulated heat that explains how fast the pasture grows.
Harvest window
Biomass range in which it makes sense to graze or cut: there is enough grass and it is still good quality.
Read the full guideHeat
Period in which the female stands to be mounted and can become pregnant. In cows it recurs roughly every 21 days.
Heifer
Young female that has not yet had her first calf.
Herd
All the animals on a cattle operation.
IFI
IdeasFarm index that sums up each animal's production, reproduction, and health performance in a single value.
Income statement
Financial summary of a period: income, costs, and the resulting profit or loss.
Lactation
Period during which the cow produces milk, from calving to dry-off.
Live weight
Weight of the live animal. It is the basis for calculating intake, dosages, and animal units.
Management group
Set of animals managed together by stage, production, or condition.
Mastitis
Inflammation of the udder, almost always from infection. It can be clinical, with visible signs, or subclinical.
Read the full guideMilking
Removal of milk from the cow, by hand or by machine, usually once or twice a day.
Milking cows
Group of cows in the herd that are currently producing milk.
NDF
Measure of the fiber in forage. The higher the NDF, the less the animal eats and the lower the pasture quality tends to be.
Neonatal mortality
Percentage of calves that die in their first days of life, usually before 30 days.
Open cow
Cow that is not pregnant.
Paddock
Division of the land used for grazing or for cutting forage.
Palpation
Rectal exam performed by the veterinarian to confirm pregnancy or check the reproductive tract.
Pasture growth rate
Kilograms of dry matter the paddock produces per hectare each day.
Read the full guidePasture measurement
Measurement of the amount of grass available in a paddock, usually in kilograms of dry matter per hectare.
Read the full guidePre-calving
The last weeks before calving, when the cow needs special management and feeding.
Pregnancy rate
Percentage of eligible cows that become pregnant in a period, usually 21 days.
Read the full guideProductive life
Time a cow stays in the herd, from her first calving until she is culled.
Quarter
Each of the udder's four glands: right front, left front, right rear, and left rear.
Read the full guideRepeat breeding rate
Percentage of bred females that need another service because they did not become pregnant.
Read the full guideReplacements
Young females that join the adult herd each year to replace those that leave.
Residual
Grass left in the paddock when the cattle move out. Regrowth speed depends on it.
Read the full guideRotational grazing
System in which animals move from one paddock to the next so the pasture can rest and recover.
Services per conception
Average number of services needed to achieve a pregnancy. The closer to 1, the better.
Silage
Forage preserved by fermentation without air and stored to feed cattle in times of shortage.
Somatic cells
Cells present in milk, mostly immune cells. Their number rises when the udder is inflamed.
Read the full guideStocking rate
Number of animals, or animal units, managed per hectare. It must be adjusted to the available pasture.
Read the full guideStraw
Small container holding one dose of frozen semen for artificial insemination.
THI
Indicator that combines temperature and humidity to estimate heat stress in cattle.
Read the full guideTraceability
Ability to follow the history of an animal or product, with records of every event.
Read the full guideUsable forage
The share of the pasture grown that cattle can actually eat, after discounting what is trampled, soiled, or must be left as residual.
Read the full guideVoluntary waiting period
The time you choose to wait after calving before breeding the cow again.
Water balance
Difference between the water entering the soil, from rain or irrigation, and the water leaving through evapotranspiration.
Weaning
The point at which the calf stops drinking milk and moves to a diet of pasture and supplement only.
Wilting point
Soil moisture level below which plants can no longer extract water.