Economy // Economia
US // 1. The occupation, art, and science of raising crops and livestock (farming and ranching). 2. The entire food production industry, including the supply of materials used in farming, the practice of farming and ranching, the marketing of agricultural products, and the information services available to farmers and ranchers.
Troeh, F.R. and R.L. Donahue. 2003. Dictionary of Agricultural and Environmental Science. USA. Ames, IA: Iowa State Press. See p. 9.
CAN // Agriculture can be defined as the systematic and controlled use of living organisms and the environment to improve the human condition.
Provincial Agricultural Land Commission website.
MEX // Arte de cultivar la tierra
Real Academia Española, 2001.
Economy // Economia
US // An ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. To use the “organic” label requires USDA certification.
USDA website, NAL.
CAN // CFIA-Regulated. Strict respect for the links and natural balances between the soil, plants and animals (animals nourish the soil, which nourishes plants), to which is added the constraint of a prohibition against synthetic chemicals. From this principle and this constraint follow a number of agricultural practices which distinguish organic from conventional farming, including: (1) a prohibition against chemical fertilizers and pesticides, plant and animal growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, etc.; (2) a prohibition against genetically modified organisms; (3) a prohibition against soilless culture (which does not exclude greenhouse growing); (4) the requirement, in the case of animal production, to allow free ranging, to use organically produced feed, to limit animal density in buildings, etc.; and (5) the requirement to observe conversion periods in crop production before any “organic” commercial exploitation, etc.
Forge 2001.
MEX // Productos orgánicos (incluyendo carne), los cuales se definen por no utilizar ningún agroquímico. Este tipo de productos se desarrollan bajo un sistema de insumos naturales y buenas prácticas agrícolas (BPA) que protegen el medio ambiente, con el fin de generar un sistema de producción autosostenible en el largo plazo y así obtener productos libres de residuos químicos tanto frescos como procesados.
SAGARPA, s-f.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Beef, chemical-free; Beef, free range; Beef, organic; Feed, organic; Rangeland management (Management); Biodynamic; Graze Well Standard; Natural; Proof of process (Marketing)
ESP // Carne de ganado libre de sustancias químicas; Ganado, libre pastoreo; Carne orgánica; Ganado alimentado con alimentos orgánicos; Manejo de agostadero (Manejo); Biodinámico; estándar de buen pastoreo; Certificación, procesos (Mercadotecnia)
Management // Manejo
US // A generalized unit for describing stocking density, stocking rate and carry capacity. Usually accepted to be a 1,000-lb cow with calf or 1.4 yearling cattle.
Beef Quality Assurance: 137. Also National Cattlemen’s website.
US // Measurement based on the amount of feed eaten and manure produced by an average mature horse, cow, or the equivalent.
Herren, R.V. and R.L. Donahue. 1991. The Agriculture Dictionary. USA. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers. See p. 21.
CAN // Considered to be one mature cow of about 1,000 pounds (450 kg), either dry or with calf up to 6 months of age, or their equivalent, consuming about 26 pounds (12 kg) of forage on an oven-dry basis.
Bruynooghe and Macdonald 2008: 104.
MEX // La unidad animal (U.A) la constituye una vaca adulta (vientre bovino) de 400 a 450 kg de peso, en gestación o mantenimiento que para satisfacer sus necesidades alimenticias y cumplir con su función zootécnica, consume el 3% de su peso vivo de forraje, en base a materia seca por día, y que se utiliza como base de equivalencia para referencia en animales mayores o menores.
SAGARPA 2003.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Reproductive age (Management)
ESP // Vientre en edad reproductiva (Manejo)
Management // Manejo
US // This term implies the animals have not received any antibiotics during the course of its lifetime. Use of the term “antibiotic free” is considered “unapprovable” by USDA and may not be used on any meat products. “No antibiotics administered” and “raised without antibiotics” are considered acceptable to use by the USDA. Although the USDA is accountable for proper use of these claims, there is no verification system in place.
Greener Choices website.
CAN // Not treated in any way with antibiotics
Chicken Farmers of Canada´s website.
MEX // Producto – carne o leche – libre de residuos de antibioticos.
Sánchez Granillo, E., PhD. Councillor of the Minister, Ministry of Rural Development, State Government of Chihuahua. Personal communication, 2012.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Beef, chemical-free; Beef, free range; Beef, organic; Feed, organic; Never Ever 3 (NE3); Rangeland management (Management); Biodynamic; Graze Well Standard; Natural; Proof of process (Marketing)
ESP // Carne de ganado, 100% natural; Ganado, libre pastoreo; Ganado alimentado con alimentos orgánicos; Nunca jamás; Manejo de agostadero (Manejo); Biodinámico; estándar de buen pastoreo; Natural; Certificación, procesos (Mercadotecia)
Management // Manejo
US // Definitions vary. Ranches marketing “all-natural” beef start with the USDA requirement that beef must be “minimally processed” and have “no added ingredients,” then add their own “natural” principles to the production of their beef. For example: Niman Ranch (CA) claims cattle are never given hormones or antibiotics, they are fed a vegetarian diet and are raised outdoors on pasture or in deeply bedded pens. Nolan Ryan (TX) claims cattle are raised on natural grasslands and fed a diet of high quality grains grown by local farmers. Colorado’s Best Beef Company (CO) claims cattle receive no feed antibiotics, no growth hormones and no steroids.
Niman Ranch website; Nolan Ryan’s Texas Beef website; Colorado’s Best Beef website.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Antibiotic free; Beef, chemical-free; Beef, free range; Beef, organic; Feed, organic; Never Ever 3 (NE3); Rangeland management (Management); Biodynamic; Graze Well Standard; Natural; Proof of process (Marketing)
ESP // Carne de ganado, 100% natural; Ganado, libre pastoreo; Ganado alimentado con alimentos orgánicos; Nunca jamás; Manejo de agostadero (Manejo); Biodinámico; estándar de buen pastoreo; Natural; Certificación, procesos (Mercadotecia)
Marketing // Mercadotecnia
US // A trademark of The Artisan Beef Institute. The institute promotes collaboration between professional cooks, ranchers and butchers to foster education and research concerning the quality (including texture and flavor) of beef and other products. The Institute “certifies” certain ranches that meet their Artisan Beef standards, including a professional taste evaluation.
Note: Consumer choice and education (or lack of) has had a great impact in the beef market. Although the main focus of the Artisan Beef label is on superior taste, the term is included here because criteria for use of the brand incorporate the entire value chain including animal husbandry and land management practices.
Artisan Beef website.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Stocking Rate; Ecologically Sustainable; Grazing management; Management, holistic; Stewardship (Management); Graze Well Standard; Natural (Marketing)
ESP // Carga animal ecológicamente sustentable; Manejo del Pastoreo; Manejo holísitico; Liderazgo, administración responsable (Manejo); Estándar de buen pastoreo; Natural (Mercadotecnia)
Management // Manejo
US // A term used by World Wildlife Fund to indicate beef that is raised according to grazing-management methods that support the goals of biodiversity conservation (specifically within the Northern Great Plains). To date, no specific standards or certifications have been developed.
Freese 2009: 43.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Beef, bird-friendly; Beef, Conservation; Management, holistic (Management)
ESP // Carne de ganado amigable de las aves; Carne de ganado de conservación; Manejo holísitico (Manejo)
Management // Manejo
US // A market-based approach to grassland bird conservation currently being investigated by Audubon and other partners as a means to complement existing private land conservation incentives through a habitat focused certification program that results in large-scale, measurable results supported and sustained by consumers.
Currently an internal, working definition of Audubon’s Prairie Bird Team. No citation available.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Beef, biodiversity-friendly (Management)
ESP // Carne de ganado amigable de la biodiversidad (Manejo)
Management // Manejo
US // A specifically labeled product that is differentiated from commodity items by its brand name. E.g. Certified Angus Beef (OH), Laura’s Lean (KY), Cattlemen’s Collection (CO) or Prairie Preserve Beef (NE).
Beef Quality Assurance: 139
CAN // Branded beef products are based on specifications or production standards that are unique to the brand.
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Market, niche (Marketing)
ESP // Nicho de mercado (Mercadotecnia)
Management // Manejo
US // Beef from cattle that were produced using no herbicides or pesticides, not even in the general area, such as on nearby fruit trees and roadways. Vaccinations allowed. Any animal that will be processed as organic must be chemical free.
Thomas, H.S. 2005: Getting Started with Beef and Dairy Cattle. USA. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing. See p. 96.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Agriculture, organic (Economy); Beef, free range; Beef, organic; Feed, organic; Never Ever 3 (Management); Biodynamic; Natural; Proof of process (Marketing)
ESP // Agricultura orgánica (Economía); Ganado, libre pastoreo; Carne orgánica; Ganado alimentado con alimentos orgánicos; Nunca jamás (Manejo); Biodinámico; Natural; Certificación, procesos (Mercadotecnia)
Marketing // Mercadotecnia
CAN // Grass-fed beef produced on land managed for healthy grass cover.
White 2010: 15
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Stocking Rate; Ecologically Sustainable (Management)
ESP // Carga animal ecológicamente sustentable (Manejo)
Management // Manejo
US // A now-defunct Nature Conservancy program with the goal of conserving ecologically significant ranchlands. Ranchers in this program were required to develop an environmental management plan specific to their land, which would enhance soil and water quality, wildlife habitat and/or open space. To continue into the second year, a rancher had to agree to a Full Stewardship Plan, including specific commitments to open space. These commitments included easements and/or donations of the proceeds from a land sale to a local land trust.
Grewell, J.B. and C.J. Landry. 2003. Ecological Agrarian: Agriculture’s First Evolution in 10,000 years. USA. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press. See pp. 30-31.
RELATED TERMS // TÉRMINOS AFINES
EN // Beef, biodiversity-friendly; Beef, bird-friendly (Management) Graze Well Standard (Marketing)
ESP // Carne de ganado amigable de la biodiversidad; Carne de ganado amigable de las aves (Manejo); estándar de buen pastoreo (Mercadotecnia)