Acid detergent fiber (ADF)  Insoluble residue following extraction of herbage with acid detergent (van Soest); cell wall constituents minus hemicellulose.

Acid detergent fiber digestibility  The digestibility of acid detergent fiber (ADF) of a forage, as determined by the percentage decrease in ADF measured before and after in vitro or in vivo digestion.

Acid detergent lignin (ADL) Lignin in the residue determined following extraction with acid detergent.

Alfatoxin C₁₇H₁₀O₆   A polynuclear substance derived from molds; a known carcinogen.  It is produced by a fungus occurring on peanuts, corn, and other plants, especially seeds.

Aftermath   Residue and/or regrowth of plants (forage) used for grazing after harvesting of a crop.

Alkaloid  One of a class of basic organic compounds with nitrogen in their structure; a secondary product of plant metabolism. An example is perloline, produced by tall fescue.

Companion crop  A crop such as a small grain that is sown with another crop, especially one that will emerge and develop slowly, such as a forage crop. 

Continuous stocking  A method of grazing livestock on a given unit of land where animals have unrestricted and uninterrupted access throughout the time period when grazing is allowed.

Cool-season grass  Grass species that grow best during cool, moist periods of the year; they commonly have temperature optimums of 59 to 77 degrees F.

Crude fiber  Course, fibrous portions of plants, such as cellulose, that are partially digestible and relatively low in nutritional value. 

Dry matter intake, daily  Amount of dry matter ingested by an animal on a daily basis.

Forage  Edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, that can provide feed for grazing animals or that can be harvested for feeding, including browse, herbage, and mast.

Forage crop  A crop of cultivated plants or plant parts, other than separated grain, produced to be grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals.

Forage quality  Characteristics that make nutrients; the combination of chemical and biocharacteristics of forage that determines its potential to produce meat, milk, wool, or with feeding value and nutritive value.

Grassland  Any plant community in which grasses and/or legumes compose the dominant vegetation. Land on which the vegetation is dominated by grasses.

Grass tetany  Condition of cattle and sheep marked by titanic staggers, convulsions, coma, and frequently death; characterized by a low level of blood magnesium.

Graze  The consumption of forage in situ by animals/ compare browse, forage.  Use with the animal as the subject, not the object; that is, in technical terminology, cattle graze, but people do not graze cattle.

Grazer  Animal that grazes in situ grass as herbage.  Animals on experimental pastures which may or may not remain on specified pasture treatments for the entire grazing period or season, but which are of a kind or physiological condition not necessarily represented on all pasture treatments for the entire grazing period or season.

Grazing cycle  The time elapses between the beginning of one grazing period and the beginning of the next grazing period in the same paddock where the forage is regularly grazed and rested.

Grazing event  The length of time that an animal grazes without stopping.

Grazing land management  The manipulation of the soil-plant-animal complex of grazing land in pursuit of a desired result.

Grazing management  The manipulation of animal grazing in pursuit of a defined objective.

Haylage  Product resulting from ensiling forage with about 45% moisture in the absence of oxygen.

Meadow  Area covered with grasses and/or legumes, often native to the area, grown primarily for hay but with secondary grazing potential.

Mixed grazing  Grazing by two or more species of grazing animals (e.g., sheep and cattle) on the same land unit, not necessarily the same time but within the same grazing season.

Mob grazing  In the management of a grazing unit, grazing by a relatively large number of animals at a high stocking density for a short time period.

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)  A method of forage quality analysis based on spectrophotometry at wavelengths in the near infrared region.

Neutral detergent fiber  That portion of a forage that is insoluble in neutral detergent; synonymous with cell wall constituents.

Neutral detergent fiber digestibility  the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber determined as the difference in NDF in a forage before and after in vivo or invitro digestion.

Palatability  Preference based on plant characteristics eliciting a choice between two or more forages or parts of the same forage, conditioned by the animal and environmental factors that stimulate a selective intake response.

Pasture  A type of grazing management unit enclosed and separated from other areas by fencing or other barriers and devoted to the production of forage for harvest primarily by grazing.

Perennial  A plant or group of plants that persists for several years, usually with new growth from a perennating part.

Preservative  An additive used to protect against decay, discoloration, or spoilage.

Protein, crude  An estimate of protein content based on a determination of total nitrogen (N) content multiplied by 6.25 because proteins average about 16% nitrogen.

Prussic acid  A poison produced as a glucoside by several plant species, especially sorghums. 

Range Land supporting indigenous vegetation that is grazed or that has the potential to be grazed and is managed as a natural ecosystem.  Includes grazable forestland and rangeland.

Range management  The science of maintaining maximum forage production, generally with natural vegetation, without jeopardy to other resources or used of the land.

Rest  To leave an area of grazing land ungrazed or unharvested for a specific time, such as a year, a growing season, or a specified period required within a particular management practice.

Ruminant  A suborder of mammals having a complex multichambered stomach; uses forages primarily as feedstuffs. 

Silage  Forage preserved in a succulent condition by organic acids produced by partial anaerobic fermentation of sugars in the forage.

Stockpiling forage  To allow forage to accumulate for grazing at a later period.  Forage is often stockpiled for autumn and winter grazing after or during dormancy or semi-dormancy, but stockpiling may occur at any time during the year as a part of a management plan.  Stockpiling can be described in terms of deferment or forage accumulation.

Sward  A population of herbaceous plants characterized by a relatively short habit of growth and relatively continuous ground cover, including both above and belowground parts.

Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN)  Sum total of the digestibility of the organic components of plant material and/or seed; for example, crude protein + NFE + crude fiber + fat.

Vegetative  Non-reproductive plant parts, (leaf and stem) in contrast to reproductive plant parts (flower and seed) in developmental stages of plant growth.  The non-reproductive stage in plant development.