Glossary of Terms

Agribusiness - A large association of related agricultural businesses that is legally authorized to act as one entity. Agribusinesses commonly combine the production, processing, storage, and distribution aspects of a farm industry (see integrator).

Airborne Emissions - Gases and particles released to the air by hog operations through confinement house exhaust, from the surfaces of waste lagoons, and when liquid waste is sprayed onto nearby fields (see confinement areas, lagoon, sprayfield).

Ammonia - A pungent, gaseous compound of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3) produced when animal waste is broken down by bacteria. Intensive hog operations release large quantities of ammonia to the atmosphere. Since it readily dissolves in water, the ammonia eventually returns to earth in rainfall (see intensive livestock operation).

Animal Waste - Refuse from livestock operations, sometimes called "manure." Animal waste may contain just excreta (feces + urine) or excreta mixed with feed, bedding, litter, etc.

Bloom - The overproduction of tiny, microscopic plants (algae) in surface waters, often forming a green "scum." Triggered by nutrient pollution, excessive algal blooms cause oxygen depletion which, in extreme cases, may lead to fish kills (see surface water, nutrient pollution).

Boar - A male hog used for breeding purposes. Boars weigh about 500 pounds.

Confinement Area - A restricted space in which large numbers of animals are raised. Confinement areas have no naturally growing vegetation and require the regular removal of waste (see intensive livestock operation).

Contamination - When a substance is present in the environment at high enough levels to make water unfit for drinking or other intended uses. Leaking waste lagoons and run-off from sprayfields can contaminate water supplies by adding unnaturally high amounts of nitrates (see lagoon, sprayfield, nitrates).

Contract - A legal written agreement to perform a service for a fixed price. Contract farmers are paid to "grow" the integrator's hogs; they do not own them.

Corporate Hog Farm - A hog raising operation that either contracts with or is part of a larger agribusiness. Corporate hog farms usually are large and use intensive methods to produce the greatest number of animals at the lowest possible cost (see agribusiness, integrator, intensive livestock operation).

Effluent - Waste material discharged into the environment especially when serving as a pollutant.

Estuary - A partially enclosed body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with salty seawater before flowing into the ocean. Estuaries support unique communities of plants and animals and serve as nursery grounds for many species of fish and shellfish.

Farrow - A litter of pigs; giving birth. The hog industry uses the expression "Farrow to Finish" to describe operations that contain pigs from birth to market ready.

Feeder Pig - A weaned pig up to about 10 to 12 weeks of age, weighing 40 to 50 pounds. Feeder pigs are brought to market weight during the finishing process (see finish).

Finish - To bring a feeder pig up to market, or slaughter, weight - - about 240 to 250 pounds. Due to improved production methods, the time it takes to finish a hog has shortened in recent years to approximately 6 months.

Freeboard - The distance between the highest allowable level of waste water in a lagoon and the lagoon's top edge (see lagoon).

Groundwater - Water contained underground in the earth's saturated zone. Groundwater supplies wells and springs.

Heavy Metals - Elements like copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) that are essential in trace amounts for animal and plant nutrition but can be toxic in higher concentrations.

Integrator - A large business entity that owns or contracts with smaller businesses that perform specific steps in the swine production process. Growing and finishing the hogs is just one of these steps. Others include breeding and birthing, nursery care, transportation, processing, and marketing (see corporate hog farm, agribusiness).

Intensive Livestock Operation (ILO) - Production facilities (e.g., enclosures, feedlots, buildings) where large numbers of animals are raised in a confined space which does not have naturally growing vegetation and in which waste will naturally accumulate if not removed (see corporate hog farm).

Lagoon - An outdoor earthen basin used to store liquid animal waste that has been flushed from confinement areas. In addition to storage, lagoons provide for limited bacterial decomposition of the waste (see confinement area, animal waste).

Liner - A barrier used to separate the waste in a lagoon from the ground surrounding it. Clay liners are common. Synthetic liners may be required when soil is especially porous (see lagoon).

Litter - A group of young produced at one birth. Hog litters vary in size from 11-12 piglets, with an average of 8-9 being weaned from the sow (see piglet, wean, sow ).

Moratorium - A period of time during which some type of activity is suspended. A moratorium on the construction of new and expanded hog operations in North
Carolina was recently extended to September 1, 1999.

Nitrates - Water soluble chemical compounds produced naturally when ammonia is broken down by bacteria in the soil. Nitrates can easily move into the groundwater that supplies wells. In small quantities, they are not harmful to humans; however, elevated levels in drinking water can be toxic (see ammonia, groundwater, contamination, toxic).

Nursery - An area where piglets, ages 3 to 4 weeks, are taken when separated from their mother (see piglet).

Nutrient pollution - The presence of unnaturally high concentrations of nutrients - primarily nitrogen and phosphorous - in surface waters. Nutrient pollution can stimulate excessive algal growth, causing oxygen depletion which, in extreme cases, may lead to fish kills (see surface water, bloom).

Operator - Any person or company that owns or manages an intensive livestock operation (see ILO).

Pathogen - A microorganism that can cause disease.

Pfiesteria - A microscopic organism that lives in the brackish waters of river estuaries. Under high nutrient conditions, Pfiesteria produces deadly toxins that can kill fish. Pfiesteria also has been associated with illness in humans (see estuary, nutrient pollution, toxic).

Piglet - Common term for a baby pig.

Sprayfield - Land onto which the liquid waste from a nearby lagoon is sprayed (see lagoon).

Sow - A female hog used for breeding purposes. Sows generally weigh between 450 and 500 pounds. Some hog operations specialize in handling sows and their litters only.

Surface Water - Water located above ground in lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, oceans, etc. Surface water is open to the atmosphere and subject to run-off.

Swine - Another term for hog.

Toxic - Poisonous. Elevated levels of nitrates in drinking water are toxic to humans.

Wean - To accustom a piglet to the loss of its mother's milk. Piglets are weaned from the sow at about 3 to 4 weeks of age (see sow, piglet).

Wetland - Land where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities.