Glossary
Definitions extracted verbatim from the source workbook's own Glossarytab — USDA's regulatory language, not paraphrased. Where a term is defined in 7 C.F.R. § 2100, that section is cited below it.
Input terms
- Management Unit Size
- Management unit is defined as a field, group of fields, or other land units of the same land use and having the same management.
- Source: § 2100.002 "Management Unit"
- Actual average yield
- The actual crop yield for the management unit.
- Expected yield
- Expected yield per acre is defined as either: (i) For farm producers holding a crop insurance policy covering the reduced-CI crop for the current crop interval, farm producers must provide the yield used to establish coverage on their crop insurance policy; or (ii) For farm producers that do not hold a crop insurance policy, a farm producer may utilize the transitional yield or Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) County Benchmark yield for their county published by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) or Farm Service Agency (FSA).
- Source: § 2100.020(a)(5)
- Synthetic N
- Industrially manufactured nitrogen fertilizer applied to soils to support crop growth.
- Nitrification Inhibitors
- A nitrification inhibitor (NI) is a chemical compound that slows down the conversion of ammonia to nitrate in soil, a process called nitrification. Nitrification inhibitors can be added to fertilizers and can help reduce N losses and N₂O emissions.
- Source: § 2100.061 & Association of American Plant Food Control Officers (AAPFCO)
- Manure
- Feces, urine, other excrement, and bedding produced by livestock including dairy, swine, beef and poultry that may have been collected and stored but has not been actively managed as compost.
- Source: § 2100.002 "Manure" & § 2100.062
- Cover crop
- Seasonal vegetative cover (grasses, legumes, forbs) not intended for harvest, planted between production crops.
- Source: § 2100.002 "Cover crop" & § 2100.052
- Cover crop with grazing
- A cover crop that is grazed by livestock during its growth period.
- Source: § 2100.052(a)(8)
- No cover crop
- No vegetative cover was planted between production crops.
- Reduced till
- Reduced till means the implementation of a tillage system that limits disturbance to soil from mixing or inversion throughout the crop interval but allows minimal tillage and soil disturbance.
- Source: § 2100.002 "Reduced till" & § 2100.051(a)
- No till
- No-till means the implementation of a tillage system that limits the amount of disturbance to soil from mixing or inversion, creating only minor disturbances to the upper layers of soil throughout the crop interval.
- Source: § 2100.002 "No-till" & § 2100.051(b)
- None of the above
- The tillage method used does not meet the criteria for reduced till or no till.
- Manure Applied
- Manure that is applied to the management unit. Applied manure options in the tool include the following: Beef Cattle Manure (solid or liquid), Dairy Cattle Manure (solid or liquid), Swine Manure (solid or liquid), and Poultry Manure (solid or liquid).
- Source: § 2100.002 "Manure" & § 2100.062
- Amount of Manure Applied
- Farm producers applying solid or liquid manure may not exceed application rates stated in their nutrient budget and also must get a manure test for each type of manure applied. The manure test must be collected during the current crop interval and provide information on nitrogen and phosphorus content of the manure.
- Source: § 2100.062
- N Content of Manure Applied
- Farmers should reference the results of their manure test for the correct N content of applied manure to their management unit.
- Source: § 2100.062
Results terms
- Carbon intensity (CI)
- A measure of greenhouse gas (GHG) performance reflecting the estimated quantity of GHG emissions associated with one unit of production. For biofuel feedstock crops, carbon intensity is expressed as grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per bushel of produced crop (g CO₂e/bushel).
- Source: § 2100.002 "Carbon intensity"
- Emissions from manufacture and transportation of N fertilizer
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the upstream production and transportation of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.
- Source: inferred from our methodology
- Soil carbon emissions/removals
- Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks resulting from adoption of low-carbon agricultural practices (e.g., cover crops, reduced till, no-till).
- Source: inferred from our methodology
- Total N2O Emissions
- Total N2O emissions from fertilizer, manure, and crop residues are calculated as the sum of direct N2O emissions and indirect N2O emissions. Direct nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions are directly released from soils as a result of nitrogen inputs (synthetic fertilizer, manure, crop residues) and management practices. Indirect N₂O emissions result from nitrogen that is lost from the field via volatilization or leaching and subsequently converted to N₂O elsewhere in the environment.
- Source: inferred from our methodology
- Emissions from on-farm energy consumption
- GHG emissions resulting from the use of diesel, gasoline, and other energy sources for field operations (e.g., tillage, planting, fertilizer/pesticide application, harvesting).
- Source: inferred from our methodology
- Emissions from manufacture and transportation of other chemicals
- GHG emissions associated with the upstream production and transportation of other farming chemicals (e.g., pesticides, herbicides).
- Source: inferred from our methodology
- CO2 emissions from urea/lime
- CO₂ emissions resulting from the application of urea fertilizer and agricultural lime to soils.
- Source: inferred from our methodology