Precipitated salts or salt found in or on the soil surface that result in reduced vegetative production or in the elimination of crops and grasses on agricultural lands.

Undrained areas in closed basins in arid regions. In these areas, 10 to 75 cm (4 to 30 in) of crystalline salt overlie stratified, very strongly saline sediment.

The second-stage sample unit in the National Resources Inventory (NRI) two-stage sampling scheme.

An accumulation of loose sand heaped by the wind, commonly found along low-lying seashores above high-tide level. This is a subcategory of barren land.

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA).

A standard unit of land measurement that equals 640 acres or 1 square mile.

A rental agreement in which the tenant farmer pays the landlord a share of the crop. This arrangement puts the landlord, like the tenant, at risk from yield and price variations.

Allows tenants to pay a somewhat higher than normal rent to the farmland owner in exchange for some share of the future capital appreciation on land.

The removal of layers of soil from the land surface by the action of rainfall and runoff. It is the first stage in water erosion.

Short woody plants are less than 4 meters tall and often multi stemmed (i.e. shrubs and seedlings).

Lands where the dominant plant species is shrubs, which are plants that are persistent, have woody stems, a relatively low growth habit, and typically produce several basal shoots instead of a single bole.

The public notification document that Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) provides to describe the particular requirements for a specific conservation program sign-up.

The list of resource concerns associated with an agricultural operation that is subject to requirements under a conservation program, such as eligibility.

A part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

In the Midwest,

A branch of forestry dealing with the management and cultivation of forest trees.

The expected effect that a particular conservation practice has on defined resource problems/opportunities in a site-specific situation.

The inclination of the soil surface from the horizontal. Slope percent is the vertical distance divided by the horizontal distance, then multiplied by 100.

The distance from the point of origin of overland flow to the point where either the slope gradient decreases enough that deposition begins.

The ratio of soil loss from the field slope length to that from a 72.6-foot length under identical conditions.

The ratio of soil loss from the field slope gradient to that from a 9 percent slope under otherwise identical conditions.

Land that consists of developed land units of .25 to 10 acres.

Land that was converted from native vegetation to crop production.

A program that since 1985 has discouraged the plowing of erosion-prone grasslands for use as cropland. If erosion-prone lands are used for crop production without proper conservation measures, a producer may lose eligibility to participate in farm programs.

A program that since 1985 has discouraged the plowing of erosion-prone grasslands for use as cropland. If erosion-prone lands are used for crop production without proper conservation measures, a producer may lose eligibility to participate in farm programs.

In the United States, about 70,000 kinds of soil (that

An erodibility factor that quantifies the ability of soil particles to detach and move with water.

The potential soil loss, in tons per acre per year, from a wide, level, unsheltered, isolated field with a bare, smooth, loose, and noncrusted surface, under climatic conditions like those in the vicinity of Garden City, Kansas.

The maximum rate of annual soil loss that will permit crop productivity to be sustained economically and indefinitely on a given soil.

An area of the landscape shown on a soil map which consists of one or more soils.

Resource concerns related to depletion of soil organic matter content and the physical condition of the soil relative to ease of tillage, fitness as a seedbed, the impedance to seedling emergence root penetration and overall soil productivity.

The systematic examination, description, classification, and mapping of soils in an area.

A female hog used for breeding.

Assessments levied to provide publicly build improvements that will primarily benefit property owners within a small geographic area.

Some specialty crops include tomatoes, popcorn, potatoes and sugar beets.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee authorized to direct and supervise NRCS activities in a State.

The Farm Services Agency (FSA) employee authorized to direct and supervise FSA activities in a State.

Director of a State forestry agency.

A document used to implement the Forestry Incentives Program (FIP) in a given state.

A type of ownership of land belonging to one of the states of the U.S.

A committee in each state established by the Secretary which provide information, analysis, and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A neutered male bovine, intended for meat. A dairy steer is simply a steer from one of the dairy breeds.

The term for the dry stem of some crops after the grain-containing head has been removed for harvest. Wheat straw are oat straw are some of the most common types of straw. It has little or no nutritional value, so it has been traditionally used for livestock bedding, but it is now often used as a means of controlling erosion on newly landscaped areas. We hope it doesn

A flow of water in a channel or bed, as a brook, rivulet, or small river.

No, of course it doesn

A conservation practice that primarily involves the establishment, construction, or installation of a site-specific measure to conserve, protect from degradation, or improve soil, water, or related natural resources in the most cost-effective manner. Examples include, but are not limited to, animal waste management facilities, terraces, grassed waterways, tailwater pits, livestock water developments, contour grass strips, filter strips, critical area plantings, tree planting, wildlife habitat, and capping of abandoned wells.

An integrated system of farming that will, over the long term, satisfy food and fiber needs, enhance environmental quality, make the most efficient use of resources, sustain the economic viability of farm operations and enhance the quality of life.

A provision of the 1985 Farm Bill that discourages the conversion of wetlands to cropland use. Producers converting a wetland area to cropland lose eligibility for major federal farm program benefits.