Bread, batteries and bottled water vanish from supermarket shelves; lines snake around gas stations as people top off their tanks; and plywood covers windows. This is what many do when a severe storm is on the way. But how do farmers prepare for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and other extreme weather events?

How do farmers prepare for severe weather?

Feeding the cows.

Farmers pay close attention to the weather on any given day because they rely on just the right amount of rain for a bountiful harvest. They heed warnings from state and federal agencies, along with their local farm bureaus when a severe weather event lurks on the horizon. Farmers assess their situation and determine what steps to take to protect their families and livelihoods.

If it is safe enough to stay put, they’ll take inventory and stock up on supplies in case roads flood or the power goes out. Water and food are among the most important things on their list – for both people and farm animals. For poultry farmers in particular, gas to run generators is a must to maintain the temperature in the chicken houses.

As we all know, batteries, non-perishable food, water and generators are sometimes not enough.

What do farmers do during an evacuation?

Loading pigs onto a trailer.

When evacuation is necessary, farmers take extra steps to ensure they have a farm to come back to. They harvest cotton, corn, soybeans and other crops as fast as possible to make sure all their hard work doesn’t go to waste.

Farm animals are evacuated if possible. Farmers load cattle, pigs and other livestock onto trailers and move them to higher ground and out of the storm’s path. The animals often go to nearby farms that have extra space to host them until the storm is over.

Farmers consider environmental stewardship during severe weather too. Manure lagoons must always have a minimum buffer of 19 inches, but when flooding is imminent farmers will lower the levels of their manure lagoons to prevent overflow. To lower levels, manure is sprayed on nearby fields as fertilizer. If lagoons do breach, the solid waste stays at the bottom, minimizing environmental impact.

Unfortunately, no matter how much we prepare, things can still go south. Farmers rely on Mother Nature to help them thrive as much as they are at her mercy.

Communities come together

The agriculture community is famous for helping neighbors in times of need – even if they are five states away. We’ve seen farmers donate truck-loads of hay to fellow farmers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas after a devastating wildfire. After the Hurricane Harvey, farmers in the Texas community rallied together to help everyone rebuild. When snow covered the Eastern Shore, farmers dug people out with their tractors.

Even if 364 days out of the year they compete to raise the better chicken, they set differences aside to help each other. Not even a category four hurricane can keep farmers and ranchers from lending out a helping hand. No matter what severe weather event comes their way, the agriculture community will always stand together.

Jargon gets thrown around quite a bit in agriculture. The farmers, ranchers and people who grew up on the farm understand the lingo, but not everyone grew up on a farm. In fact, less than two percent of today’s population is directly involved in food production. That leaves about 98 percent of us trying to decipher ag lingo, so here’s a cheat sheet…

Producer: Sometimes they are called farmers, sometimes they are called ranchers and other times they are called producers. Producer encompasses both farmers and ranchers as they are both producers of food.

Swine: When you hear swine, think pig.

Swine

Sow: An adult, female pig that has had a litter of piglets.

Gilt: A female pig that has not had a litter of piglets.

Biosecurity: Any procedure or practice intended to protect humans and animals against disease.

Bovine: When you hear bovine, think cattle.

Bovine

Steer: A neutered bovine.

Bull: A bovine that has not been neutered.

Cud: Feed that cattle throw up to chew on again. Kind of gross, but when you see a cow chewing cud, it’s a sign they are comfortable and healthy.

Poult: A young turkey. Don’t call them chicks, you’ll get scolded.

Poult

Tom: This could be the farmer’s name, but it is also what a male turkey is called.

Operation: Any ranch or farm that raises animals or crops and is also the primary source of income to provide a livelihood for the farmer.

AI: You might think this stands for artificial intelligence, but usually in an agriculture-context it stands for artificial insemination  – two very different things.

Broiler: A chicken raised for meat.

Broiler chickens

Layer: A hen that lays eggs.

Hen: OK, you have to be careful to not get confused about which bird you’re talking about when you hear hen. A hen can be a female turkey or a layer.

Cow: If you want to show that you really know your ag lingo, be sure to get this one correct. A cow is a fully-grown female animal of the bovine family. So technically a male bovine isn’t a cow, but all domestic bovine regardless of sex are usually referred to as cows.

Heifer: A young, female cow that has not given birth.

Head: A single animal. Often times you’ll hear farmers say they have # head of cattle.

Five head of cattle.

Poultry: Any domesticated bird, such as turkeys, chickens and ducks.

Litter: This can mean two different things (I know, everything has to be so complicated). It could be referring to a set of newborn piglets or it could be the bedding used for poultry.

Flock: Get ready, this is another word with two meanings. A flock can be a group of poultry or a group of sheep.

Flock of sheep

Ewe: A female sheep.

Ram: A male sheep, also a type of truck some farmers drive.

Windbreak: No, this isn’t what the farmers wear out on a windy day. A windbreak is a barrier of trees or bushes put on the side of a barn to  protect the animals from winds or to reduce any odor that drifts to the neighbors.

Any lingo missing? Comment what you think should be added to the list!