Agricultural Definitions
Learn about each subject by clicking on the highlighted words.
An allergy is when a protein in a substance causes the immune system in the body to have a reaction.
Free-Range and Pasture-Fed or Pastured refers to animals that have access to the out of doors where they can eat both the provided feed as well as plants and insects that live outside.
Free-Roaming and Cage-Free are animals that are raised without cages in an environment where they can run in an open area.
Genetic engineering happens in a laboratory, when scientists make changes to specific genes within an organism by trading genes with other organisms. This creates products that are also labeled GMO or Gentically Modified Organisms.
Grass fed animals are raised and fed only with grass and plants found naturally in their environment. They are not to be fed any kind of grain or processed food nor treated with hormone or antibiotics.
Hybrid plants and animals are created through a natural cross between organism that are of a different species.
Organic products produced using methods of growth that cannot harm anything around them, including the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Government Agricultural Links
Egg Safety – production, storage, transportation
Maryland Farmer’s Market Regulations – link to PDF
Maryland Department of Agriculture
Maryland Department of the Environment
University of Maryland Extension, Poultry Division
University of Maryland Extension Office for Somerset County
Washington D.C. Farmer’s Market Regulations
United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Food and Drug Administration
United States Department of Agriculture