how to speak 'farmerese'

A lighthearted look at important agricultural terms

This article is reprinted from the Summer 2004 The Hoosier Farmer magazine, Kathleen Dutro, managing editor and author. The articles have been edited to reflect Ohio statistics, when appropriate.

It may not be as incomprehensible to the average American as Japanese (at least it uses the same alphabet) or Teenagerese (which seems to change roughly every week or two, so the fact that it uses the same alphabet doesn’t help much). But like any specialized vocabulary, Farmerese is difficult for those outside the industry to understand.

We are hoping this dictionary will bridge that communication gap at least a little bit.

“Farmerese” is a term that refers to the specialized vocabulary that farmers use to communicate with each other. But as anyone who has tried to communicate with, for example, a computer technician or medical specialist can attest (does an “operating system” have any effect on your “low-density lipoprotein” levels?), specialized vocabulary is often difficult for those outside the industry to understand.

We at Our Ohio are hoping to change that, in our own small way.

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