obesity - Excessive accumulation of body fat.
offal - All organs and tissues removed from inside the animal during the slaughtering process.
off feed - Animal refuses to eat or consumes only small amounts of feed.
omasum - One of the stomach components of cattle that has many folds.
on full feed - Refers to cattle that are receiving all the feed they will consume. See also ad libitum.
open - Refers to nonpregnant females.
operating expenses - Expenses incurred in the usual production cycle, such as seed, fuel, feed, and hired labor costs.
opportunity cost - Cost of using a resource based on what it could have earned using it in the next best alternative use.
optimize - To make as effective as possible.
optimum - Amount or degree of something that is most favorable to some end (e.g., the best combination of resources associated with cattle production yields the highest sustainable net return).
optimum level of performance - Performance level of a trait or traits that maximizes net profit. Resources are managed (including a balance of traits) that sustain high levels of profitability.
outbreeding - Process of continuously mating females of the herd to unrelated males of the same breed.
outcrossing - Mating of an individual to another in the same breed that is not related to it. Outcrossing is a type of outbreeding.
ova - Plural of ovum, meaning eggs. See also ovum.
ovary - Female reproductive organ in which the eggs are formed and progesterone and estrogenic hormones are produced.
overhead - Expenses incurred in the operation of the business that cannot conveniently be attributed to the production of specific commodities or services.
ovulation - Shedding or release of the egg from the follicle of the ovary.
ovum - Egg produced by a female.