Brown bag
Brown bag turns up in 2 fields: farming, shop slang. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Brown bag in farming
Saving and replanting harvested seed for the next crop instead of buying fresh commercial seed.
Farmers brown bag by cleaning and storing a portion of their harvested grain to use as seed for the following season. This bypasses commercial seed dealers and reduces input costs. However, the practice is strictly prohibited for patented or genetically modified crop varieties, making it a legal liability if done with protected genetics.
"We used to brown bag our soybeans every year until we switched to the patented traits."
Brown bag in shop slang
An informal training session or presentation held during the midday meal break.
An optional meeting where an employee presents a technical topic or project update to colleagues during the lunch hour. The name comes from the expectation that attendees bring their own food in a paper sack. Management often encourages these sessions to share knowledge without cutting into billable production time.
"Jim from engineering is hosting a brown bag on the new diagnostic tools in the break room at noon."