The genus <em>Lactobacillus</em> includes rods and coccobacilli that lack catalase and produce lactic acid as the main fermentation product. <em>Lactobacilli </em>grow optimally under slightly acidic conditions. They are part of the normal flora of the human body and are present in the intestinal tract, vagina, etc.
In the human female vagina, the <em>Lactobacilli </em>are rarely pathogenic and rather serve as antimicrobial agents and prevent the growth of pathogenic microbes by imparting acidic pH to the vagina. Production of lactic acid by these bacteria imparts acidic pH and allows them to serve as antimicrobial agents.
Stockmanship is a term more common in the beef cattle industry and can be defined as the art and science of handling cattle, or any other farm animal, properly.
