Agricultural Production Systems 2

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

This subject is taught over the last six weeks of semester.

This subject includes a compulsory residential field trip to the University's Dookie campus. Students will require appropriate clothing and footwear, including work boots (indicative cost $60 per pair).

Students are also required to contribute to the cost of accommodation and meals at the Dookie campus - indicative cost $50 per day. Further information about intensives at Dookie can be found at: http://students.fvas.unimelb.edu.au/fvas-programs/intensive-subjects-at-dookie#Dookie-intensives.

170 hours

This subject assumes little background knowledge in science. Reading of rural press (eg newspapers and journals) will provide valuable background knowledge of Australian agricultural production systems.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject is the second of a suite of three first year subjects that are core to the Bachelor of Agriculture. (Agricultural Production Systems 1-3). These subjects introduce students to the major Australian agricultural production systems (plant and animal) and to the social and business principles that underpin them. Using examples that provide a concrete overview of the workings of each production system, students will develop an understanding of the range of drivers of that system- economics and market drivers; sustainability, including resource, financial and environmental sustainability; the structure of agricultural communities and the farming context; environmental and welfare issues; and the policy and political issues that underpin decision making in agricultural production industries.

In this subject, students will explore Australian plant production industries, including pastures, cereal crops, and annual and perennial horticulture. Topics will include appraisal of the plant production enterprises in Australia - their location, scale and their contribution to the national economy, as well as the biological and environmental constraints that limit productivity - climate and growing season, weeds and diseases, and water and nutrient availability;

Students will be introduced to examples of how landholders manage their resources to balance ecological, environmental and social demands, and the strategies that are employed to produce high quality crop products.

The learning outcomes of this subject are to extend the students’ ability to

• understand the structure and operation of agricultural production industries of Australia, as well as Australia’s role in global food and fibre production
• understand the principal factors that determine location, environmental impact, sustainability, profitability and international trade competitiveness in cropping and horticulture systems
• identify the ecological principles underpinning crop production systems
• identify the role and place of selected crops in production systems
• describe the prospects and challenges of dry-land and irrigated crop production within farm systems

• A two-hour written examination paper due at the end-of-semester examination period worth 50%
• A Group assignment of not more than 1000 words due in week 11 worth 20%
• A one-hour intra-semester in-class test due in week 10 worth 30%

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

A student who satisfactorily completes this subject should be able to:

• Explain their understanding of agricultural production systems lucidly, both in writing and orally
• Review and evaluate readings relating to global food issues and agricultural production
• Participate as an effective member of a group in tutorial discussions, and study groups, and in working as part of a team to complete a group assignment
• Think independently and analytically, and direct his or her own learning
• Manage time effectively in order to be prepared for regular tutorial classes, tests and the examination