Overview
This unit will introduce you to agricultural production systems, historical agricultural production methods including Indigenous agriculture, and the development of modern agricultural systems. You will learn the characteristics of important livestock, cropping and horticultural industries in Australia and discuss the economic, social and environmental sustainability of these systems. You will enhance your understanding of the pressure placed on the physical and biological resources upon which agricultural production depends. You will examine the impact of agricultural practices on the economics of primary production and on the environmental and social fabric of rural and urban communities. You will also explore the concept of agricultural production systems as managed ecosystems, and analyse the principles of ecosystems in natural and managed systems.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2021
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from SUTE
Students enjoyed the range of topics addressed in this unit.
The range of topics addressed in this unit will be continued. In addition, lecture and tutorial materials will be updated with the latest advances in research and industry to further improve the student experience.
Feedback from SUTE
Students highlighted that assessments were flowing very well with what they learned in lectures.
Strong links between assessments and lecture content will be maintained.
- Describe major agriculture production systems in Australia
- Explain the factors that have led to changes in agricultural production systems throughout history
- Explore the impact of key changes in the development of modern farming practices on the ecology of natural and agricultural systems
- Identify the concepts of social, economic and environmental sustainability in agricultural production
- Develop and review agricultural management strategies to address natural resource issues.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 10% | |||||
| 2 - Group Work - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Group Work - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.tausz-posch@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Agricultural Systems
Chapter
Reading and other supporting materials will be provided on the Moodle site under eReading list each week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The History of Agriculture
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Natural Ecosystems
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Sustainability
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 1 due:
Australia: From Indigenous to Modern Agriculture Due: Week 4 Friday (2 Apr 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Agro-Ecosystems
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Farming Systems and Styles
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Plant Production Systems
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Livestock Production Systems
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 2 due:
Productivity and Sustainability of Farming Systems Due: Week 8 Friday (7 May 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Digital Technology
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Current Challenges in Agriculture
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Communities
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Integration of Concepts and Revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 3 due:
Mitigating Agricultural Challenges Due: Review/Exam Week Friday (11 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Group Discussion
You will form small groups and participate in an online discussion about the factors that have caused changes in agricultural production methods throughout Australian history, including Indigenous approaches, drawing on content and literature presented in lectures. Individually, you will then prepare a 500-word report summarising the outcome of the group discussion and submit online for assessment.
Week 4 Friday (2 Apr 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (23 Apr 2021)
- Ability to discuss effectively with group members
- Knowledge of agricultural production systems throughout history
- Professional presentation including correct referencing and keeping to word limit
- Describe major agriculture production systems in Australia
- Explain the factors that have led to changes in agricultural production systems throughout history
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
2 Group Work
You will prepare a report that critically compares the productivity and sustainability of different farming systems and styles. For this assessment you will receive farm survey data from different farming systems and, working in small groups, you will analyse the data and present the results in a graph. As a group, you will then discuss the observed trends in relation to potential economic (productivity) and ecological consequences (sustainability). As an individual student, you will then write up the main findings and discussion points in a report and submit online for assessment. Your report will have 1000 (±10%) words with the following structure:
- Title (not included in the word count)
- Introduction of the farming systems evaluated (~300 words)
- Method: Specify what data were analysed and how (~150 words)
- Results: Describe the main findings including a figure and legend (~150 words)
- Discussion: Interpretation of the results including economic and ecological consequences (~350 words)
- Concluding remark (~50 words)
- References (not included in the word count)
Week 8 Friday (7 May 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 10 Friday (21 May 2021)
- Ability to effectively work in a group setting
- Ability to correctly analyse, present and interpret data
- Knowledge of different farming systems and styles and sustainability concepts
- Ability to draw information from provided scientific literature
- Professional presentation including correct referencing and keeping to word limit
- Explain the factors that have led to changes in agricultural production systems throughout history
- Explore the impact of key changes in the development of modern farming practices on the ecology of natural and agricultural systems
- Identify the concepts of social, economic and environmental sustainability in agricultural production
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
- Social Innovation
3 Written Assessment
You will describe an agricultural production system and identify and analyse a current challenge this system is facing. You will propose and evaluate a potential strategy for mitigation of this challenge incorporating ecological, economic and social considerations. Your report will be based on scientific evidence and relevant publications must be referenced. Your written assignment will have 2000 (±10%) words with the following structure:
- Title (not included in the word count)
- Abstract (a maximum of 200 words)
- Introduction of the agricultural production systems (~500 words)
- Outline of the current challenge this production system is facing (~600 words)
- Strategy for mitigation (~600 words)
- Conclusion (~100 words)
- References (not included in the word count)
Review/Exam Week Friday (11 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (18 June 2021)
- Coherent and concise abstract covering all essential elements of the report while keeping to the word limit
- Knowledge of the selected farming system
- Knowledge of the current challenges facing the selected farming system
- Knowledge of mitigation concepts
- Ability to contextualise information used in the report
- Ability to draw information from provided scientific literature
- Professional presentation including correct referencing and keeping to word limit
- Explore the impact of key changes in the development of modern farming practices on the ecology of natural and agricultural systems
- Identify the concepts of social, economic and environmental sustainability in agricultural production
- Develop and review agricultural management strategies to address natural resource issues.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
- Social Innovation
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
