The Australian agriculture is governed and impacted upon by many legal, regulatory and policy instruments. The purpose of this assessment is to critique one or more of such laws, regulations or policies in light of the current COVID - 19 pandemic which has impacted upon all sectors of Australia's economy. You will undertake discussions in groups of 2 - 4 members, but each student will write their own critique and submit it via Moodle. 

Note: The discussion and analysis of the legal, regulatory or policy issue is a group activity; however, you will be required to write your own critique and submit it via Moodle.

As a guideline, your critique may be structured as follows:

• Introduction (about 100 words)
• Summary of the legal/regulatory/policy instrument/s (about 100 words)
• Your analysis and evaluation (about 300 words)
• Conclusion (about 100 words)
  

You will be assessed on:

• The content
• The structure and layout of the report
• Analysis and evaluation
• Grammar/spelling
• References
• Number of words [600±10%]

Further details and the marking rubric will be available on the Moodle page.

Note: Students are required to self-select group members and notify the Unit Coordinator in Week 2 of term. An exemplar of a critique will be provided in Moodle.

Part A: Decision-making in farm business (15%) [500 words, ±10%]

The purpose of this assessment is to investigate how farmers apply the key principles of farm business management in decision making. In this assessment, you will be working in groups of 2-4.

Each member of the group is required to find a grower/livestock producer to interview. The questions to be asked include:

1. Background information about the enterprise e.g. location, climate, type and scale of enterprise, soil type, water sources, irrigation, incidences of pests and diseases etc.
2. How do you determine what and how much to produce?
3. How do you decide the most profitable method or practice of production for your enterprise?
4. How do you manage risk in your farming enterprise, including the current COVID-19 pandemic?
5. What are the non-economic considerations affecting the decisions you make on your farm?

You are encouraged to add sub-questions to the questions provided above so as to get comprehensive responses.

Following the interviews, you are required to discuss and synthesise the responses within your group. Each student will then present the summary (of all responses received by your group) in a report of about 500 words via Moodle. You may use the above questions as subheadings in your report. Your report should have a conclusion (this is where you will comment on your findings and say how they relate to those found in published literature, including the reading materials provided for this unit).

As an appendix to the report, please include the interview questions and raw responses from interviews conducted by each member of your group as well as yours (this is not included in the word count).

Part B - Farm financial and management plan (25%)

You will be provided with sample data in Moodle of an agricultural business running multiple enterprises. 

1. Determine the gross margins of the different enterprises provided. Explain the procedure used.
2. Prepare the three main financial statements for the business (Profit and Loss, Cash Flow, and Balance Sheet).

In about 300 words, briefly discuss at least three financial indicators that you may use to determine the financial performance of the business.

Note:

• You may use either spreadsheets or Word/pdf to present your work (or a combination of both).
• In this assessment (Parts A and B), you will be working in groups of 2–4. Students are required to self-select group members and notify the Unit Coordinator in Week 2 of term. Each student will however submit his/her own work via Moodle.

Part A will be assessed on:

• The content
• The structure and layout of the report
• Grammar/spelling
• Appendix with interview questions and raw responses
• Number of words (500±10%)

Part B will be assessed on:

• Your understanding of the procedures used in farm business financial and management analysis
• The accuracy of your calculations
• Your interpretation of the financial and management analysis undertaken.
• Your understanding of financial indicators used to determine the financial performance of a business.

Further details and the marking rubric will be available on the Moodle page.

Part A: Business Plan (30%) [1500 - 2000 words]

The grower/livestock producer you interviewed for your Assessment 2 Part A above has now engaged you to develop a Business Plan to guide the development and implementation of a new agricultural business venture. [If you wish, you may develop a business plan for your work placement host or any other agricultural business of your choice]. You will source additional data for your Business Plan from a review of relevant literature, industry websites and etc.  

The following is a guideline of the structure of your business plan:

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction – Overview of the industry and agricultural/business enterprise; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the agricultural/business enterprise; overview of the new business venture etc.
• Business strategy – Vision and mission statements of the business; What are the short and long term goals of the business? Where do you want the business to be, say in 5 years?
• The new business venture – Describe key features (e.g. products/services, advantages, limitations, cost and sale price, substitute products/services etc.).
• Market analysis – Describe the market (local/international market, target customers, prices, expected market trends, competitor analysis etc.).
• Marketing plan – How do you intend to sell/market your products/services? Issues to consider: customer profile, pricing/discounting, customer service, advertising and promotion, sales and forecasting etc.
• Operating plan – May include: location, production processes, benchmarking of performance, customer management, resources required (e.g. machinery) and major suppliers.
• Human resources plan – Recruitment, staff functions, job descriptions, organisational structure, staff training, succession planning etc.
• Financial plan – Initial or expansion costs, profit and loss forecast, cash flow forecast etc.
• Legal obligations and risk management – Contracts, licenses and agreements, intellectual property, insurance, leases, employee-related legislation, risk mitigation, legal and ethical trading etc.
• Performance management – How will you monitor and evaluate performance?
• Implementation strategies and review – What actions are necessary in order to implement the business plan? Indicate dates, personnel responsible deadlines, costs etc. When and how will the outcomes be reviewed?
• Conclusion and Summary
• References
• Appendix (if any)

Note: The word count excludes Table of Contents, Reference List and Appendices (if any).

Part B: Viability of agricultural enterprises (20%)

You have decided to organise a webinar/workshop to present the key highlights of the Business Plan you developed in Part A above. Assume the audience will consist of growers/producers and agricultural workers and professionals. You will need to convince your audience that the new business venture described in your Business Plan is viable.

You are required to provide a 5-7 minute pre-recorded video of your oral presentation at the webinar/workshop. The video must show your image and presentation slides. You are also required to submit a file containing your presentation slides in an appropriate format (e.g. PowerPoint, Pdf).

Part A will be assessed on:

• Content
• Structure
• Writing style
• Grammar/spelling
• Referencing

Further details and the marking rubric will be available on the Moodle page.

Part B will be assessed on:

• Content and layout
• Analysis of the data
• Your communication skills
• Time management
• Grammar/spelling

Further details and the marking rubric will be available on the Moodle page.