AGRI11008 - Introduction to Agricultural Systems

General Information

Unit Synopsis

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

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Emerald
Online
Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Group Discussion 10%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Written Assessment 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 75.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 18.52% response rate.

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.

Source: Self-reflection
Feedback
Students generally welcomed and engaged guest speakers who contributed to the unit during the term. The guest speakers included a practicing farmer, an agricultural manager, and an Indigenous person who spoke about Indigenous agricultural practices.
Recommendation
Continue to invite guest speakers to speak and engage with students on particular topics of interest.
Action Taken
Several guest speakers were invited to speak on particular topics and engage with the students.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
There is a need for additional feedback after the completion and marking of each assessment.
Recommendation
Apart from the feedback each student receives after the marking of each assessment piece, additional assessment feedback will be provided during lectures/tutorials. Feedback for the last assessment piece (which is due after the end of the term) will be delivered via the Moodle forum and email.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Self reflection
Feedback
Encourage students to provide feedback on an ongoing basis.
Recommendation
During the course of the term, encourage students to provide feedback on all aspects of the unit including the teaching on an ongoing basis. They may choose to do this during lectures/tutorials, Moodle forums or via email.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe major agriculture production systems in Australia
  2. Explain the factors that have led to changes in agricultural production systems throughout history
  3. Explore the impact of key changes in the development of modern farming practices on the ecology of natural and agricultural systems
  4. Identify the concepts of social, economic and environmental sustainability in agricultural production
  5. 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 • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10