212-103 Agriculture and the Australian Environment

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Objectives:

On completion of this course students will have a sound, broad understanding of the environmental, social, technical and economic determinants of agricultural production and productivity. Students will understand the natural and economic phenomena that affect agricultural production processes and will gain an appreciation of relationships between resource use, maintenance, improvement and conservation.

Content:

History of natural resource use in rural Australia. Physical and economic determinants of land use. Changing agricultural landscapes. The Landcare movement. Public concern for the environment. The functions and uses of agricultural land. The Murray-Darling Basin: an example of an ecological, agricultural and social system under strain. The place of science in agriculture; science and ecological dilemmas. Seeking a sustainable agriculture: the example of cereal cropping. Agriculture in post-industrial society. The agricultural resource base. The agricultural sector in the Australian economy. The major agricultural industries and their products; types of industry and enterprises. Production processes: agronomic and animal production processes. The nature of production responses in agriculture. Agricultural production as an economic activity. Agricultural business management and risk; climate and risk. The markets and marketing chains for agricultural products. The agricultural service industries. World trade in agricultural products. World food problem. Maintaining and improving productivity of agricultural resources. Technological change in agriculture. Biotechnologies and agriculture. Using and conserving natural resources. Conflicting rural and urban views of the countryside. The rural social environment. Rural beliefs and values.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Malcolm, L. R., Egan, A. R. & Sale, P., Agriculture, The Australian Way, Oxford University Press 1996.
• Cocks, K. D., Use with Care: Managing Australia's Resources in the Twenty First Century, NSWUP, 1992.