212-103 Agriculture & the Australian Environment

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject focuses on the environmental, social, technical and economic determinants of agricultural production; natural and other phenomena that affect production processes; and the relationships between resource use, maintenance and conservation.

Topics presented include the 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 study of catchments from ecological, agricultural and social viewpoints. The place of science in agriculture; science and ecological dilemmas. Seeking a sustainable agriculture. Using and conserving natural resources. The agricultural resource base. The agricultural sector in the Australian economy. The major agricultural industries and their products; types of industry and enterprises. The nature of production in agriculture. Agricultural business management and risk; climate and risk. The markets and marketing chains for agricultural products. The agricultural service industries. The world food problem. Maintaining and improving productivity of agricultural resources. Technological change in agriculture. Biotechnologies and agriculture. Conflicting rural and urban views of the countryside. The rural social environment.

Assessment

A 3-hour end-of-semester written examination and two written assignments of up to 2000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• Malcolm, L R, Egan, A. R & Sale, P., Agriculture, The Australian Way. Oxford University Press 1996.
• Gardner,G T & Stern, P C, Environmental Problems and Human Behaviour. Allyn and Bacon, 1996.
• Barr, N F & Cary, J W, Greening a Brown Land: The Australian Search for Sustainable Land Use. Macmillan, 1992.