208-151 Production Systems and Skills I

The objective of this subject is to enable students to understand:

• the systems nature of agricultural food and fibre production; the inputs and outputs of agricultural production systems;

• the scientific and technological basis of agricultural production systems and the use of technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness;

• use of decision-making tools by managers; information sources and assessment and agricultural industry environment, structure and outlook; and

• how environmental management, political and market factors influence the management of agricultural and horticultural enterprises.

The content includes introduction to the techniques for studying systems; introduction to and the study of, the components and technology of agricultural production systems; introduction to and practice of the basic farm operational skills as they apply to the various agricultural enterprises including broadacre, dairy, production horticulture and pigs.

The student will be involved in critical selection criteria (performance and efficiency measurements of harvesters, trucks, tractors, sprayers, tillage and sowing equipment, timeliness costs) and machinery operations (cultivating, distributing, harvesting, handling, processing and storage).

One 2.5-hour written examination (40% of final marks), two 3000-word assignments (30% each of final marks).