AD1AGP: Agriculture in Practice 1

Module code: AD1AGP

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Laurence Smith, email: l.g.smith@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 27 June 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module supports students to develop an understanding of a range of farming systems, types of farm management practices and agricultural businesses.  Students will be introduced to the concept of rural entrepreneurship and will be guided in the development of innovative business structures and ventures.  This interactive module provides students with a range of opportunities to discuss with farm managers and professionals in the area alternative methods of marketing their produce. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Compare a range of farming systems in relation to their physical, social and economic attributes; 
2. Critically evaluate the impact of different crop management and animal husbandry practices into the production performance of the farming system; 
3. Develop formative, well-argued views on selected topical issues affecting agriculture, rural communities and the countryside; 
4. Understand the breadth and diversity of agriculture systems and how they fit into the rural economy and business environment. 

Module content

Semester 1 

Students will visit up to five farms / farm businesses, the hosts of the visits will be the farm owners/managers, or site directors. The visits will include: 

• Arable and livestock enterprises 
• Field scale vegetable growers 
• Mixed farming estates 
• Organic producers 
• Ancillary industries (grain merchants, contractors etc.) 

Prior to each farm visit, students will receive relevant information to enable note taking and the development of a more constructive interaction with the host. Field visits will be interspersed with classroom discussion and formative feedback. In addition, a series of specialised lecture sessions on agri-tech innovations, tools for assessing farm performance, and farm benchmarking will be organised to develop further understanding of the agricultural industry and its different components.  

Semester 2 

Farms visits will continue in Semester 2, including up to five farm businesses, covering the enterprises / business types outlined above.  In addition, specialised lectures on organic production systems and farm financial management will be organised to develop students’ understanding of current approaches to farm business planning.  

Students will also conduct a group presentation covering topical issues in agriculture and food systems and prepare an individual portfolio summarising key aspects of the farm visits through discussions, graphs and figures, and short written reports. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Students will visit up to five farm / businesses per Semester. Field visits will be interspersed with classroom discussion and formative feedback, in addition, a series of specialised lecture sessions. Students will be expected to present their perspectives on key aspects of the visits through discussions, and short written reports.  

Please note that the contact hours below are indicative only. 

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Group discussion within scheduled lecture sessions   

Reassessment

Additional costs