AD2FBM: Farm Business Management

Module code: AD2FBM

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Yiorgos Gadanakis, email: g.gadanakis@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Sanzidur Rahman, email: sanzidur.rahman@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: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The structure of the module will enable you to develop your knowledge on the elements of financial management, decision making, business planning and entrepreneurship. Through visits to rural businesses, in-class interactive lectures and real-world scenario assessments, you have an exciting opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of agri-businesses including financials, policy frameworks/legislation and business management. You will be exposed to a variety of farming systems and structures, and you will have the opportunity to explore farm management practices linked amongst others to regenerative farming, organic agriculture, sustainability and farm business diversification and rural entrepreneurship. You will understand the crucial role of the finance function and gain a good grounding in the principles, concepts, analytical techniques, and practical applications of financial management in the context of a business enterprise. You will acquire the skills to assess the financial needs of a business, evaluate alternative investment projects, identify and evaluate possible sources of finance and take decisions regarding the deployment of finance at the level of the non-specialist manager. You will also gain excellent networking opportunities through regular visits and guest lecturers. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Be able to analyse and interpret financial statements, estimate the financial needs of a business, identify and select from alternative sources of finance and provide a rationale for the choice from the perspective of management and external users.  
2. Be able to effectively perform tasks of business analysis, planning, decision making and control – analysis of business performance, and application of planning and decision making techniques within the rural sector 
3. Develop the ability to coherently write and present the current status of an agribusiness, including both financial and well supported and argued evidence from published data and research 
4. Perform analytical and critical thinking in reference to a variety of agribusinesses – developing numeracy, literacy, reasoning and appraisal skills  and effective report writing to communicate the outcomes of a business analysis exercise 

Module content

The module will cover the following areas in relation to business planning, financial management and decision making: 

• Introduction to Financial Management - role of the finance function in business. Review of managerial accounting concepts.  
• Financial planning and projected financial statements. Analysis and interpretation of financial statements.  
• Capital investment appraisal: techniques and issues. Risk, return and capital investment appraisal.  
• Sources of finance and financial markets. The cost of capital and the capital structure decision. Management of working capital. Rural Entrepreneurship  
• Farm records, staffing, livestock/crops legislation; wider agricultural legislation, farm assurance and agri-environment schemes 
• The development of the rural economy and agricultural industries over time 

In addition, students will visit and meet a wide range of businesses and professionals working in the rural economy. Visits may include some of the following: Arable and livestock producers; Estates and diversified enterprises; Woodland management; Agri-environment schemes; diversification enterprises. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module content will be delivered with a combination of methods to effectively address the different learning needs of the students and learning outcomes of the module. Thus, sessions will have the form of the traditional lecture but this will be enriched with a number of interactive tasks, directed discussions and direct instruction. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to participate in problem based learning and project based learning. Field trips and guest lecturers will also be a core element of teaching and learning for the students.  

Study hours

At least 50 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.

Reassessment

Additional costs