| Semester 2, 2023 Online | |
| Units : | 1 |
| School or Department : | School of Agriculture and Environmental Science |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
Overview
Historically, technological innovations and advancements in farming practices have been key factors in driving agricultural farm productivity and profitability. However, the agricultural industry in Australia, and globally, is facing a range of challenges. Coupled with this is an increasing demand for agriculture products from the world鈥檚 growing population. To meet these challenges, novel and integrated approaches are required to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. Increasing agricultural productivity and profitability into the future will require the integration of technological advancements and climate-smart agricultural principles with knowledge and skills of finance, business and economics. More importantly, new business models are required to attract investment in infrastructure and agri-innovation, which will in turn drive the commercialisation of research and development.
This course provides students with knowledge of finance, economics and business management principles that relate to agricultural markets and associated decision-making mechanisms. Initially the course focuses on the concepts of markets, including market structures, competitive markets and the market for agricultural products. Students will then learn about value chains and develop essential business skills required to understand the cost of production and profit maximisation strategies. Finally, techniques to construct and appraise capital budgeting for strategic investment decision-making under risk and uncertainty, and an overview of climate smart agriculture are investigated, all of which will be illustrated by real-world examples, issues and case studies.
Course learning outcomes
On completion of this course students should be able to:
- Apply the key concepts and principles in finance, economics and business to agriculture and agribusiness industry, markets and value chains.
- Critically analyse the cost of production and the profit maximisation strategies of firms and agribusinesses in order to remain competitive and profitable in a particular market.
- Research, construct, critically evaluate and present a financial analysis that applies capital budgeting techniques for business investment decisions.
- Synthesise knowledge of climate-smart agriculture systems to make informed decision-making under uncertainty regarding agricultural practices.
- Apply knowledge of agricultural risk management and transfer options in the context of climate risk.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Overview of the Australian agricultural industry | 5.00 |
| 2. | Analysis of agriculture and agribusiness markets | 10.00 |
| 3. | Demand and supply analyses of agricultural products and services | 10.00 |
| 4. | Overview of agricultural value chains | 10.00 |
| 5. | The cost of production and profit maximisation | 10.00 |
| 6. | Cash flow and capital budgeting for agricultural decision making | 30.00 |
| 7. | Business approaches to climate-smart agriculture | 10.00 |
| 8. | Risk, uncertainty, and the market for agricultural insurance | 15.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | No | 10 | 1,2 |
| Report | No | 40 | 3,4,5 |
| Time limited online examinatn | No | 50 | 1,2,3,4,5 |