The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
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The handling, grading, storage, packaging and processing of agricultural produce are all important parts of the agricultural production and distribution system and frequently involve costs in excess of those associated with simply growing the crop. A knowledge of the physiological, physical, thermal, aerodynamic, rheological, electrical and optical properties of agricultural materials is highly relevant to these areas. Such knowledge may be used for the purposes of devising techniques for grading, sorting, separation and the design of packaging to prevent possible product damage. Various post harvest treatments are investigated. The fundamentals of waste management and life-cycle environmental assessments and some basic aspects of food processing technology are also considered. The course uses real world data sets from both field and lab work to show how the theory is related to practice.
