Agriculture

The Skills Development for Agriculture module supports students in developing key professional, personal, academic and employment skills and competencies. This is to ensure students maximise the benefits of their degree programme and improve their employability prospects on graduation. The following areas are covered: academic skills; work placements and employability; technical agricultural competencies; research process and projects; reflective thinking.

This module provides you with an introduction to livestock health and husbandry, in particular discussing the interaction between anatomy and physiology, ethics and welfare, disease, reproduction and legislation. The module will cover both ruminant and non-ruminant livestock. Practical skills will be taught and developed (in handling and carrying out routine husbandry tasks) using the livestock enterprises on the university’s farm.

This module provides the student with an overview of crop production both in the United Kingdom and globally. Opportunities will be provided to see how scientific principles are applied in crop science, including; how plants grow in the field. Students will discuss how crop production is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, how crop genetics are utilised in breeding and developing varieties and biotechnology.

The aim of the module is for students to become familiar with the principles and practices of soil and grassland management focussing on sustainable agricultural production objectives, but also considering ecological purposes.

The module offers an introduction to the varied technologies involved in current agricultural production and how these can contribute to environmental sustainability, increased animal welfare and efficient business performance.

There are no optional modules during this year. Your learning is focused on compulsory modules to ensure you have a thorough understanding of key topics to prepare you for module choices in your subsequent years.

This module provides you with an introduction to the principles of business management and how they are applied to the modern agricultural business. This will enable you to plan and manage staffing, capital and resource use on the farm, and prepare effective budgets and business plans for the future development of the business. In addition, it will allow you to consider the legislative and policy boundaries that the modern farmer has to work within, enabling them to understand, manage and plan within guidelines and offer consultation to others.

This module introduces you to the process of academic research, methods of research and analysis,
helping to prepare you for reading research literature and conducting research projects in the future.

The module will expose students to the importance of crop production and crop protection in a sustainable agricultural context. Students will engage with crops and crop trials on the University farm, explore a wide range of crops within industry and prepare agronomy recommendations that meet the demands of production and food safety within the sustainable business environment.

The module will provide students with an overview of current issues surrounding livestock health and disease and support them to develop scientific strategies that will enable industry relevant solutions.

The focus of this module is to develop students’ autonomy in an industry context through practice of personal, applied, and professional skills gained through a period of engagement aligned to their future career direction.

This module involves independent research and analysis in an animal or agriculture‐related field with one
to‐one support from an academic.

The module investigates the concepts of social licence and one health within the agricultural industry and their impact on all stakeholders and decision making related to sustainability.

Students must achieve at least one from the following two modules:

Developments in Crop Science

The module will investigate a broad range of topics that will allow the student to gain further knowledge and understanding of the key scientific developments within sustainable crop production, crop protection and crop management and be able to critically analyse and evaluate the scientific impact of developments on all stake holders in the industry (producers, processor and consumers).

Developments in Livestock Science

The module will investigate a broad range of topics that will allow the student to gain further knowledge and understanding of the key scientific developments in sustainable livestock production and management and be able to critically analyse and evaluate development impact on all stake holders in the industry (producers, consumers and animals).

This module allows students to explore the strategic practices and principles utilised by global companies. Through an appreciation key external and internal impact factors students will put theory into practice and create a new strategic direction for an allocated organisation.

In this module students will discover the mechanisms by which the agrifood supply chain takes our food supply from farm to fork. They will discuss current research and contemporary issues affecting, the agrifood supply chain which will enable them to grasp current practices and trends and consider the impact these may have on the producer. They will learn about the relationships between actors in the agrifood supply chain and how these influence the business practices currently employed. They will analyse and evaluate supply chain management practices with a focus on the drive towards sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and the mechanisms by which this can be delivered. The module will also involve a non-assessed project that enables students to gain hands on experience within the sector. Previous projects have included the making of their own cider with a local cidermaker to be marketed by the students.

The module develops student knowledge, understanding and application of the complexities and the scientific principles that underpins nutrition of ruminant and non-ruminant farm livestock preparing them for feed analysis, diet formulation and feed management.