Description | Aims | Contents of Module | Evaluation | Contact

Description

"Pasture Management" was designed to assist students in the second year of tertiary agriculture and natural resource courses to develop understanding and decision making skills in pasture paddock management. The program is meant to complement field exercises and decisions are based initially on assessment of paddock condition and on utilisation goals. It comprises several interactive computerised Case Studies which include background information, series of questions and choice of answers, with feedback. Assessment of the program has shown that it is interesting and useful to students at the targetted second year level.

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Aims

• To create a concrete application for the learning taking place in the course
• To give students the skills to interpret what they have learnt
• To provide a problem solving approach
• To contribute to the creation of professionalism in the education of farmers
• To improve motivation by making learning more interesting

Contents of Module

The following types of information and opportunities for student learning are included in this package.

1. Illustrated summaries of lecture material on pasture agronomy in the form of major principles, examples and applications, and research results.
2. Illustrated case studies from pastures used for sheep, dairy cows, beef cattle, deer and pasture seed, have been included.

   The case studies are written as modules driven by a core programme, allowing addition of new examples at any time. They deal with a selection of pasture species and cultivars for particular climates, soils and enterprise goals; pasture establishment; management and utilisation of pasture for livestock production, legume seed production, and rotation with crops. Case studies may comprise single event examples of cause and effect or more complex sequences.

3. A reference, diagnostic, and identification section containing drawings, photographs, video sequences, and brief written descriptions, of pasture plants, weeds of pastures, insect pests and pest damage in pastures, nutrient deficiencies of pasture species and the effects on pastures of unfavourable weather and poor management. At present this section contains over 600 photographs of pastures and related topics.
4. A glossary giving definitions of scientific and technical terms (still being completed).
   
   

The package is designed to allow flexibility in its use for learning. It may be used simply as a reference document or, more importantly, to place the student in the role of manager, assessing a situation and deciding on a course of action. The case studies give experience in simulated management and in testing the outcomes of alternative courses of action, modelling the decision making or problem solving process - what factors to consider, what action takes priority. The student also needs to withdraw from the simulation mode from time to time in order to search for information. The programme is designed to advise the consequences for the enterprise of particular management choices. It may also quiz the student on his or her understanding of the problem and suggest avenues for further study.

Evaluation

In 1998, the Pasture Agronomy subject at Roseworthy was presented for the first time to third year students in association with comparative field exercises and computer exercises using the pasture/livestock simulation model Grass Gro. An assessment of student opinions showed that "Pasture Management" was regarded as a useful learning tool mainly by those third year students who had no farming background. The conclusion I initially drew from this was that, except for those students with very limited experience Pasture Management was not particularly useful beyond second year.

However, questioning of the students during the field exercises indicated that , while most understood when and how to make some basic pasture management decisions, they were unable to understand and make decisions on the more complex aspects of grazing management. These were related to interactions of date of commencement of grazing,stocking pressure, stocking duration and rainfall pattern, and their effect on pasture growth, efficiency of utilization and the capacity of the annual pasture legume to produce seed for subsequent regeneration. Although these aspects were illustrated in the field plots (which the students were guided in assessing), few students were able to interpret them or define their significance. They had, it seemed to me, missed some of the important learning on complex interactions contained in Pasture Management.

Pasture/livestock simulation models such as Grass Gro offer a wide and useful range of simulation outcomes. However, they do not deal with the more complex and detailed paddock management principles and applications. Experience so far indicates that interactive , multimedia Case Studies such as Pasture Management complement the simulation models. They assist student learning by broadening the usually limited experience in paddock management students are able to gain through field experience. This applies even more to students in natural resource courses and to students from overseas.

Contact
Dr Philip Tow can be contacted on:

Tel: +618 8303 7857
Fax: +618 8303 7979
Department of Agronomy and Farming Systems
Roseworthy Campus
Adelaide University, Australia. 5005

E-mail: ptow@roseworthy.adelaide.edu.au