AGRIBUS 7065 - Agricultural Decision Making

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 3 - 2022

This course provides significant hands-on experience to structure assessment and modelling solutions to real-world problems, using Microsoft Excel as the analytical platform students will develop skills to assess decision-making outcomes at operational (e.g. farm) and higher (i.e. agricultural system) levels. A number of analytical frameworks will feature throughout the course schedule including: gross margin budgeting; whole of farm budgets; benefit-cost analysis; optimization; risk and uncertainty analysis. Ahead of each of these analytical frameworks students will be provided a set of solid theoretical foundations as a basis for the skill development. Techniques learned will allow students to assess the current state of the business and to evaluate potential improvements to enhance profitability and sustainability while accounting for the limited resources available to the operation.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code AGRIBUS 7065
    Course Agricultural Decision Making
    Coordinating Unit Centre for Global Food & Resources
    Term Trimester 3
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Taught as intensive - includes (individual) supervision
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assumed Knowledge Successful completion of at least one Trimester of your degree, including AGRIBUS 7055.
    Course Description This course provides significant hands-on experience to structure assessment and modelling solutions to real-world problems, using Microsoft Excel as the analytical platform students will develop skills to assess decision-making outcomes at operational (e.g. farm) and higher (i.e. agricultural system) levels. A number of analytical frameworks will feature throughout the course schedule including: gross margin budgeting; whole of farm budgets; benefit-cost analysis; optimization; risk and uncertainty analysis. Ahead of each of these analytical frameworks students will be provided a set of solid theoretical foundations as a basis for the skill development. Techniques learned will allow students to assess the current state of the business and to evaluate potential improvements to enhance profitability and sustainability while accounting for the limited resources available to the operation.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr David Adamson

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    The course provides a strong grounding in understanding the research process which will enable the student to go on to complete a research project as a sole researcher or as part of a research team.


    On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
    1. Identify relevant data sources, analyse alternative investments, evaluate their profitability and describe the risks and uncertainty to investments in agriculture.
    2. Apply problem-solving skills through practical exercises and case studies to engage with and represent agricultural systems and decision-making problems.
    3. Identify and apply appropriate strategies for investment analysis by interpreting decision-maker objectives, resource implications, risk factors and applying optimisation techniques.
    4. Analyse profitability, cash flows and business opportunities through the application of computer-based techniques and tools for decision-making under risk and uncertainty.
    5. Document, prepare and present decision-making skills through assigned tasks and practical exercises that could be presented at Policy Group, Board or Senior Management levels.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1, 2, 3 and 4

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    2, 3 and 4

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    4 and 5

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    1 - 5

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    2, 3, 4 and 5

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    2, 3 and 4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    It is expected that each student will be able to bring a laptop to class sessions, with Microsoft Excell ready to use. Basic understanding of spreadsheet analysis will help, but is not necessary to participate in the course - guidance will be provided in class by the lecturer(s).
    Recommended Resources
    Please see the MyUni course web pages for a list of recommended study resources which students may wish to access to help them with the course.
    Online Learning
    This class will be taught in a blended offering of asynchronous lecture/workshop sessions and face to face discussion consultations if required.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The course will be delivered intensively over nine weeks.

    Weekly sessions will consist of five hour lectures split into theory delivery (2 hours) and practical application sessions (3 hours).

    Delivery will be in dual mode (i.e. remote synchronous teaching and asynchronous face-to-face) where lecture materials will be pre-recorded as a resource, then discussed in-depth in the asynchronous teaching sessions.

    Additional course consultation times will be provided by the lecturers to assist students with their learning outside of these sessions.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Core information will be provided to students ahead of course commencement and basic principles will be outlined and developed in the lecture component of the course. Practical parts of the lecture sessions will be used to more deeply develop and apply these core concepts through the use of flipped discussion, problem solving activities and interactive student engagement. Decision-making analysis tools will form a basis for much of this activity, where real-world issues will be discussed and solutions developed by the group on the basis of their learning to date.

    Students are expected to attend all workshops and approximately 120 non-contact hours to study the full 3 unit course. It is highly advisable that students engage with the lecturer if they are struggling at any time during the teaching period.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Schedule
    Session Lecture Topic
    1 Agricultural decision-making I:
    - Annual gross margin budgeting (GMB)
    2 Agricultural decision-making II:
    - Perennials and livestock systems
    3 Introducing capital into the equation:
    - Fixed v. variable costs
    - Choosing between multiple GMBs
    4 Risk and uncertainty:
    - Theory – where capital is at risk
    - Decision trees
    - Stochastic analysis
    - State contingent analysis
    5 Benefit-cost analysis I:
    - Introduction
    6 Benefit-cost analysis II:
    - Risk and uncertainty
    7 Consolidating the toolbox so far:
    - Reflection and further practical application
    8 Optimization I:
    - Resource scarcity as a constraint
    - Basic optimization techniques
    9 Optimization II:
    - Land use and multiple crop choices
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    The assessment tasks for this course are as follows:
    Assessment Task Task Type Length Weighting Learning Outcome
    Online Quizzes Individual 4 x 5%
    (Total 20%)
    2,3,4
    Assignment 1 Individual 40% 1-5
    Assignment 2 Individual 40% 1-5
    Total 100%
    For specific due dates and assessment detail please see MyUni.
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Students should attempt and finalize their Assignment assessments pieces using Microsoft Excel, as used in the class sessions. This will minimize confusion and ensure timely grading.
    Assessment Detail
    Short online quizzes
    There will be four online quizzes aimed at testing key knowledge and learning from the prior lecture sessions.

    Assignment 1
    Students will be provided with extensive documentation (data) aimed at helping them develop a whole of farm budget. Students will be expected to assess this data via methods provided in the course and ultimately allocate land between alternative commodity choices to maximize profit outcomes.

    Assignment 2
    As an advanced decision-making assessment tool, students will be provided with all of the material needed to assess a long-term (i.e. 25 years+) investment into a perennial crops (e.g. almonds, oranges, grapes etc.) Using benefit-cost analysis techniques students will be expected to assess this data and complete a benefit-cost analysis including net-present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR) and internal rate of return (IRR) assessments.
    Submission
    Students must submit a softcopy of their assignments via MyUni, so that the assessment can be assessed via TURNITIN.

    All submissions must be uploaded before midnight on the submission date.

    Access to TURNITIN will be made available two weeks prior to the submission date to allow students to check the originality of their work before making a final submission.

    The details will be provided on MyUni.
    Any report submitted after the deadline will be considered late.
    The penalty will be 4 marks out of 100 for every working day which elapses after the submission date.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.