Agricultural Sciences

This course examines plants and plant communities through a focus on medium to large scale planting design and green infrastructure that supports healthy urban environments. It covers planting design strategies and structures as integral components of urban and suburban landscape systems, as well as planting design strategies that have been implemented or proposed in the Sydney Region. 

This course introduces important and common foliage plants, using actual plants combined with slide presentations. The course covers: industry overview, indoor plant air purification, plant understanding and identification, growth habits, reproduction, temperature, light requirements, fertilizer management, light domestication physiology, nutritional health diagnosis, indoor greening and landscaping furnishings application, etc.

This course introduces the purpose, methods and operating conditions of food processing. The course covers the following topics: chemical and nutritional composition of food, food irradiation and microwave applications, semi-moist food, fermented food and food freezing and cold storage, and factory hygiene, thermal processing and commercial sterilization, drying and concentration, food storage stability, quality changes, use of preservatives and additives, and food packaging. 

The course focuses on the major aspects of the basic physiological functions and the factors in relation to plant growth and development. The course provides a background in plant biology to gain a deeper understanding of processes that are important for agriculture, horticulture and industry, as well as further tools to further study plant biology. The course discusses plant hormones in detail, as well as how plants respond to changes in their environment, for instance to light, or to stress.  

This course requires a background in botany, plant biology or nutrition.  

The course focuses on agroecological principles to analyze and design sustainable and productive farming systems. Agroecological principles include Recycling and efficiency; Living Soils; Biodiversity; Ecosystem services and multi-functionality; Resilience; Fair Markets; Culture & spirituality; Youth & Women; Adequate Policies & governance; Knowledge co-creation and collaboration. How agroecological farming systems are developed across the world, and how principles can be applied and translated into adaptive farming practices and management are explored There is a strong focus on methods, approaches, and indicators used to assess mechanisms that regulate the ecological functioning of farming systems. Methodologies to involve farmers and promote the dialogue between scientific and practical knowledge for the design of agroecological farming systems are learned.

This course provides an overview of food preservation by thermal processing, drying, freezing, and fermentation. The principles of preservation by controlling microbial and enzyme activity will also be studied. Topics include causes of spoilage of stored foods, such as the action of microorganisms; the action of enzymes; the oxidation reactions of food components; and the principles and techniques of food storage through refrigeration, freezing, drying, canning, and irradiation. The course emphasizes the manufacturing principles of fermented foods as well as characteristics of food packaging materials and the principles of food packaging. 

This course is an introduction to meat science. The course covers meat in the context of the human diet, the structure and composition of meat, and meat quality attributes. The impact of pre-slaughter factors on carcass and meat composition and on the sensory and nutritional quality of meat are explored. The impact of post-mortem factors, including aging and packaging of meat, on meat quality attributes, particularly color, flavor and texture, are studied. Students learn how selected meat products are manufactured.

This course focuses on the processes associated with knowledge sharing and decisions for change by farmers. It explores the link between agricultural research, farm advisory services, and agricultural education as part of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). It examines agricultural extension and education approaches for working with farmers/farm households to support learning, the adoption of innovation and behavior change. This is critically important for farm productivity, profitability, and sustainability. 

The course familiarizes students with core concepts and techniques used in farm financial management. It teaches students concepts that assist with appraisal of farm financial management performance and enable informed business decision making. Students study techniques and principles of farm business financial analysis, planning, and strategic decision-making. Topics include operational and strategic principles of farm business management; preparation and analysis of basic farm management accounts; application of farm planning techniques: enterprise, partial and whole farm budgets; farm financial control and cash flow budgeting; and assessment and management of risk in farm decision-making.

This course examines different farm management and agribusiness management practices and approaches in the agricultural and horticultural sectors. Drawing from multidisciplinary perspectives, the course provides students with understanding of the key approaches, issues and themes relating to strategic management in agribusiness (theories, planning), organization theory (explanatory approaches, design principles), interorganizational coordination (cooperation, chain management), fundamentals of innovation and knowledge management, basics of information and knowledge management, and business ethics and corporate social responsibility.