Agricultural Business Management (Integrated) BSc

This module provides an in-depth introduction to agricultural business in a global and connected economy. You’ll examine:

• how agricultural prices are determined
• key agricultural commodity markets
• agricultural supply chains
• contemporary issues facing modern agricultural businesses.

Importantly, you’ll also look at how to use this information for agribusiness decision making. You’ll have a mixture of lectures and workshops, hear from external speakers, and visit successful agribusinesses.

Modern agriculture is a dynamic, fast-paced and high-tech industry. In this module, you’ll explore practical agricultural systems used by commercial UK farms. Designed for students with a farm or non-farming background, you’ll get to understand the fundamental concepts of agricultural systems within the context of contemporary markets, policy and research. Exact topics covered in the module will vary according to the issues affecting the agricultural industry in any one year, but examples include: dairy production, arable production, soils, agri-environmental interactions, labour and machinery management and farm business systems. You’ll have lectures from academics currently researching these fields and will visit the University Farm and external farms to see what you’ve learnt in practice.

Through lectures and hands-on animal handling and other practical sessions, you'll study:

• animal evolution and diversity across the animal kingdom
• animal diversity, ecology, and bioethics
• animal development and behaviour
• animal domestication, breeding, and genetics
• sustainability of livestock animal production
• systems of livestock production as a food source

How can you use science to help improve global food security? This module introduces you to the issues of global food security and the complexity existing in different parts of our food generation system. Looking across the food supply chain, you’ll cover the evolution of crops, crop and animal production, and the food industry. Importantly, you’ll also look at sustainable nutrition because food security isn’t just about supply – it’s important that people are getting the right kind of food. You’ll learn about these issues through a mix of lectures and practical laboratory sessions. You’ll also develop professional skills to work safely in laboratory situations.

Grasslands are used for forage in agricultural systems but are also important as habitat for wild animals, birds and beneficial insects.

• You’ll learn about the latest developments and policy issues around the world
• You’ll examine the morphology and physiology of forage grass species
• You'll understand the mechanisms of grass growth, production and utilisation. Looking at how these are influenced by management practices.

Alongside lectures, you’ll visit farms and use the latest software to identify grass plants and calculate a pasture budget. This is a 10 credit module.

Pollinator species are hugely important for natural systems and for managed systems like agriculture, but there is concern that numbers are declining. This module introduces you to the principles of ecology and looks at how organisms have evolved to interact with their environment.

You’ll cover:

• population and community ecology
• the various definitions of biodiversity
• the loss of species and habitats

You’ll have lectures from current researchers in the field and the opportunity to apply your learning in the laboratory and through field visits. This is a 20 credit module.

This module is intended to enhance your transition into university and guide you through the academic expectations of your degree. This module includes three generic sessions on ‘study skills and plagiarism’, ‘study opportunities’ and ‘career and personal development’, and a series of small group tutorials with your academic tutor to develop generic skills such as finding crucial information, oral presentation, data handling and presentation of results, preparation for examinations, and essay writing skills relevant to biosciences.

The nature of agrifood commodities and products creates particular challenges for those buying and selling these goods, with implications for risk, stability and profitability for the agricultural business. This module examines the role of marketing in the successful operation of an agribusiness. Working in teams, you’ll examine how to use marketing to meet the challenges and opportunities faced by today’s agribusinesses.

Innovation and enterprise are key drivers of agri-business success and growth. You’ll explore a range of topics including:

• knowledge transfer and exchange
• intellectual property surrounding new innovations
• planning issues for businesses and technologies supporting sustainable intensification projects.

You’ll examine the issues surrounding green energy, taxation, inheritance and business succession. 

Economic analysis can help you answer important management questions:

• How much fertiliser should I apply to my wheat?
• If demand for beer is going up, how will that affect the price I receive for my barley?

Through this module you’ll gain an understanding of economic ideas and principles and be able to apply them to a range of problems of interest to agricultural and environmental scientists and managers. You’ll also examine the arguments for government intervention to correct ‘market failures’ with reference to the latest government environmental schemes. 

This module aims to introduce you to agricultural management decision making in practice through team-based activity, integrating science, business and economics. Working in small teams and supported by teaching staff and industry consultants, you will be responsible for making management (science and business) decisions relating to the production of a crop or livestock enterprise for commercial purposes. The challenge will be based on the University Farm. Your team’s decisions – in the roles of both professional consultant and farm manager - will be implemented by technical staff.

For this module you will have lectures plus significant ‘field time’, including formal field site visits and informal field observation visits.  

In this module you will develop and consolidate your professional competencies and abilities as an agricultural scientist. You’ll improve your core professional skills in the scientific method, experimentation, data analysis and measurement techniques that enable you carry out scientifically-sound research in animal, crop or management science. You’ll also cover discipline-specific topics. There will be a mix of lectures, workshops and group activity sessions for you to work on your skills. 

In this module you’ll develop your understanding of how and why policies relating to agriculture, the environment and food are developed, and you will gain a valuable insight into how to influence policy. The module will be delivered via a series of lectures and guest speakers, which from organisations such as: Defra, the National Farmers Union (NFU), agri-businesses within the input supply chain and food retailers.

You'll cover the core research process and data analysis skills including literature searches, data collection and processing, and statistical analysis. This will prepare you for your third year research project. Research projects are also selected during this module.

A broad overview of the science behind climate change and its effects is studied on this module. Topics include: historical climate change; the principles of climate forcing; the role of modelling; responses of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including impacts on humans; the political environment; and options for climate stabilisation. You will have a two-hour lecture once a week with complementary practical and computing classes.

This module will introduce the major effects of diseases on the body’s physiological and immunological systems. The main types of disease will then be systematically discussed using a range of companion, farm and exotic animal species including poultry, equine, bovine and ovine species. You’ll have lectures and laboratory practicals each week.

A highly applied module, you’ll learn about animal physiology, nutrition and management and use your knowledge to think critically about production systems. Focusing on the nutrition, growth and welfare of farmed animals, you’ll cover a wide range of subjects, including investigating the energy and protein evaluation systems for ruminants and non-ruminants and the differential maturity of individual carcass components. You’ll compare systems of production for all major species of livestock and explore how these different systems integrate with each other and other enterprises on farms. Visits to local livestock farms give you the opportunity to further develop your understanding within a ‘real-life’ context and are a core component of the module.

In this module you will gain a comprehensive understanding of plant physiology. We’ll take an applied approach – right from the molecular level to the field – to understand what it means for growers in the UK and worldwide. We’ll examine:

• the mechanisms that plants use to capture and utilise physical resources: i.e. solar energy, water and nutrients
• the physiological basis of resource capture and utilisation in growth and development
• physical aspects of the plant environment combining these key processes

The module also considers contemporary issues and future developments in agronomy and the role of the agronomist in successful crop management. You will learn through lectures, practical classes and tutorials.

In this summer field course, you will work with agricultural students from around the world to investigate the role of innovation and entrepreneurship for success. Through visits to leading agri-business and research institutes, you will experience the issues faced by British agriculture and see the innovations driving the industry.

Within the Innovation Incubator module you’ll have the opportunity to develop and test your own business ideas. You’ll learn about the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship, and you’ll be embedded in a supportive tutorial environment where external inspirational practitioners provide feedback on business concepts as they are being developed. A ‘Dragon’s Den’ experience towards the end of the module provides you with vital experience in business-to-business communication.  

How do you apply management principles to modern rural businesses? This module will develop your knowledge of business management principles and provide you with an opportunity to apply these principles to the type of problems facing rural businesses at the present time. You’ll construct and interpret business accounts, use investment appraisal techniques, learn about labour and machinery management and explore different forms of farm business organisation. Using a ‘real-life’ case study, you’ll also learn and practice teamwork, time management and data analysis skills, which are vital when working in business. You’ll have a mix of lectures, practical classes and farm visits, as well as guest lectures from invited speakers to give you insights into the management and finance of rural businesses.

Consultancy is a strong growth area for jobs in agriculture. In this module you’ll be introduced to the practicalities of management consultancy and have the opportunity to integrate your knowledge of management principles to a case study of your choice based on a real-life commercial farm. You’ll learn how to appraise individual enterprises and whole firms with a view to improving the respective financial and technical performance of the business. With a strong focus on working productively as an individual, you’ll assess problems and opportunities, analyse information and data, and identify and meet objectives in order to aid managerial decision-making. To find out more about how consultancy works in practice, you’ll have guest lectures from invited speakers from industry in addition to your lectures and workshops.

Both human and technological resources are at the heart of many successful agri-businesses. Drawing upon both academic and industrial agri-business expertise, in this module you will examine theories and practices to inspire people, manage change and implement different leadership approaches to achieve business success. You will analyse the role of current and potential technological developments within agri-business contexts and explore the trade-offs and challenges from drawing upon people and/or technology in agri-businesses.

The project gives you an opportunity to use your initiative and knowledge to undertake original research under the supervision of an individual member of academic staff. You will design the study, gain familiarity with relevant analysis techniques, undertake data collection, and where appropriate safety procedures relevant to the topic. You’ll undertake appropriate quantitative analysis and prepare a report of approximately 5000 words. 

This important part of your degree, gives you the opportunity to participate in the work of one of the country's top agricultural research centres. Our research at Nottingham is funded by the UK and international organisations, including the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the UK research councils and agricultural businesses and governments from around the world. This funding enables us to teach the most modern and exciting aspects of agriculture. 

If you are interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cows, managing farms under the new agricultural policy environment (how would you ensure that University Farm meets the ‘greening’ requirements?); if you want to be involved in research into the influence of diet on reproductive performance in pigs or cows; if you want to know how seed rate and fertiliser application influences winter wheat production or how climate change will affect crop production in Africa and Asia, Nottingham is the place to be.

Recent final research projects include:

• Methods for achieving differential advantage for the small scale mushroom producer
• Why do farmers farm?
• Post-Brexit profitability projections for UK arable farms 2019-20: Using actual farm data and an advanced projection calculator
• How can urban agriculture help meet the food security needs of a growing urban population by enhancing fruit, vegetable and poultry production?
• Business investment appraisal: To convert ex/used industrial sites into vertical farms within the UK market
• Risk management in agriculture
• Farmers’ markets and supermarkets: food prices vs. the consumer benefits of ‘local’ food
• The relationship between milk yields, variable costs and the overall profitability of dairy farms 

Rural Business Research Unit (RBRU) and University Farm

Based at Sutton Bonington campus, the RBRU is the lead centre for the government-funded Farm Business Survey, collecting financial and environmental data from over 2000 farms; University Farm is a 450 hectare arable, dairy and sheep farm, also based at Sutton Bonington, with land and people dedicated to student teaching and research work. Both are available for your research project.

In this popular module, you’ll attend a five day field course to study selected field-grown crop species that have been chosen as models to illustrate major systems of production. You’ll examine the scientific principles that govern the management of field-grown crops through production to final end use, with particular emphasis being given to their physiology and ecology. Through field visits, you’ll observe and critically appraise the efficiency of current commercial production strategies and assess the scope to exploit plant responses to the environment at specific growth stages for optimal control of quality and yield. You’ll learn about the optimisation of quality and yield of crops through the manipulation of leaf, stem and root development, and the impact of post-harvest physiology on handling and storage. The field course is typically primarily based at the Sutton Bonington Campus with day-long trips to industry, farms and research organisations, and one overnight stay in an arable region.

Act as an agronomist and apply your understanding of crop and soil management to a real life situation. You will be asked to develop a long term crop management plan for a specific scenario, taking into account, soil management, rotational design, crop protection, environmental management and policy constraints. You will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a research agronomist to discuss your plan as it develops and receive feedback for further development.

You will discuss your plan as it develops with the module convenor, who will provide feedback for further development. Assessment is through the submission of a 10 year crop management plan for the farm scenario allocated at the start of the module.

How can production systems be adapted to meet demands for animal products in contrasting global markets? In this module, you’ll use your knowledge of physiology, nutrition, genetics, health, welfare and management to study the production of meat, milk and eggs, and the wellbeing of the animals in these production systems. You’ll undertake a detailed study of the integration of the production, nutrition, product quality, management and health of beef and dairy cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry at UK and global scales. You’ll be able to critically analyse key performance indicators and provide solutions to problems encountered in livestock production enterprises. You’ll have a mix of lectures, group work and farm visits to develop and apply your knowledge.

In this integrative module you’ll consider the future options and possible strategies for maintaining or increasing crop production in the UK and world agriculture. You’ll learn about the latest trends and developments within crop science, and the philosophical, ethical and policy issues associated with them. The topics covered will vary to reflect the most recent issues, but have included: the future of genetically modified crops, impact of crop production on biodiversity and prospects for organic crop production. Using your subject knowledge and research skills, you’ll be in a position to critically analyse the advantages and disadvantages of developments in crop science, both for the module and in your future career.

A highly applied module, you’ll learn how to optimise the management of different cereal crops to meet the requirements of specific environments and end-uses. To do this, you’ll learn about the production strategies for the major grain cereals, with particular emphasis on factors controlling yield and quality. You’ll also examine the importance of plant structure and function (for example, the importance of the 'flag leaf' in wheat) of and the influence of the environment and management practices on crop growth and development. You’ll have a mix of lectures, seminars, in-class exercises and field work to develop and apply your understanding.

Animal-human interactions raise some prominent ethical issues. In this module, you’ll examine the ethical dimensions concerning animal agriculture, modern biotechnologies and research in the biosciences, in relation to both humans and non-human species. You’ll learn about the ethical frameworks used to analyse specific dilemmas raised by the human use of animals. Using specific animal and biotechnology case studies, you’ll interpret the main ethical theories and principles and apply them to the case studies to inform professional decision-making. You’ll have a mix of lectures and seminars to explore these concepts.

Building on Applied Bioethics 1, you’ll investigate widely accepted ethical principles and apply your insights to contemporary ethical issues in agricultural, food and environmental sciences. You’ll explore the ethical dimensions of prominent issues raised by the agricultural practices (including the use of biotechnology and GM crops) designed to meet the nutritional needs of the global population. You’ll also learn about how ethical theory can inform professional choices and public policies related to food production and environmental management. You’ll have a mix of lectures, tutorials and team-based exercises to develop a sound understanding of ethical principles.