Economic concepts are introduced and applied: to analyse agricultural production and resource use decisions; to develop tools to aid farm management decisions; to understand the economics of agricultural markets and how they work; and to assess agricultural and resource policies.
This course explores how farmers make production decisions, how agricultural markets operate, and how policies influence the agriculture and food sector. It introduces core economic concepts and analytical tools, and applies them to issues faced by producers, agribusinesses, and policymakers in agriculture and natural resource management.
There are no pre-requisite courses for AGRC2030.
For consultation on course content: (1) schedule using Calendly, (2) call on the phone, or (3) drop by in-person.
For accurate and timely administrative support, contact directly the AGFS Student Administration team by phone at +61 7 5460 1321 or email at agriculture@enquire.uq.edu.au.
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
The purpose of the course is to show the application of economic principles to agricultural science and to the analysis of production, marketing and policy decisions in the agricultural sector.
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial/ Problem Set |
Sequential problem sets
|
30% 3 problem sets × 10% each |
Problem set 1. Principles of economics and comparative advantage. 7/08/2025 2:00 pm Problem set 2. Agricultural markets: supply and demand, welfare economics, and elasticities. 4/09/2025 2:00 pm Problem set 3. Production economics. 23/10/2025 2:00 pm
Each problem set will be made available two weeks before the due date. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Economic evaluation of agricultural policy | 30% |
25/09/2025 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final exam
|
40% |
End of Semester Exam Period 8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Problem set 1. Principles of economics and comparative advantage. 7/08/2025 2:00 pm
Problem set 2. Agricultural markets: supply and demand, welfare economics, and elasticities. 4/09/2025 2:00 pm
Problem set 3. Production economics. 23/10/2025 2:00 pm
Each problem set will be made available two weeks before the due date.
This online assessment task must be submitted using the correct submission link in the course Learn.UQ site. An electronic copy of every piece of assessment submitted should be retained.
Legal Declaration: By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy (https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149) and understand its implications.
It is a student's responsibility to check their assessment has been submitted correctly and is markable (such as all the text is in the file submitted). Course staff do not routinely check and inform individual students if their assessment has not been submitted or is not markable.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard, in accordance with the University's Assessment Procedure (located in the Policies and Procedures section of this course profile) which outlines the requirements for requesting extensions to assessment due dates. Extensions require the correct evidence/documentation to support the requested length of time of the extension.
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL).
25/09/2025 2:00 pm
This report involves examining an agricultural policy issue (examples will be provided in class). Students will:
A topic may be selected from a provided list or proposed by the student, subject to written approval from the course coordinator. Full details on the assessment requirements and description will be available on the course's Learn.UQ site.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. The use of AI or MT must be acknowledged appropriately. Please see assessment guidelines on the course's UQ.Learn site.
Turnitin submission details:
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.
Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy (https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard, in accordance with the University's Assessment Procedure (located in the Policies and Procedures section of this course profile) which outlines the requirements for requesting extensions to assessment due dates. Extensions require the correct evidence/documentation to support the requested length of time of the extension.
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL).
End of Semester Exam Period
8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025
This exam will assess the entire course. Tutorials and assessments will provide a good guide of what to expect in the final exam.
Further details about the exam will be provided in the lectures and on the course's Learn.UQ site.
Students must attend the exam in-person. The exam will be an on-campus exam. Have your UQ student ID card available for all your exams.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | Any calculator permitted |
| Open/closed book | Open book examination - any written or printed material is permitted; material may be annotated |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
You may be able to defer this exam.
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 34 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0 - 34% |
| 2 (Fail) | 35 - 46 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 35 - 46% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 47 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 47% - 49% |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 50% - 64% |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 65% - 74% |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 75% - 84% |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 85% - 100% |
In order to pass this course, students must achieve a cumulative score of 50% or greater and a passing mark in the End of Semester Exam.
If a student obtains an overall percentage greater than the cut-offs set to achieve a 4 or higher for the course based on marks from all assessment and the student does NOT score a passing mark in the end of semester exam, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.
Supplementary Assessment
In the event of supplementary assessment being awarded this will take the form of an exam. In order to receive a grade of 3S4 (pass) a student must obtain a mark of 50% or higher in the supplementary examination. Therefore, the final grade (maximum 4) is awarded solely on the basis of performance in that exam.
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Please note the following when writing your assignments
You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
All reported work must be done by the individual student. Assignments that look and sound alike will be reported as plagiarism – a serious offence at UQ. Please note the university’s policy on academic integrity and plagiarism which can be accessed at Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy / Document / Policy and Procedure Library
Turnitin
Assignments that are required to be submitted through Turnitin, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site. If you submit any version of your assessment item to any alternative Turnitin link, this is considered cheating, and you will be held liable for this action.
Results
Unless indicated by the course coordinator, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment such the Report, available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will be available before the day of your end of semester examination in the course, unless otherwise indicated by the Course Coordinator. Results and feedback availability for progressive assessment will be announced via the course Blackboard site.
Feedback in this course
Feedback is welcome in this course as any information on how students find this learning experience is constructive. A course evaluation process will occur in the last few weeks of semester.
Re-mark Applications – refer to the University's Re-mark Policy to check your eligibility.
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
The AGRC2030 Agricultural Economics Learn.UQ site is the main method of communication for the course. http://learn.uq.edu.au
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Applied Class |
Economic principles for agriculture Principles for and examples of the application of economics to agriculture, including comparative advantage. Learning outcomes: L01 |
Week 2 (04 Aug - 10 Aug) |
Applied Class |
Economics of agricultural markets Supply and demand. Learning outcomes: L04 |
Week 4 (18 Aug - 24 Aug) |
Applied Class |
Economics of agricultural markets How markets affect economic wellbeing (welfare economics). Learning outcomes: L04 |
Week 5 (25 Aug - 31 Aug) |
Applied Class |
Economics of agricultural markets How markets affect economic well-being (welfare economics). Responsiveness of one economic variable to a change in another (elasticities). Learning outcomes: L04 |
Week 6 (01 Sep - 07 Sep) |
Applied Class |
Agricultural and resource policy Agricultural and resource policies: types of policy instruments and how to analyse policies. Learning outcomes: L05 |
Week 7 (08 Sep - 14 Sep) |
Applied Class |
Agricultural and resource policy Why and how governments intervene in agricultural markets and the agricultural and natural resources sectors. Learning outcomes: L05 |
Week 8 (15 Sep - 21 Sep) |
Applied Class |
Consultations for assessments (Test feedback or report guidance) One-on-one consultations for assessment report on the economic evaluation of agricultural policy Learning outcomes: L05 |
Week 9 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Applied Class |
Agricultural production economics Input-output relationships. Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 11 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Applied Class |
Agricultural production economics Input-input relationships (optimal input combinations). Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 12 (20 Oct - 26 Oct) |
Applied Class |
Agricultural production economics Output combinations and cost of production. Learning outcomes: L01 |
Week 13 (27 Oct - 02 Nov) |
Applied Class |
Time allocated for preparing and revision for the final exam. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Any changes to the published Learning Activities during the semester will be communicated through the course's Learn.UQ site.
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.