Agronomy (AGRC2040)

Course overview

This course will introduce students to the fundamental principles of agronomy and crop production. In both a classroom and field setting, this will include a bigger picture exploration of cropping zones in Australia, and move onto a "ground up" approach of crop production. Topics covered will include importance of healthy soils in sustainable production, tillage, crop rotations, management of soil water and crop nutrition, and genotype x environment x management interactions. The course should provide students with a good foundation of the key factors driving crop production in cropping and mixed farming businesses. Learning from lecture material will be expanded upon and applied in industry-relevant scenario-based tutorials. These will develop students’ numeracy skills so they are ready to handle the quantitative nature of agronomy upon graduation. The in-person mode of the course will also complement these learning activities with extensive hands-on experience in the field, including crop monitoring, soil and plant sampling, and quantifying soil resources.

This course will be last offered in external mode in 2025.

AGRC2040 aims to provide an introduction to agronomic principles of broadacre field crops in tropical and sub-tropical farming systems. The course covers agroecological zones of crop production in Australia, soil management and the role of healthy soils in crop production, crop rotations, crop nutrition and organic amendments, managing crops in water-limited environments, and genotype x environment x management interactions. Theﾠcourse includes field- and computer-based practicals exploring different aspects of crop production and farming systems under rain-fed conditions, and a tutorial series aimed at building quantitative skills. The course aims to provide aﾠsolid foundation for students interested in agronomy and crop production.ﾠ

Course requirements

Assumed background

A basic background in plant biology and plant production, i.e., having completed AGRC1021 and AGRC1024, would be helpful in getting the most out of this course.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

AGRC1021 and AGRC1024

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

AGRC2020

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

• Another instance of the same course

This course shares content with AGRC2040 External in a combined blackboard site.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

• All lectures will be delivered online as pre-recordings and will be available through the course Blackboard site.
• All tutorials and computer-based practicals will be delivered live in-person (on campus) and simultaneously via Zoom. These sessions will also be recorded and made available on Blackboard.
• Field-based practicals will be delivered live in-person (on campus) only.
• Regular Zoom drop-in sessionsﾠwill be run throughout semester to allow students to ask questions/seek further information.

If you have any concerns regarding your official timetable or course allocations, or there are no suitable class times available, contact Faculty of Science Timetable science.mytimetable@uq.edu.au for advice. If you have any questions about missing class activities, please contact your course coordinator. 

Aims and outcomes

The course aims is to explore key factors driving sustainable crop production, with a strong focus on rainfed Australian broadacre systems. A key element of this is building systems-level thinking by encouraging students to link and integrate topics taught throughout the course. The course also aims to challenge students to understand and evaluate management options to improve agronomic outcomes.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

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.

Assessment details

APSIM assessments

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

30%

Due date

Quiz 1: 25/02/2025 - 4/03/2025

Quiz 2: 18/03/2025 - 25/03/2025

Quiz 3: 29/04/2025 - 6/05/2025

by 2pm on the last listed due date for each Quiz

Learning outcomes

L02, L03

Task description

Submission guidelines

The assessment must be completed within Blackboard.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

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.

Tutorial assessment

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

30%

Due date

8/04/2025 - 17/04/2025

Scenarios, instructions and data will become available at 10 am on 08/04/2025. The test must be submitted by 4 pm on 17/04/2025.

Other conditions

Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02

Task description

Submission guidelines

The assessment must be completed within Blackboard.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

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.

Final Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Learning outcomes

L04

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Course Grading Hurdle:

To pass this course, students must achieve an overall mark of 50% or greater across all assessment items AND a passing mark in the final 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 a combination of progressive assessment and the final exam and the student does NOT score a passing mark in the final exam, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes. 

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Please note the following when writing 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 Assignmentsﾠ

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.ﾠﾠ

Results

Unless specifically indicated by the lecturer involved,ﾠevery attempt will be made to haveﾠthe results for progressive assessment tasks 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.ﾠ

Feedback in this course

Feedback is welcome in this course as any information on how students find this learning experience is constructive.

Please use the evaluation form provided to you at the end of semester - or if you are enrolled internally, 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.

Learning resources

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.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Other course materials

Additional learning resources information

• The GRDC website has a lot of relevant information for this course and is an excellent place to find Australia-focussed material on plant science and crop production (see here).ﾠ
• Proceedings from the Australian Agronomy Conference (see here).ﾠ
• The course has practical sessions that haveﾠoutdoor components. A hat,ﾠsunscreen, and long sleeves areﾠrecommended. Please wearﾠappropriate covered footwear.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

Appropriate closed footwear, a brimmed hat, sun smart clothing and a water bottle are required for field visits.

Policies and procedures

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:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:

• Occupational Health and Safety in the Laboratory Guideline