Agriculture, Economics and Nature
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Agriculture, Economics and Nature
University of Western Australia
Acerca de este Curso
4.7
149 ratings
Sound economic thinking is crucial for farmers because they depend on good economic decision making to survive. Governments depend on economic information to make good policy decisions on behalf of the community. This course will help you to contribute to better decision making by farmers, or by agencies servicing agriculture, and it will help you to understand why farmers respond to policies and economic opportunities in the ways they do.
You can use this course to improve your skills and knowledge, and to assess whether this is a subject that you'd like to study further. The course includes high-quality video lectures, interviews with experts, demonstrations of how to build economic models in spreadsheets, practice quizzes, and a range of recommended readings and optional readings. Assessment is by a final exam.
The key economic principles that we’ll learn about can help us understand changes that have occurred in agriculture, and support improved decision making about things like agricultural production methods, agricultural input levels, resource conservation, and the balance between agricultural production and its environmental impacts.
There are literally thousands of agricultural economists around the world who work on these issues, so there is a wealth of knowledge to draw on for the course.
Watch a brief video about our course here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_IeYGpeqV8
Programa - Qué aprenderás en este curso
1
Sección
Agricultural production and prices, and agriculture’s reliance on natural resources
Week 1 provides a history of agricultural production and prices, an examination into the reasons behind changes in production and prices, and discussions of the 2007 global food crisis and agriculture’s usage of resources.
11 videos (Total: 63 min), 9 readings, 1 quiz
11 videos
Video - History of agricultural production and prices2m
Video - Agricultural products' supply4m
Video - Agricultural products' demand6m
Video - The 2007 food price crisis12m
Video - Food security4m
Video - Resource usage 1: Land and soils4m
Video - Resource usage 2: Water4m
Video - Resource usage 3: Nutrients4m
Video - Resource usage 4: Pesticides4m
Video - Interview - Kadambot Siddique, Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia8m
9 lecturas
Optional Viewing - The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #110m
Optional Reading - Economics Basics: Supply and Demand10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussion 266: Supply and Demand: The Wool Crisis10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 178: Betting on Wheat Prices10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 284: The world food price crisis of 200710m
Optional Viewing - The Corn Controversy: Food or Fuel10m
Optional Reading - The Food Price Crisis of 2007/2008: Evidence and Implications10m
Optional Reading - Causes of the 2007-2008 global food crisis identified10m
Optional Reading - The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World10m
1 ejercicio de práctica
Quiz - Agricultural production and prices, and agriculture’s reliance on natural resources20m
2
Sección
Resource and environmental challenges facing agriculture
Week 2 addresses the agricultural issues of water availability, peak phosphorus, herbicide resistance, and climate change.
9 videos (Total: 64 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz
9 videos
Video - Pesticide bans5m
Video - Dryland salinity8m
Video - Resource exhaustibility: phosphorus supply12m
Video - Resource exhaustibility: water shortages5m
Video - Resource exhaustibility: herbicide resistance9m
Video - Climate change4m
Video - Climate policy and adaptation4m
Video - Interview - Michael Robertson, CSIRO8m
8 lecturas
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussion 261: Agricultural water pollution10m
Optional Reading - Protecting Water Quality from Agricultural Runoff10m
Optional Reading - Pannell Discussion 26: Dryland salinity in Australia10m
Optional Reading - Phosphorus: Essential to Life – Are we running out?10m
Optional Reading - Can Australia overcome its Water Scarcity Problems?10m
Optional Reading - Pannell Discussion 57: Herbicide resistance: Does prevention pay?10m
Optional Reading - Pannell Discussions 230: Future climate change and wheat yields in Western Australia10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 168: Telling farmers how to adapt to climate change10m
1 ejercicio de práctica
Resource and environmental challenges facing agriculture20m
3
Sección
The economics of agricultural inputs
Week 3 looks at the relationship between inputs and outputs, the optimal level of an input, the question of pollution from inputs, and flat payoff functions.
9 videos (Total: 56 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
9 videos
Video - Fertiliser and Crop Yield5m
Video - Production functions4m
Video - Profit maximisation7m
Video - Building a spreadsheet to maximise profit11m
Video - Effects of price and yield changes on optimal fertiliser use4m
Video - Considering pollution in input decisions7m
Video - Flat payoff functions6m
Video - Interview - David Brown, Farmer, Burracoppin, Western Australia5m
4 lecturas
Optional reading - world data on fertilizers10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussion 277: Perfection isn’t best10m
Optional Reading - Determining Optimum Nitrogen Application Rates for Corn10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 88: Flat-earth economics10m
1 ejercicio de práctica
The economics of agricultural inputs20m
4
Sección
The economics of land conservation
Week 4 focuses on evaluating land conservation practices, weighing benefits and costs correctly, non-economic factors, and provides an example in conservation agriculture.
9 videos (Total: 84 min), 6 readings, 1 quiz
9 videos
Video - Benefits and costs of resource conservation over time5m
Video - Accounting for time12m
Video - Discounting5m
Video - Building a spreadsheet for discounting benefits and costs10m
Video - Case study: conservation agriculture17m
Video - Drivers of farmers’ decision-making11m
Video - Interview - Mike McFarlane, farmer, Doodlakine, Western Australia9m
Video - Interview - Greg Shea, WA Department of Agriculture and Food6m
6 lecturas
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 33: Time is money10m
Recommended Reading - Pannell Discussions 268: Conservation Agriculture in Developing Countries10m
Optional Reading - The farm-level economics of conservation agriculture for resource-poor farmers.10m
Recommended Reading - Adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders10m
Optional Reading - Pannell Discussions 203: Predicting adoption of new farming practices10m
Help with the calculations for Week 4 Quiz10m
1 ejercicio de práctica
The economics of land conservation20m
4.7
40%
83%
18%
Principales revisiones
por NT•Dec 22nd 2017
Excellent course and presenter! I is very useful to revise important economic and environmental concepts and also to learn more agriculture. It is very useful for me.\n\nThanks Prof. David
por RC•Dec 19th 2016
Interesting course on Agriculture and Economics, very useful to revise important economic concepts and also to learn more about agriculture. Highly recommended.
Instructores
Professor David Pannell, BSc(Agric), BEc, PhD
Head of School of Agricultural and Resource EconomicsUniversity of Western Australia
Jacob Hawkins, BA(Biol), MESM, PhD
School of Agricultural and Resource EconomicsUniversity of Western Australia
Acerca de University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) was established in 1911 and continues to set the standard for other West Australian universities. Staff, students and graduates from the University have been recognised at state, national and international levels, and UWA continues to confirm its standing as one of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities. UWA's leaders and researchers work in partnership with three domestic and international networks, the Group of Eight, Matariki and the Worldwide Universities Network.
Preguntas Frecuentes
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
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