Advanced Certificate in Applied Management (Crops)

Many will use this course to become a farm manager, work in marketing horticultural crops or start your own business. Others will use it to enhance a career they have already started in the horticulture industry.

• Learn about management, marketing and business
• Learn about horticultural crop production
• Combine these skills and discover opportunities for employment and business in the cropping industry
• 900 hour, self paced practical course with options to upgrade to longer learning programs

This Advanced Certificate develops both the skills required to manage a horticultural farm (eg. Market Garden, Orchard), and also the knowledge in the identification, growing, processing and marketing crops and crop related products. This course involves seven units, plus a 200 hr workplace project.

Modules

Note that each module in the Advanced Certificate in Applied Management (Crops) is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.  

Management

Develops knowledge of management structures, terminology, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.

 

Marketing Foundations.

Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling.

STREAM MODULES

The three specialist units include:

1. Outdoor Plant Production

2. Protected Plant Production

3. Another Crops Module chosen from the following options:

• Cut Flower Production
• Fruit Production
• Commercial Vegetable Production
• Nut Production
• Mushroom Production
• Berry Fruit Production
• Viticulture

Selected Module Outlines

Outdoor Plant Production

This course has ten lessons.

1. Crop Production Systems    Learn to explain different cropping systems and their appropriate application for the production of different types of crops
2. Organic Crop Production   Learn to evaluate and explain organic plant production, and the requirements in at least two different countries, to achieve organic certification.
3. Soils and Nutrition     Learn the function of soils and plant nutrition in outdoor cropping systems.
4. Nursery Stock Production   Describe the commercial production of a range of nursery stock.
5. Tree Fruit Production   Describe the commercial production of a range of tree fruit crops.
6. Soft Fruits Production   Develop an understanding of the techniques used to produce a range of soft fruits.
7. Vegetable Production    Develop an understanding of the techniques used to grow a range of vegetables.
8. Cut Flower Production     Develop an understanding of the commercial production of outdoor cut flowers.
9. Herbs, Nuts and Miscellaneous Crops     Develop an understanding of the commercial production of herbs, nuts and other miscellaneous crops.
10. Crop Production Risk Assessment     Learn to understand the risks that may occur in outdoor crop production.

Protected Plant Production

This course consists of 10 Lessons:

1. Structures For Protected Cropping
2. Environmental Control
3. Cladding Materials And Their Properties
4. Irrigation
5. Nursery Nutrition
6. Relationship Between Production Techniques And Horticultural Practices
7. Horticultural Management In A Greenhouse: Pests And Diseases
8. Harvest & Post Harvest Technology
9. Greenhouse Plants
10. Risk Assessment

INDUSTRY PROJECT OR WORK EXPERIENCE

This is the final requirement that you must satisfy before receiving your award.

There are various options including:

Alternative

If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (ie. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.

The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.

Alternative

If you do not work in the relevant industry, you need to undertake a project as follows.

Procedure for a Workplace Project

This project is a major part of the course involving the number of hours relevant to the course (see above). Although the course does not contain mandatory work requirements, work experience is seen as highly desirable.

This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.

For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.

Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.

If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).

WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS?

Graduates from this course have a foundation for growing just about any crop they choose to grow.

Even if you don't study the specific crop plant that you end up growing; the principles you learn and the scientific and commercial understanding which you develop, will lay a foundation that allows you to adapt to any type of job or any type of crop you find yourself confronted with.

This course lays a very solid foundation for business or employment in any type of Horticultural Crop Production.

For a farm to remain sustainable, certain minimum productivity levels must be maintained, using preferred plant species on an ongoing basis. These plants may be pasture species, fodder crops, grain, vegetables, fruit or other harvested plants.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PLANTS  

• What crops are currently in demand? You need to attempt to gauge future demand, particularly if you are looking at growing crops that are long-term investments and may take several or more years to reach a marketable stage (eg. tree fruits, nuts, timber). Also look at the "stage" of demand for a crop. Is it a new, growing market, or is it one that everyone is "getting into" (resulting in a possible glut on the future market)? Select crops that are in high demand, where possible, to remain economically sustainable.
• Which crops are suited to growing in your locality? Some alteration to the soil and climate of the area may be beneficial in the long term. Examples are the introduction of windbreaks to prevent erosion, installing irrigation systems, or the creation of a microclimate to encourage growth of a particularly suitable plant.
• What resources do you have to produce different crops? This could include suitable land, equipment, staff, materials, or the financial backing to obtain these. Investment in equipment and materials must also be balanced with the amount of return you can expect.
• What expertise or knowledge do you have with regard to growing different crops? Can you obtain that knowledge? For new or experimental crops, determine what information is available on their culture and find out what grower support exists (eg. Department of Agriculture). Trying crops new to your area or still in an experimental usage stage can be costly but it has the potential to be very rewarding. Overseas research can often shed light on the suitability of the crop for your area. Start small and work up to larger production numbers if the results are good.
• How will the crop under consideration work with other crops? For instance, is there a market for a suitable companion plant? What crops should it be rotated with? What effects will this have on the soil and on the economics of growing this plant? Can the crop be marketed easily in conjunction with other crops you produce?
• What will you be using the crop for? If you are considering crops for your own subsistence, is this the cheapest and easiest way to obtain the crop? If you are using it for stock feed, is this the cheapest or easiest way to obtain suitable stock food?
• Is the crop sustainable? Many crops can only be grown with large inputs of fertilisers and pesticides. Choose crops that are suitable for your soils and the surrounding ecology.

The Future

The only way to effectively reduce our environmental footprint and effectively become sustainable globally in our food production, is going to be to increasingly grow food close to the consumer.