Course summary

The FdSc Agriculture provide students with an appropriate academic grounding, together with the broader technical and management skills that are required to work and build a career in the increasingly technical and continually changing agricultural sector. The programme will develop your technical and management skills, in livestock, crop production, and the integration of the wide range agricultural production systems, rotations, equipment, housing and store facilities that are used in the commercial farming industry. The full time modular programme is delivered over two years using a hybrid approach to delivery to provide you with the flexibility to gain industry experience in agriculture or one its associated supply chains while continuing with your education and training. At the end of your studies, you will have the skills and understanding to work at a supervisory or management level in the agricultural sector. University Centre Askham Bryan has access to the 238-hectare Home Farm, which houses a milking herd of 200 cows, which are milked through a rapid exit parlour and a DeLaval Robot, a state-of-the-art high welfare precision beef facility in which students will actively participate in the use of the latest precision-livestock equipment, research, and industry engagement and a commercial flock of 200 breeding ewes. Crops grown on the grade 2 arable land, include wheat, sugar beet and maize, using the latest precision field technology and variable rate application techniques and software to maximise arable returns and the production of high-quality forage to improve the performance and returns of the dairy and livestock enterprises. The Farm also features a new £2.4 million Agri-Tech Innovation Centre dedicated to advanced agricultural and engineering training, the DeLaval Digital Farm and robotic milker which provides live data for analysis and interpretation of dairy cow performance. On-farm data from the different enterprises is also drawn together using the latest Map of Agriculture software to provide live updates on what is occurring on the farm, the level of inputs and physical performance of the different enterprises' adding to the learning experience and knowledge of the students on the FdSc Agriculture Course.