Advice for teachers -
Agricultural and Horticultural Studies

Unit 1 – Area of Study 1: Food and fibre industries

Outcome 1

Identify major food and fibre production industries in Australia, describe career pathways within these industries, discuss a range of influences on agricultural and horticultural practices, and undertake practical analysis of conditions required for food and fibre production.

Examples of learning activities

Conduct a survey of students’ motivations in studying VCE Agricultural and Horticultural Studies, including questions that focus on characteristics often attributed to Victoria’s first peoples; for example, cultural connection to the land, custodianship of land to benefit future generations, and the sharing of what the land can provide (with clan and others). Consider the connections and parallels rather than divergence and differences.
Develop an overview of plants and animals used by Victorian Koorie cultural groups as major sources of food and fibre. The Monash University Aboriginal Garden is a good source of information.
Research and present case studies of Australian native plants/animals that are commercially produced for food and/or fibre today and/or have potential for development (for example, through AgriFutures research programs).
Investigate the statement ‘The first Australians had complex systems of agriculture that went far beyond the hunter-gatherer tag’. They were, in fact, our first farmers. Access the story from ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph as a downloadable audio presented by Cameron Wilson and/or the online article ‘Rethinking Indigenous Australia’s agricultural past’ by Cathy Pryor.
Research the meaning and practice of ‘fire-stick farming’, and how this concept links to historian Bill Gammage’s description of pre-colonial Australia as ‘The biggest estate on earth’ (the title of his 2011 book).
Create an infographic that summarises the findings of writer Bruce Pascoe, as presented in his 2014 book about aboriginal agriculture, Dark Emu. There are numerous online resources; for example, articles at Planthunter, and AgriEducate and a 2018 TEDxSydney talk (12:33 mins) by Pascoe entitled ‘A real history of Aboriginal Australians, the first agriculturalists’.
Develop a timeline of major food and fibre industries in Australian agriculture/horticulture from around 1800, highlighting changes enabled by innovations in transport, water management and technology.
Outline and report on different decades of Australia’s 20th-century agricultural/horticultural development. A useful resource is the Australian Bureau of Statistics online feature article ‘A hundred years of agriculture’ by John Pollard.
Choose one food or fibre commodity prominent in Victoria’s agriculture/horticulture industries today, and create a timeline of its progress to becoming a successful industry.
Survey, interview or profile a member of an Australian farming family that has worked in food/fibre production across several generations. Focus on how the farming role has changed over time (and is still changing), with reference to the following factors: cultural (e.g. farming as a role that is vital to the nation); social (e.g. community connections) and economic (e.g. making a living).
Using examples of popular Australian literature and art prior to World War I (for example, characters and narratives featured in the work of Banjo Patterson, Henry Lawson and painter Frederick McCubbin) conduct a survey of early 20th-century Australian attitudes about the value and nature of ‘life on the land’.
Investigate Australia’s post-World War I Soldier Settlement Scheme. Research and report on particular case studies; for example, through the Victorian public records website Battle to farm.
Critically examine the meaning of the statement ‘Australia’s 20th-century prosperity was riding on the sheep’s back’.
Consider the following statement in terms of perceptions of agricultural/horticultural industries: ‘Traditionally farm women's work has been excluded from official statistics and historical records, women were excluded from some agricultural colleges up until the 1970s and had no voting rights in farm organisations until the 1990s.’ (Invisible Farmer Project on Museums Victoria website. Debate the topic: Has this situation changed?)
Collect demographic data (considering recent trends and patterns) relating to: Australia’s rural, regional and metropolitan populations; employment in agricultural/horticultural industries. Use the data to discuss, draw conclusions and make predictions about these industries.
Conduct a data analysis exercise by accessing the most recent version of ‘Australia’s agricultural industries’ map on the Australian government’s public data website. These one-page pdf maps present the most recent data on land use, top five commodities (for livestock, crops and horticulture) and trends in production, employment and exports (including destinations and commodities).
Access the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology website’s Climate classification maps. Identify the three different methods of classifying Australia’s climate (temperature/humidity; vegetation; seasonal rainfall). Describe your local climate zone by viewing the maps on the drop-down menu. Describe the climate of other places in Australia. Identify major food and fibre industries of particular regions, creating an infographic that matches industries and climate.
Conduct practical activities that consider and apply research findings related to local climate zone; for example, in the development of plant/animal selection criteria when planning agricultural/horticultural operations.
Explore the Climate change in Australia website and find the ‘Regional climate change explorer’. Examine the information presented (especially the ‘key messages’) to report on changes to conditions for food and fibre production in various regions (i.e. ‘super clusters’) of Australia.
Find the ‘Horticulture fact sheet’ in the ‘Agriculture, farming and food’ menu on the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website. Distil the information to create a brief presentation on Australian horticulture: What is grown? Where and why?
Prepare a brief investigative report into suitable soils and climatic conditions for one horticultural product commonly grown in Victoria, selecting a topic from the Agriculture Victoria website.
‘There are a range of issues that you need to consider but they can be summarised into two key questions: 1) Can I sell it? 2) Can I grow it?’ (Agriculture Victoria). Brainstorm the above quote, listing questions to ask when planning to produce food/fibre commercially. Questions should cover environmental factors such as soil, topography, climate and water; as well as social/cultural factors such as markets, expertise, labour/workload, and local land-use/zoning laws.
Access the online article ‘How migrant workers are critical to the future of Australia’s agriculture industry’ (Jock Collins, The Conversation, October 2016). Discuss the role of immigration in developing and driving agricultural/horticultural industries in Australia.
Collect data that reflects social/cultural trends in Australian agriculture/horticulture; for example, average size of farms/landholdings, numbers of family-owned farms, and populations of rural and regional areas.
Undertake practical activities that consider and apply your findings on the influences of climate, soil quality and/or socio-cultural factors on the establishment of businesses; for example, the testing of soil for particular purposes.
Visit La Trobe University’s AgriBio website and prepare a report on the topic ‘Study and career possibilities’.
Attend an ‘AgHort Futures Expo’ that showcases training, education and career pathways available to students of agriculture and horticulture.
Explore the Careers Harvest website (Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia). Enter information about your interests, education, location and other key words to find possible jobs and careers. Create a class list of roles that fellow students are interested in. Individual students choose a different role on the list in order to research further, reporting to the class on job titles, tasks involved and required qualifications.
Listen to invited professionals from the fields of agriculture and/or horticulture as they share their experiences with the class. Prepare several questions for the speaker, to stimulate thinking about a possible future in the field.
Create an outline for a public service campaign that promotes the positive rewards of working in the field of agriculture/horticulture. The message is that these industries are: profitable; accessible (regional or city-based and not just open to those ‘born into it’); diverse (many different roles and opportunities) and innovative (for example, in problem-solving and the use of data and technology).
Participate in a class discussion about the rapid rate of change in Australian food and fibre industries: What drives change and how do producers respond to it?
Using allocated topics that are current ‘drivers of change’ in Australian food and fibre industries (to individuals, pairs, or groups), each student explains how change occurs, presenting examples and recent case studies to the rest of the class.
Conduct a media analysis to identify recent issues or events relating to food and fibre production; analyse the questions raised and/or changes made in response to the issue/event.
Find and discuss case studies of changes made in food/fibre production as a result of consumer activism relating to ethics, health concerns or ‘buy local’ considerations.
Write a short response to the question: ‘Will the big cities ever stop expanding? Where will we grow the food to support increasing population?’
Investigate an organisation or program that aims to drive change in Australians’ access to fresh agricultural/horticultural produce; for example: the Cardinia Food Movement ; Melbourne Food Hub; Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance
Access the video or transcript of the 2018 ABC Catalyst episode ‘Farmer needs a robot’. Then discuss the topic: ‘Is this a smarter way of farming or not?’
Create an infographic that summarises and simplifies the National Guidelines for Beef Cattle Feedlots in Australia (published by Meat & Livestock Australia). Outline advantages and disadvantages of feedlots.
List ‘for’ and ‘against’ points for a debate about intensive farming in Australia, with a focus on either egg or pork production.
Explain ‘agroecology’, giving examples of how these principles might be practised on both small and large agricultural/horticultural landholdings.
Define CSA (community supported agriculture) through the search engine at Agriculture Victoria. List some Victorian farms that operate with a CSA model, profiling one farm and exploring the questions: How does it work? Is it successful? The CSA Network Australia New Zealand website is a good source for case studies.
Investigate Local Food Connect and report on how the organisation connects urban dwellers to agriculture/horticulture.
Attend a farmers market and interview some customers to find out what motivates them to buy their fresh produce in this way. Interview at least one stallholder to determine some of the benefits/pitfalls for producers.
Investigate Melbourne’s biennial Urban Agriculture Forum (the first was held in 2016). Looking at the programs of events held to date, answer the question: ‘What is this movement about?’
Debate the topic ‘Cities feeding themselves is an idea that can change the world. An idea whose time has come’ (Dr Nick Rose, Sustain).
Create a story board inspired by the following two statements: ‘We aim to normalise food growing as an expected feature of healthy and resilient urban landscapes’ (3000acres); ‘In my grandmother’s day, everyone used to live in a self-sufficient manner. It was common, even in suburbia, to have a vegie garden’ (Kay Saarinen, The Design Files, January 2019).
Explore why the production of Victorian strawberries is mainly located within the Yarra Valley. Take a virtual farm tour to discus conditions, such as regional climate and soil quality, required to grow strawberries.

Detailed example

Investigate the statement ‘The first Australians had complex systems of agriculture that went far beyond the hunter-gatherer tag. They were, in fact, our first farmers.’

Access the story ‘Rethinking Indigenous Australia’s agricultural past’ from ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph as a downloadable audio presented by Cameron Wilson.
Listen to the archived audio (54:45) – or sections of it – of interviews by presenter Cameron Wilson, and read the online article by Cathy Pryor, which presents an overview. As students are listening, they consider and take notes on some or all of the following:

According to historian Bill Gammage, why was it important for him and other researchers such as Bruce Pascoe to use the earliest possible records (or as the presenter calls them ‘white documents’) in order to write their books?
What is Gammage talking about when he refers to ‘organised landscape’ and says ‘the gathering is really the endpoint of a very sophisticated farming process’?
Describe some of the observations of explorer Major Thomas Mitchell in terms of land management.
Explain the significance of the Australian landscape paintings of early European artists to the work of Bill Gammage and others.
According to botanist Beth Gott, what were the uses of fibre plants ‘bootlace bush’ (pimelea axiflora) and flax lily (dianella)?
Summarise Bill Gammage’s description of the ‘complex fire management system’ through which Australia’s first peoples created grazing lands and open forests to maximise food supplies.
Describe the ‘beautifully managed system’ (Heather Builth) – including production, processing, storage and trading of food – of the Gunditjmara people of Budj Bim (Lake Condah).
Discuss the commercial potential of growing native plants such as yam daisy or murnong (microseris lanceolata), kangaroo grass (themeda triandra) or native rice and millet.

Students select a point of interest from the above and investigate further, creating their own audio recording (podcast) or media article about their chosen topic.