Marlborough Boys’ College Marlborough Boys’ College

NCEA L3 Agriculture and Horticulture - Ahuwhenua me te Ahuone

AGH3
Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Miss R. Kane.

Recommended Prior Learning

12 credits from a level 2 Science/Agriculture course or higher. Students with an interest in Primary Industries or the course may be considered.


Agriculture and Horticulture Level 3 offers standards for those students who wish to use the course as a University Entrance subject or as a Unit Standard based course with a Primary Industry focus. Students will need to have self-management skills to keep themselves on task to complete set work.

Those students wishing to do achievement standards have 3 standards which enable them to get UE subject endorsement. Two papers will require independent work and research skills that requires students to collate information from multiple sources to write a report. Students must also correctly reference their sources. The third achievement standard is an external exam that looks at New Zealand primary production environmental issue- the exact topic changes every year. 

The Unit Standard based course provides a selection of standards from many primary industries. Students will be expected complete US23542 around health and safety in a rural workplace before they can move on to other standards. Options include standards looking at animal anatomy, bee keeping, forestry and working dogs. Students will have workbooks that will need to be completed prior to an assessment. 




Course Overview

Term 1
AS 91528 - will investigate management practices and factors influencing primary production. This can be based on grape/wine production or honey production. Students will learn about the lifecycle of grapevines or bees and hives. They will investigate how tasks are carried out to influence the quality, quantity, timing or type of their product.

US 23542 - This Unit Standard looks at health and safety in a rural workplace. Students will recognise personal and external factors that contribute to injury as well as strategies to reduce these factors.
US 19111 will look at working dogs. Students will know the types, breeds and uses of working dogs in New Zealand. They will be familiar with illnesses and treatment for many common health issues, also applicable to household dogs.

Term 2
AS 91529 - Primary production profitability- this research project can look at a primary industry and how climatic, social, technological, economic, political and cultural practices, on-farm and off-farm affect the farmers' profit. This involves research and reading to collate information from multiple sources into a report and students must reference their sources.

US 18 looks at livestock form and function. Students will identify and describe the structural body parts, and internal anatomy of animals such as organs and their functions. They will learn how the organs and body systems work together, as well as the differences between ruminants and non-ruminants.

US 30798 is a bee-keeping standard. It looks at the 3 caste of bees, queen, worker and drone- their structure, form and function. The students will also look at how bees communicate and their behaviours.

Term 3
AS 91532 looks at a new topic every year. They focus on New Zealand primary production environmental issues such as freshwater, greenhouse gases, and sustainable farming practices. All students will cover this achievement standard.



Term 4
US 22994 is a Forestry standard that looks at the effects of nutrition, drugs, dehydration, stress and fatigue on forestry workers. They will look at how these factors affect the performance of forestry workers and how to reduce the risk of these factors to manage the health and well-being of forestry workers.

Learning Areas:

Year 13 (NCEA Level 3), Science - Mātauranga Pūtaiao


Career Pathways

Agricultural Technician, Statistician, Arborist, Automotive Technician, Farmer/Farm Manager, Biosecurity Officer, Butcher, Farm Assistant, Science Technician, Crop Worker, Forest Manager, Forestry and Logging Worker, Forestry Scientist, Groundsperson, Health and Safety Adviser, Nursery Grower/Worker, Packhouse Worker



			
					
					Contributions and Equipment/Stationery
										

Students will require a 1B5 book.