# CPSC30050
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**Parent**: https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=COURSE&MAJR=CPS1&AUDIENCE=
Academic Year 2025/2026
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#### Organic Agriculture (CPSC30050)
Subject:
: Crop Science
College:
: Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
: Agriculture & Food Science
Level:
: 3 (Degree)
Credits:
: 5
Module Coordinator:
: Dr Gary Gillespie
Trimester:
: Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
: On Campus
Internship Module:
: Yes
How will I be graded?
: Letter grades
Curricular information is subject to change.
This module is designed to give the student an overview of the main concepts related to organic farming. Topics covered include the factors that need to be considered in the conversion from a conventional system to an organic system, maintenance of soil fertility, crop rotations, manure management and composting, green manuring, pest and disease control in crops, principles of organic livestock production and markets and marketing for organic produce. Successful completion of this module is approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) as a training method for access into the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS).
## About this Module
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### What will I learn?
###### Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module the student should be able to: \
- Discuss the factors to be considered in the conversion to organic production\
- Describe and discuss the maintenance of soil fertility in an organic system.\
- Describe and discuss the prevention and control of weeds, diseases and pests in an organic cropping system.\
- Compare and contrast the principles of livestock production on an organic farm compared to a conventional farm.\
- Discuss the principles of marketing of organic produce.
###### Indicative Module Content:
Main topics on the organic agriculture (OA) module are:\
- Considerations to Conversion to OA.\
- Nutrient Management in OA.\
- Pest and Disease Management in OA.\
- Weed Management in OA.\
- Soil Cultivation\
- Animal Husbandry in OA
### How will I learn?
###### Student Effort Hours:
| Student Effort Type | Hours |
| --- | --- |
| Specified Learning Activities | 50 |
| Autonomous Student Learning | 36 |
| Lectures | 24 |
| | |
| --- | --- |
| Total | 110 |
\
###### Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
On the syllabus of the module, there is a section to highlight the range of student abilities, the levels of student engagement and clarity of student understanding about the outcomes and content of the module. \
We teach by reinforcing interactions between instructors and student and highlight the complexity of the assessment tasks.
### Am I eligible to take this module?
###### Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Not applicable to this module.
\
###### Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
\
\
### How will I be assessed?
###### Assessment Strategy
| Description | Timing | Component Scale | Must Pass Component | % of Final Grade | In Module Component Repeat Offered |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Assignment(Including Essay): Students are asked to provide a video summary of a peer-reviewed scientific article related to organic agriculture | Week 6 | Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% | No | 10 | No |
| Exam (In-person): End of semester in person exam composed of MCQ, short answer and long answer questions | End of trimester Duration: 2 hr(s) | Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% | No | 40 | No |
| Group Work Assignment: A group project in which a conventional farm is converted to an organic farm with an accompanied written and referenced report detailing what and why the changes / suggestions have been made. | Week 12 | Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% | No | 50 | No |
\
###### Carry forward of passed components
Yes
\
### What happens if I fail?
| Resit In | Terminal Exam |
| --- | --- |
| Spring | Yes - 2 Hour |
*Please see [Student Jargon Buster](https://www.ucd.ie/students/services/ucdstudentjargonbuster/) for more information about remediation types and timing.* \
### Assessment feedback
###### Feedback Strategy/Strategies
• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment\
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment\
###### How will my Feedback be Delivered?
Feedback for the review of a scientific article is done individually post-assessment. There will be an in-class opportunity for students to discuss and receive feedback on the draft version of the farm conversion report prior to submission of the assessment method. Throughout the module many MCQ questions examples are discussed to highlight 1) the importance of reading the questions properly, 2) the main concepts of the lectures and 3) the role of continuing study and assessment.
### Associated Staff
| Name | Role |
| --- | --- |
| Dr Gary Gillespie | Tutor |
| Dr Mary Harty | Tutor |
| Dr Alan Kelly | Tutor |
| Professor Karina Pierce | Tutor |
| Dr Siobhán Walsh | Tutor |
### When is this module offered?
**Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.**
| | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Autumn | Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks | Wed 15:00 - 16:50 |
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