The Department of Agricultural Sciences is responsible for teaching and research in the plant and animal sciences, and in crop and livestock production.
The teaching and research brings a strategic and applied focus to technologies of particular relevance to New Zealand’s including export-orientated land-based industries.
The Department teaches into a range of academic programmes including the Bachelor of Agricultural Science (BAgSci), the Bachelor of Agriculture (BAg), the Bachelor of Science (BSc), the Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) (Bcom(Ag)) and the Diplomas in Agriculture and Farm Management. The department also supervises a number of postgraduate programmes including master’s degrees and PhD.
The range of research conducted is extensive including:
• Alternative dryland pasture species
• Animal nutrition
• Conversion of forests into pasture
• Economic viability of New Zealand farming systems
• Grain legume agronomy
• Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen cycling
• Shelter on dairy farms
• Sustainability in farming systems.
The Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences provides the foundation of knowledge for land-based, sustainable production.
We are focused on improving productivity in the agricultural sector, while ensuring the environment is protected.
There are four departments in the faculty:
• Agricultural Sciences – responsible for teaching and research in the plant and animal sciences, and in crop and livestock production.
• Pest-management and Conservation – focuses on modern approaches and tools in molecular, behavioural, community and ecosystem ecology and plant pathology. Research and teaching is supported by laboratory and field facilities.
• Soil and Physical Sciences – responsible for delivering all undergraduate and postgraduate soil-related courses, and many physical science courses, including first and second year undergraduate chemistry and physics.
• Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences – responsible for delivery of the Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology, the Bachelor of Science (Food Science) and teaching for other related courses.
We deliver research and teaching in:
• Agronomy and plant science
• Biochemistry and cell biology
• Ecology and conservation
• Food science
• Microbiology
• Nutrition and health
• Plant pathology
• Soil and physical sciences
• Statistics and computational modelling
• Toxicology
• Viticulture and oenology.