NC Agriculture

Course Overview

In today’s agricultural environment it is more vital than ever that tomorrow’s farmers and their staff have the training to face the future as both food producers and guardians of the countryside.

That's why this course aims to increase your knowledge of agriculture, and give you sound practical skills and up-to-date technical experience.

You'll develop both independent learning skills and team working skills which will provide a strong foundation for future study and/or employment in the industry.

Successful completion of this course results in the award of an SCQF Level 6 qualification.

Virtual Experience

Take a look around the SRUC Virtual Experience for lots of great student videos and examples of what it’s like to study our courses, along with campus and facility tours.

SRUC holds open days regularly. Visit our listings page for details of our up-coming events.

Entry requirements

Applicants are expected to have a minimum of Core Skills at SCQF level 4 and preferably 2 National 5’s.

Applicants are also expected to have an interest in agriculture and the land-based industries.

Practical agricultural experience will be considered favourably.

What you'll learn

The course is made up of a mixture of classroom-based activities and practical hands-on training on our modern and progressive SRUC farms. Our farms at Barony and Oatridge, and local farms near Aberdeen, will provide the main resource for practical skills training and offer you the chance to gain valuable practical experience.

Example modules include:

Livestock Production
Grassland Production
Tractor Operation

Meet the lecturer

Gemma Higgins

Lecturer

Gemma is one of the lecturers for Agriculture at the SRUC Barony Campus. Gemma has worked at the Barony Campus since December 2019 and teaches soils, crops and the environment as well as ICT. Gemma teaches NC, HNC and HND Agriculture students.

Before joining SRUC Gemma was a trials officer for Scottish Agronomy Ltd, a company who carry out trials on combinable crops as well as potatoes. This job involved field work (e.g. crop assessments and sampling, spraying), data entry and attending local RHET events to teach school children about crops.

Gemma has a degree in Agricultural Bioscience and is currently part way through a Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary and Higher Education.

John Flanagan

Lecturer

John is Programme Team Leader for Agriculture at the SRUC Barony Campus and combines the role with being an SAC Consultant based in Dumfries.

Originally from Tipperary in Ireland, John has been in or around farming all his life. Before joining SRUC, he was a self-employed farmer, worked for NFU Scotland as a regional policy manager and various other farming positions. His areas of expertise and teaching are livestock health and welfare, Livestock production, grassland and forage production and business management.

John holds a TQFE from Dundee University; a BSc Agriculture (Animal Science) from Aberdeen University; a National Certificate Agriculture from Waterford Institute of Technology; and a LANTRA award in instructional techniques.

Wallace Currie

Lecturer in Agriculture

After graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture in 2018 Wallace decided to further his knowledge in global food production with a MSc in Food Security at Glasgow University, which he completed in 2019. Wanting to gain experience in sales and management he took up a role as management trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

In his free time you will find him working alongside RHET, showing sheep at his local show and working on Rural2Kitchen, his Facebook page that aims to teach the public about food production, sourcing local and introduce you to the people in the sector through his R2Kast podcast.

He believes in integrating practical and theory together to form a ‘big picture’ before focussing in on the theory to really get down to the crux of the matter at hand.

Course Funding

Full-time students of NC Agriculture can apply for a Further Education Bursary.

Once you’ve accepted a place, we’ll email the bursary funding online application. Complete the application and return it along with any required documents. You should apply even if you're still waiting for exam results.

Tuition fees are waived for students who qualify for a bursary.

More information about funding your course

Find out more about your payment options for this course in our fees and funding section

Fees & funding

Other possible routes to funding

Care experienced bursary: Any care experienced students studying full time can apply for a bursary of around £202.50 per week. Find out more from our student funding teams at registryfunding@SRUC.ac.uk
Education Maintenance Allowance: Students between the ages of 16-19 who meet specific criteria may be entitled to an EMA. This means-tested allowance depends on the income of the home the student stays in.
Discretionary Fund
Childcare