By Yeats AG Science Teacher Rory McShane
The 2023 LC Agricultural Science paper was a much welcome reprieve from the earlier exams of this refreshed curriculum. It covered a broad scope of the course and provided an equally broad number of opportunities for students to answer what they know.
Arguably the questions still highlight the lack of boundaries surrounding the depth to which topics in the subject should be covered, e.g. rice bran in pig ration.
It is of note that this paper has made up for the lack of ‘soil’ on previous papers, now appearing in at least 4 of the questions in a major way. The students need to plant and animal identifications has also been given weight as it also appeared in 4 questions.
Some students might be understandably disappointed by the lack of crop questions, those on livestock other than dairy, and especially the absence of any real genetic questions considering the time commitment it demands. However, most students will be happy overall with the variety and choice presented. Hopefully this is more of what to expect in the future.
