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SO 027 924

Welch, Mary A., Ed.Strategic Marketing for Agribusiness.Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. School of Agriculture.

1993-00-0025p.; For other booklets in this series see SO 027918-929.School of Agriculture, Office of Academic Programs, PurdueUniversity, 1140 Agricultural Administration Building, WestLafayette, IN 47907-1140.Collected Works Serials (022) -- Guides - Non-Classroom(055)

Economic Issues for Food, Agriculture, and NaturalResources; n7 Win 1993MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.*Agribusiness; *Agriculture; Business; *EconomicDevelopment; *Economics; Food; *Marketing; NaturalResources; Secondary Education; Social Studies; StrategicPlanning; Technology

The steps for strategic market planning are discussedincluding: (1) assessing the situation with market conditions, customers,competitors, and your firm; and (2) crafting a strategy to prioritize targetmarkets, develop a core strategy, and create a marketing mix. Examples ofagribusiness successes are presented. The booklet concludes with a student

quiz. (EH)

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,

Strategic Marketingfor Agribusiness

ABOUT THE COVER

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Students studying in one of several programs in Purdue's Department ofAgricultural Economics work as a team to analyze a demand curve in prepara-tion for an in-class presentation.

ECONOMIC ISSUES for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources is publishedby the Office of Academic Programs, Mary A. Welch, Editor.Wititer-.1993.N6.7

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INTRODUCTION

Originally the term "market" stood forthe physical place where buyers andsellers gathered to exchange goods. Thisgathering place was usually located in the.village square. Today, economists use theterm market to refer to a collection of.buyers and sellers who are interested intrading a particular, product. For example,a commodity market is a specialized kindof market where futures contracts(promise to buy or sell a commodity at aspecified date in the future) for grain,livestock, precious metals, and lumber arebought and sold. A discussion of com-modity markets appears in ECONOMICISSUES for Food, Agriculture and NaturalResources Fall-Winter 1989-90.

Business managers, however, define amarket differently. For business managers,the sellers of the product constitute theindustry and the buyers of the productconstitute the market..

Firms that find ways to deliver value totheir customers survive and prosper; thosewho don't deliver customer value struggleand disappear. Value to a customer isdefined as the tangible and intangiblefeatures of a product or service. Anexample of something tangible thatdelivers customer value might be a pair ofblack, high-top Nike Air Jordan tennisshoes. The intangible feature would beNike's guarantee or the image you projectby wearing Air Jordans.

Illustrations of the importance of .

delivering customer value abound. In thehighly. acclaimed bestselling book, In

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Search of Excellence, :co-authoii Tom-Peters and Bob Waterman interviewedmanagersfrom 43 high-performing:companies suchas,Hewlett;Packard,-,. .Frito-Lay .( PepsiCo), Proeier..& Gamble,

'Marriott:'.-Among the:basickuSiness.,principles that made all of these firmssuccessful .w a deep respect for customer

- needs; in other-words "staying close to thecustomer."

Professor Philip Kotler, authotofMarketing Management, 'Analysis ,PIOn-.riing,. Implementation; and Control,', notesthat some of the most successful-compa-flies ofthe late 1970s struggle. in today'sworld because they failed to understandthe changing market and the need toprovide value to their customers. Kotlersays, "Too many U.S. corporate leaders inthe 1970s and 1980s focused their .

attention on the stock market and not onthe real market. They relied on selling,not marketing. They pursued profits firstand customer satisfaction second."

What does Professor Kotler mean.bythe statement, "they relied on selling, notmarketing" ? In the 1970s and early 1980smany companies operated on the sellingphilosophy. The selling philosophy saysthat you build a good product and thenconvince (sell) the customer that theyneed the product. By the mid to late1980s, most successful companies hadmoved away from this approach of doingbusiness and adopted a marketingphilosophy. Under the marketing philoso-phy, companies work to determine whatthe customer needs and then design,.produce, and distribute a product whichmeets these needs. This customer-focusedbilsiness,approach is,howmost successfulfirms are operating in the 1990s.

Marketing is the process by which firmsimplement the marketing philosophy.

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From a businessmanages'viewpoint,.marketing is satisfying customer needs andwants while still"making.a piofit. Thissimple definition of marketing capturesthe essence of the idea, but ProfessorKotler provides a definition of marketing-thatis more complete:- marketing is a socialand managerial process by which individuals'and groups obtain what they need and wantthroUgh creating, offering, and exchangingproducts of value with others..

A growing number of U.S. companiesare recognizing the importance of turningfrom a selling philosophy, to a marketingphilosophy. Two hundred and fifty seniormanagers from major American corpora-tions recently identified their number-oneplanning challenge to be: developing,improving, and implementing competi-tive marketing strategies. The need forgood marketing is even more critical withinternational customers. The UnitedStates no longer can survive by sellingjust to itself. Successful marketers must beable to understand customer wants anddeliver the real value to their targetmarkets, whether those markets arelocated in Attica, Indiana or in Nairobi,Kenya. Marketing skills distinguishbetween success and failure in the globalmarkets that everyone aspires to conquer.

Marketing philosophy is becomingespecially important to food andagribusiness firms. The needs and wants ofconsumers with respect to food arechanging very rapidly. People want safefood. They want convenient food. Theywant to choose from a variety of foods.They want food low in fat. And, the listgoes on and on. When the needs ofconsumers change so fast, a strongmarketing effort is needed for a successfulfood firm to-continue delivering what thecustomer wants.

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The same thing is happening to firmssupplying farmers with inputs such asfeed, seed, fertilizer, and pesticides. Notso long ago, farmer was a farmer. Now,there are many different types: of farmers,each.with unique needs. Some farms arelarge commercial operations; others aresmall part-time or hobby operations. Ittakes a smart marketer to make certainthat the agricultutal input firm continuesto meet all of the different needs oftoday's farmer.

The key for a manager in a modemfood or agribusiness firm is knowing howto put the marketing philosophy intopractice. How does a manager find outwhat customers need and want? Howdoes the firm create value for theircustomers through products and services?How do they offer or communicate thatvalue to their customers?

To answer these questions, manysuccessful firms developed a process calledstrategic market planning. In this process,firms study their market and theircompetition. They rake a long look attheir own strengths and limitations andset goals for their marketing effort. Basedon this knowledge of their market,managers develop a marketing strategythat provides and communicates value totheir customers. Let's take a closer look atthis process.

STRATEGIC MARKETPLANNING

The steps involved in the strategicmarket planning process are shown inFigure A. First, we will look at each stepin the process by using a food product toillustrate how strategic market planningworks. Then, we will take an actualagribusiness firm case study to provide a

Ar&r,PrAT intr.

more in-depth lookat strafegic marketingfor agribusiness .

STEP I. ASSESSITUATION

Figure A.

ASSESS SITUATION

IDENTIFY

SWOT

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, THREATS

SET GOALS

CRAFT STRATEGY

DEVELOP

CORE STRATEGY

POSITION IMAGE

MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT, PRICE, PEOPLE, PROMOTION

Market Candicians.aie.ei;entS thatoccur outside the firm's direct control.These may include government policy,

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interest rates, unemployment,,weather,etc. Here; we want to define the mainopportunities and threats that_must beconsidered by the marketer.

FOod.Finn Example: More and moreregulation's relating to food Safety, .

labeling, and waste disposal. are beingimplemented each year. As.an example,regulations relating to Waste.diSposal havean impact on food packaging design.

Customers are the buyers and potentialbuyers for a product or service,Goodmarketers.must.understand their custom-ers and be. alert to any changes takingplace in the customers' buying behavior.

Food Firm Example: Food firm custom-ers-are a diverse group. They may beworking mothers and fathers, childrenhome from school with soccer practice at5:30 p.m.,a single man or woman playingtennis three times a week coming hometo dinner at 8:00 p.m., senior citizensbusy with volunteer-jobs and day trips,etc. The highly varied needs and wants ofthese groups must be closely monitoredby marketers.

Competitors are other firms selling tothe same customers. A marketer needs toknow who these companies are, whatthey do well, and what they don't dowell.

Food Firm Example: In most foodmarkets, there is no shortage of competi-tion. Your new food product will likely becopied and improved on by the competi-tion if it is a good idea. The challenge fora good marketer is to stay a step ahead ofthe competition by knowing and servingthe market better.

Your Firm. What does your firm dowell? What advantage do you have overthe competition? Where is your companyor your product vulnerable? A strategicmarketing plan-must answer these .

nuestions.

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Food Firm, Example:- Perhaps you are awell-established and trusted food proces-sor who has done well ih the industry.But-, you have.not inirOduced a really -

successful new food product in eight years.Your challenge:as a marketer iS to find outwhy-and.cOrrect the problem.

STEP.11. CRAFT STRATEGY

Prioritize Target Markets. Whatparticular group of customers will youfocus on, i.e., who is your target market?.Marketing strategies are.much more .

successful.When they are focused on thespecific needs of a target group:

'Food Firm Example: A substantialnumber of potential consumers whoprofess a.need for your product may exist.Your target market for a new thirst-quenching drink might be high schoolstudents who are active in sports. Notethat interest in your product is notenough. The target market must beaffluent enough to afford the new foodproduct.

Develop Core Strategy (Your Positionor Image). The core strategy or position iswhat you want your customers to thinkabout your product. Some products arepositioned as gourmet, some as conve-nient, some as dependable, and some asstate-of-the art. Developing a solidposition or image is crucial to marketingsuccess.

Food Firm Example: An example of aposition is the "milk kick" commercialsdeveloped by the Dairy Council. Theposition they want to achieve is shown intheir advertisements in which theyconvey, `-`you will be energetic, havebeautiful skin, and be a fun-loving andvery healthy person ifyoirdrinlc milk."

Marketing Mix (Product, Price,Promotion, Place). Here, marketers must

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work with product designers.and engi-neers to develop a product the customerwants, price the product, promote theproduct, and then get the product to theircustomer. These functions must supportthe positi6n or iinage that the marketerseeks: For example, a luxury productshould be well-made, and carry a highprice. Developing the marketing mix isprobably the most.creative part of themarket planning process. Decisions onthe marketing mix include advertisingstrategies, discount programs, specialservices, package design, and themethodof distribution.

Food Firm Example: Following up onthe Sport-Drink example, a. firm mightchoose to have five flavors of the drink(product) selling for a little less thanexisting drinks such as Gatorade (price).It may be advertised at high schoolsporting events and on MTV (promo-tion) and distributed through vendingmachines at school and conveniencestores (place).

AN AGRIBUSINESSEXAMPLE

The following description of BrookstonSupply and Elevator, Inc. is a manage-ment case study written by Dr. Jay T.Akridge, Associate Director of theCenter for Agricultural Business (CAB)and an ASsociate Professor in theDepartment of Agricultural Economics.The Center helps food and agribusinessmanagers learn how to develop successfulmarketing strategies by conducting short-courses in marketing. Lectures and casestudies such as the Brookston Supply andElevator case are used to teach managersthe concepts of strategic marketing.

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BROOKSTON SUPPLY :AND.ELEVAT6R, INC.

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Brciok:ston Supply and Elevator(BS&E) is a family-owned feed, fertilizer,and:grain company lOtated in ACkley;loWa.;:The.firm is owned andinanagedbYLance and PaiiI.Taylor, the sons of theoriginal owner,- Joe Taylor.

BS&E distributes the animal feed,Rapid.Gain: The firm'currently employs.five fall -time personnel; in addition tothe owners. In .1990,15 percent of theireotall4:0 tnillitin..infsales was feed; 60percent was grain, and 25 percent wasfertilizei:13S(StE sold about 2000 tons offeedin,:1990. The firm has been profit;able,. but not exceptionallyso. In 1989,they rePorted a loss of ($50,000) on salesof $4.0 million; but in 1990, the netincome after taxes was $25,000 on about

.the same level of sales;

The Market

Consolidation has been the key wordin the central Iowa market, and a smallernumber of larger farm customers has beenthe result.'BS&E had more than 180 feedaccounts in 1974. In 1990, BS&E wasserving fewer than 50 farmers, becausefarm size had increased, but selling twiceas much feed as a result of some goodmanagement decisions and some com-petitors going out of business.

The average customer farms about 500acres, typically one-half in corn and one-half in soybeans. Hogs are the onlylivestock in BS&E's market area; hog feedmakes up 90 percent of BS&E's feedtonnage.

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Competition

There are a number of other firmshandling feed in BS&E's market area.Their toughest competition comes from aLake Fee& dealer, Princeton Elevator,Inc. Lake Feeds entered the market five'years ago and has pursued expansionaggressively. They market a high-qualityproduct and sell aggressively on the farm.

Lake Feeds has maintained higherprices, thereby taking some of the pricepressure off 13S&E.. Lance believes thatLake Feeds' growth has primarily resultedfrom taking business away from compa-nies selling cheap, low-quality feed. Infact, BS&E's tonnage has increased overthe past five years, despite the presence ofLake Feeds. Lance believes that LakeFeeds' aggressive quality push has helpedBS&E increase sales.

The Firm

Lance (48) is the older of the brothersand handles the inside jobs such aswaiting on customers, writing orders,ordering supplies and inventory, monitor-ing the books, and so on. Paul (46)handles the firm's operations by oversee-ing the fertilizer plant, feed mill, andgrain elevator.

Paul also handles BS&E's outsideselling effort. He has a cellular phone inhis pick-up that has greatly improvedcommunications. The firm takes a verylow - pressure approach to selling on thefarm. Paul's customer visits are viewed asproblem solving and public relations, notnecessarily sales calls. Paul makes fewcalls to farmers who are not currentcustomers of BS&E. Lance and Paulconsidered hiring an outside salesperson,but they believe they just can't make itpay at this point.

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Of the other five employees.i_one drivesthe feed truck; one runs the feed mill, one .

.'is.a.hookkeeper, and the other two are ':general,wareho'use emPloyees.exception'ofOneiall emp16Teehave..heen

".with the fiimat.least ten,yearS.:, Lance.andPa.ulhire8easonal labOrto-help themthrough the spring. and fall peak sellingseasons... . .

The 6r owns.two bulk feed deliverytricks. Their feed mill.WascOnkruttedin1973'and. is in'excellent.conditiOn. Paul

about.75, percent'olcaPacity.. BS&.E.does not. seltmuch

: .pelletedcOmpletefeed, choosing insteadpush,concentrate feeds- tokeep

feed mill in use and reduce hauling Costsin the process. The firm is located about.60 miles from the-nearest Rapid Gain feedplant.

The brothers are considering theconstruction of overhead feed holdingbins to. reduce truck waiting time. Theywould also like to sell more bulk bins totheir customers to reduce unloading time."We must take steps to' increase efficiencyover the longer run," said Lance. Thebrothers are considering remodeling theoffice/showroom and acquiring a com-puter system to handle accounting tasksand keep customer records.

Marketing

Quality and service are key componentsof BS&E's business philosophy. Theyfocus their sales effort on Rapid Gain'spremium products and feel they get agood gross margin on what they sell,about.19 percent. The brothers, are veryconservative about growth, about fivepercent a year is all they want. "Wecannorlet our Current level ofscustornersuppOrt slip," said Lance. "And; we are

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willing to let some opportunities go by tomake sure that we can keep our currentcustomers happy," he added.

Customer service is delivered severalways, according to Lance. Quality. feedproducts are the cornerstone and thebrothers have been very pleased with theRapid Gain line over time. Nutritionalsupport is another component of cus-tomer service. This is done by drawing onLance's excellent knowledge of swinenutrition and by making heavy use of atalented local veterinarian who doesn'tsell feed or animal health products. Inaddition, they draw on Rapid Gain'snutritional experts whenever necessary.

BS&E has worked hard to maintainmargins, attempting to increase grossmargins on feed over time. For the mostpart, they have been successful atincreasing per-ton margins on feed.BS&E is not the cheapest feed companyin the market, nor do they intend to be."We will make money on what we sell,"said Lance. They offer a two percentdiscount for cash. In addition, they havea volume discount program that Lanceadmits is a hit informal.

BS&E rarely advertises, and they holdfarmer meetings only occasionally."Unless there is a new product to push,I'm just not a great believer in meetings,"said Lance.

Summary

Lance and Paul have built a goodbusiness. However, their market ischanging rapidly, and the competition isgetting tougher. The brothers wonder justwhat position they should take in themarket? What will they need to do tosupport this position? How will theycommunicate the value their products

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and sei-viCes:piovide to their customers?Clearly, Lance and Paul.haVe-many toughdecisions to.make.. '

4hiliclates.io,attencr one-Of the..Ceneer.fOr-Agric'ultural- Business :(CAB) seminarsat PuidueVniversity. At the.seminar,they, would meet Managers-of other farminputSupply. finns Ideated around thecountry. Lance 'and -Patil- would have theof?pOrtunity.to,tallt with :these 'managers

'Iabnut problems Which.aie'COMmOn totheir operatiOni and to share,maybe uiefuli Paul and' Lance's goal. forattending.-,a-CAB 'seminar is to go back totheir:business with ideas to- improve theirmarketing plani,

Let's look atan analysis that Lance andPaul might have conducted at a CABseminar with Dr. Akridge and hisassociates from the Department ofAgricultural Economics.

We will go back to the framework forstrategic: marketing that we discussedearlier for a food company. Let's assumethat Lance and Paul decide to pursue aservice-oriented marketing effort. How'might they go about building a strategicmarketing plan?

STEP I. ASSESS SITUATION

Market Conditions. In order toevaluate the market conditions for thiscase, we need to know more aboutgovernment regulations affecting hogfarmers in Iowa, what hog and corn pricesare doing and what the weather has beenover the past few years.

CustOmers,BS&E is now servicing asmaller number of very. large hog farmsoperated by firmers.whocleinand a 'quality produci. and current information.

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Their marketing plan must focus on thisnew type of customer.

Competitors. The Lake Feeds dealer isBS&E's strongest competitor. Lake Feedsis also trying to sell a premium, high-service product. This means that BS&Ewill have to give even better service ifthey want to capture some of the marketnow sold by Lake Feeds. On the otherhand,' BS &E may want to go aftercustomers currently buying from one ofthe low-quality feed dealers and show.these farmers how they could realize moreefficient hog production. They wouldearn higher returns by feeding a high-quality product.

Your Firm: BS&E is a well-establishedfarm supply dealer with loyal customerswho are happy with Paul's public rela-tions, trouble-shooting type sales callsi.e., no pressure (or low) sales technique.They have the capacity to expand theirsales and use their extra facilities andexperienced employees.

STEP II. CRAFT STRATEGY

Prioritize Target Markets. BS&E mustapproach those customers who need andare willing to pay for a high-servicepackage. They must locate farmers whoplace a value on service.

Develop Core Strategy. Their coreposition is one of a high-service dealerwho sells quality products. BS&E wantsto convince farmers that an investmentin quality feed will earn greater profitswhen compared to buying a cheaperproduct.

Marketing Mix (Product, Price,People, Promotion). BS&E might

develop several options.institute a high-pefforMancefeediecOrdprograM by keeping:reordsforfarmergand showing them:how:theirperformed (prOdUct). They,MightConducta number:Of On4fairn feedtriaIis:ro.,demonstrate. that their feed prograni.IS,superior-to that of their(promorion):They could Offei a volumediscount toyery.large producers '(price)and ship feed direCtly to. thelarin (place)..Lance,and Paul neeel'a marketing Mix_that supports the iiigh-service positionthey want to build-in the Market:

ECONOMIC.PERSPECTIVE,

Frorri an economic standpoint, what is afirm trying to accomplish with a strategicmarketing plan? Through effectivemarketing, the firm is trying to changethe demand for their product:In econom-ics, a demand curve simply shows howmuch of a product customers are willingto buy at any given price. In the case ofBS&E, the product is hog feed. A demandcurve for feed is shown in Figure B. Notethat as BS&E's price goes up, farmers willbuy less feed. At some price, individualcustomers will find another source of feedat a lower price.

Price

Figure B.

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Let's continue with this example.BS&E has decided to implement themarketing plan to provide top-qualityservice. In addition, they are spendingmoney on promotion so that the marketknows about their new products andservices. With this new plan, they hopetwo things will happen. First, that therewill be a shift in demand. BS&E hopestheir customers will now buy-more oftheir feed at any given price. This shift indemand is shown in Figure C.

Price

Figure C.

D,

Quantity

BS&E hopes their marketing programwill have a second effect. The managersat BS&E want to change the elasticity ofdemand. The elasticity of demand simplyrefers to the change in the quantitycustomers will buy for a given change inprice. If BS&E raises the price of theirfeed and customers buy a lot less, we saydemand is elastic (DI in Figure D). IfBS&E raises price and customers buy onlya little less, we say demand is inelastic(D2 in Figure D). Through effectivemarketing efforts, BS&E hopes to makeits product different from the competitionand therefore demand for its productmore inelastic. This change is moving

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Figure D.

Quantity

from D1 to D2 in Figure D.In the case of BS&E, Lance and Paul

hope that adding the new services willmake demand for their hog feed less pricesensitive (more inelastic) and thereforemore profitable for them.

SUMMARY

Effective marketing strategies havebecome important factors to the successof companies. Food and agricultural inputcompanies have received advice forbuilding better marketing plans throughcontinuing education programs at PurdueUniversity. By understanding themarketing planning process and theeconomics of customer buying decisions,managers of food and agriculturalbusinesses can make better decisions tohelp their businesses become moreprofitable.

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Jay T. Akridge

As Associate Director of the Center forAgricultural Business (CAB) Jay workswith the center's educational programs,conducting research on imptoving theperformance of both agribusiness firmsand marketing systems. He also teachescourses for undergraduate and graduatestudents in strategic management foragribusiness firms.

Di. Akridge has worked extensively onissues related to the financial manage-ment 'of retail fertilizer plants whileexamining compensation practices inagribusiness firms. He is also involvedwith the measurement of efficiency ingrain and farm supply businesses, as wellas developing a new system for marketingpork on a carcass value basis.

The Akridge family owns and operatesa farm supply store, and Jay continues tomaintain a.active role in the manage-ment of this firm.

Professor Akridge is available to cometo your high school through Professors inthe Classroom to work with students ingroups to develop a basic strageticmarketing plan for a case study.

UIZ:According,to the; research of Peters and WaterMamin.,their..

book,In SearchofExcellence aprimary.operating principlethey 'diScOvsred:wheir.iniefi'rieving managers of high .performing

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ThA. Atreatii7,e.:targetedaavertiiing.caMpaign.:is the most important:concept of a successful company..

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B. Listening to. and reacting to theneeds of customers is a primary-

staff iC. Training sales staff srhost important in marketing success.D. Excellence.ismeasured-primarilyby quality of theproduct.

2. Black:dress shOes are required (Or manyemployeeS.who need towalk or stand at their jobs. As a result of their market research, oneof the sneakei,shoe.C6inpanies designs a shOe which.hasa dress shoe-

.. look with.a sneaker insideconstruCtion, The compani advertises andsells toqualitY.fetailstores..ThiS company hai developed 'a

A.:"selling"'-Philosophy strategy-B. "marketing", philosophy strategyC. "value-added" strategy.

. D. "quality service" strategy .

3. Which of the following is, an example of intangible feature for avitamin supplement added to hog feed,?

A. Proven studies show that this product enhances weight gain forpigs on this diet.

B. Farmers.feeding this supplement consistently receive higherprice for quality meat of pigs on this.diet..

C. Farmers feeding this supplement feel good that they are provid-ing their pigs the highest quality feeding program moneycan buy.

D. Pigs on this diet have fewer health problems than pigs on dietsof a low quality supplement (those with mostly fillers).

E. All of the above are true.

4: Why does the food industry face such a challenge in today's

world?A. The needs and wants of consumers are changing at a rapid pace.B. People are living life styles that call for convenient and healthy

food products.C. Other countries have different tastes; and the U.S. must learn

to marketD. All'Of theabOlie-are line;

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5.. Which of the following, questions, are impottant considerationsWhen a firm: evelops aitrategic marketing plan?:"

A.. determining cUstOrnets'needsand wants s'B. creating through products and!servicesC...cornintiniciting,value.and:seivice.:tO Customers;

::4.A4dthe:abOsie.aie:inipoitantr- Consideraticini.-Only. Ei and Care.'e6tisicleiatiOn:s.

6;.--Nhen Maytag-developed the "lonely repairman" they crafted anexample of which of the folloWing marketing. strategy components?

A. marketing mix .

B: core strategy or position/itnage''C. targeting the market .. .D. identifying 'market conditiOns-

-7: By offering'toiYqUality service to theif tuitoiners,.Paul AndLance of BS&E hOpe to:

A2caUseihe price-of their products to be.more,elasticB. cause the demand of their products to be more inelasticC. cause theprice of their products to be-more:inelastic.D..cause the demand of their products to be more elastic

8. In the BS&E case, if Paul and Lance made no changes in theirmarketing strategy, what should they expect to happen if they raisethe price of their produCts-over a period of time?

A. Some customers will likely change feed dealers.B. There will likely be no change in their business.C. The demand for their products will become more elastic.D. The demand of their products will be more. inelastic.

9. Why might Paul. and Lance be good candidates for the Centerfor Agricultural Business (CAB) program?

A. They need to increase the visibility of 'their 'products.B. They need to develop a strategic marketing plan.C. to gain perspective from other managers facing same or similar

decisionsD. All of the above are reasons. for Lance and Paul to attend a

CAB seminar.

Answers: 1-B, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D, 5-D, 6-B, 7-B, 8-A, 9-D

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Reminders from the Office of Academic Programs

Multiple reprints 'of ECONOMIC ISSUES for Food, Agriculture &NatUral Resources are available from Mary A. WelCh..

Strategic MarUtingloiAgribusiness; Winter 1995; No":

Economic Development for Communities, Winter, 1992, No. .6

Agricultiira/ Chemical and Fertilizer Storage Rules Cost and Benefits.of Insuring Cleaner Water for Indiana, Fall 1991, No. 5

Economic. Effects of Technological Advances in

NO. 4"

culture, Fall 1990,

International Trade in a Global Environment, Spring 1990,

Commodities Trading an essential economic tool, Fall/Winter1989-90, No 2

Value-Added in the Food Industry, Spring 1989, No. 1

.

Reprints of Research the Future in Agriculture are available fromMarlaya Wyncotr.

Professors in the Classroom

Professors from the School of Agriculture will come to your highschoolclasses,free.of charge to discuss current issues. topics in..economics/business.and science.

The Office of Academic Programs is happy to arrange personalvisits for students interested in the School of Agriculture. Call toschedule a visit.

Office pf Academic Programs1140 Agricultural Administration BuildingPurdue University.West Lafayette, IN 47907-1140Phone: (317) 494-8470

24BEST COPY AVAILABLE 23

(.)fliec of Academie Pr grant.1140 A;.,,rictiltural Admini.tation liuil.lin lootti 121Purdue University\'est Lafayette, IN 47007-1140Phone: (317) 494-8470

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