Marketing it’s no longer the farm step child
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
UNIVERSITY PARK - Should I
put out tomatoes or beans in wood
or plastic containers or in bags at
my roadside stand?
-If more emphasis is put on the
promotion of one food product, like
milk, how will it affect purchases
of other food products?
-Just what is the real cost of
pseudorabies to the purebred
operator vs. the commercial
operator?
-Just how effective are checkoff
promotion programs?
-Is a soybean processing plant
or a vegetable packing co-op
practical in Central Pennsylvania?
-Just how much real thought
goes into food purchasing decisions
by consumers?
This list of questions - of vital
interest to every farmer in Penn
sylvania -- illustrates the
widespread involvement of
members of the Ag Economics and
Rural Sociology Department at
Penn State in that phase of the
overall farming operation that in
the past could best be described as
the often neglected stepchild of
farmers - marketing.
“The types of ag products that
we get involved with from time to
time can range from apples to
zucchini,” explains John W.
Malone Jr., head of the Ag
Economics and Rural Sociology
Department.
“We have marketing projects
that run from three to five-year
long-term research to short-term
applied research of a month to a
year.”
And, no matter if it’s the ravages
of pseudorabies or what motivates
you to pick up a certain food item
at the market, all of the marketing
studies at Penn State are aimed at
one central goal - supporting
farmers and others in agriculture
in their efforts in that final
ultimate step in the ag chain of
getting food products into the
hands of consumers.
Here are just a few of the current
research efforts underway at Penn
State to support and aid the
marketing of Commonwealth food
products: >
Direct Marketing
A survey of direct marketers has
been launched as part of a long
range study of how to improve this
phase of marketing that is so
popular among Pennsylvania
farmers.
“Basically, we’re trying to
determine the existing operating
characteristics at fanner and
roadside markets, as well as
consumer preferences at these
operations,” explains Harry
'Vroomen, project coordinator.
John W. Malone Jr.
Department Head
Ag Economics - Rural Sociology
“Then we’ll compare the two and
come up with recommended
practices to improve direct
marketing in Pennsylvania.”
The project, funded by the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture, will also feature work
with both County Extension Agents
and direct marketers in training
and educational workshops. Slide
wci
Ifi?
Harry Vroomen
Project Coordinator
Direct Marketing
programs and a Direct Marketing
Manual will be developed.
The research will also help the
state in making decisions on loan
applications for direct marketing
operations in Pennsylvania.
The Consumer
“Nutrition is not that big a deal
to a lot of people.”
With growing evidence that this
assumption is playing a larger and
larger role in the decision-making
process of consumers as they shop
for food, Robert Herrmann,
professor of ag economics, is
taking a closer look at the casual
food shopper.
“There is more and more
evidence that a lot of people are
pretty casual about making food
purchase decisions,” he explains.
“A lot of people don’t use
nutrition information in making
their decisions and are quite
casual about their food choices.
They have a lot of other things on
their minds - careers, recreation
or whatever.
“Past approaches to studying
consumer preferences about food
were too narrow and structured.
“We got to come at the con
sumers indirectly in this study to
try and determine the way they
make these casual decisions.
“And, we must pay a lot more
attention to the role of men in
consumer food preferences.”
/ * 1
Lou Moore, Extension economist
best known for his annual forecasts
often laced with humor, may be
getting into the first detailed study
of the exact economic con
sequences of the pseudorabies
outbreak in the Lancaster County
area.
“The economic consequences of
pseudorabies have never been
looked at,” he said.
“What is the cost to the purbred
operator as compared to the
commercial operator?
“We have the opportunity now to
put some real figures to these
things with the 50 or so people who
have been involved in the
pseudorabies outbreak.”
The economic study would be
part of the federally funded pilot
program to determine if the
disease can be eradicated.
“In the past only eradication has
been considered, but we must also
look at the economic con
sequences,” he said.
Efficiency
“Efficiency is still a byword in
Extension marketing programs,”
says Tom Brewer, marketing
specialist.
“Operators like tree fruit
growers must make long-term
decisions. They stick a tree in the
ground and it’s there for 30 years.
“We must help them perceive
the changes that are occuring in
their markets so that top efficiency
can be built into their decisions and
operations.
“Efficiency of marketing is a lot
different from just pushing more
product out into the marketplace
and trying to stuff it down
someone’s throat.”
Marketing research sometimes
tells producers and farmers what
they really don’t want to know -
that they can’t effectively compete
in a certain farming area.
Last fall, some people wanted to
consider a soybean processing
plant in the Blair County area.
Pseodorabies
Negative benefits
Marketing Specialist
“The basic facts in a soybean
processing plant are a $lO million
investment and a volume of 200
tons a day,” explains Lou Moore.
“Without that, you can’t even
think about such a business.
“Why the whole state couldn’t
even support such an operation.”
Or, a co-op vegetable packing
house for Central Pennsylvania.
“We found so much hesitancy on
the part of growers,” according to
Brewer, “that the projected
volume was not nearly large
enough to justify any significant
processing costs.
“We told them to try it on a
limited scale without any big
expenditures.”
But, it never even got off the
ground.
Such negative results of ag
marketing studies are really quite
positive in nature because they
point out the economic realities to
producers and growers before
large amounts of capital are
committed.
Professor
Ag Economics
Ag Progress specialists
welcome
ROCK SPRINGS - Do you
wonder why your houseplants
always die? Do you lose sleep
trying to figure out the best way to
keep your tomato plants from
being devoured by insects?
Perhaps your wheat has a strange
fungus and you don’t know what to
do about it?
Penn State faculty and staff may
have the answers. They will be on
hand for you during Ag Progress
Days Tuesday through Thursday
at the Rock Springs Agricultural
Research Center, nine miles
southwest of State College on
Route 45.
“Ask the Specialist” is the
popular Ag Progress Day’s feature
where Penn State faculty who
specialize in specific areas of
agriculture will be available to
answer your individual questions.
Specialists will be ready to give
you answers and help you solve
your problems in several areas
including horticulture, flowers,
fruits, vegetables, ornamental
plants, home grounds, insects,
turfgrass, small-scale agriculture,
soil management, agricultural
preservation, farm buildings and
Professor
Ag Economics Ext.
Action and reaction
“As we have built up more and
more surpluses of food products,
there has resulted more and more
competition among different kinds
of foods,” says Malone.
“Dairy vs. vegetables; pork vs.
beef, etc.
“Just how much of each can the
American population eat?”
Also, there are alternative ag
enterprises being considered.
“Each state or area is looking at
alternative ag enterprises as
possible options for their more
traditional farming operations,”
Malone said.
“The South is taking a hard look
at alternatives to tobacco and
cotton.
“Here, in Pennsylvania altert
natives to dairying must be con
sidered if there are permanent
drastic changes in support
programs.
“But the big question in con
sidering alternatives involves
possible markets.”
Also, a long, detailed look will
will be taken at all of these state
and federal promotion programs to
try &nd measure exact results of
all the monies that are being spent.
From Concord grapes to
mushrooms, from the electronic
marketing of peaches to roadside
stands, ag marketing - with Penn
State economists at the forefront of
Tesearch - is finally getting its just
due in the Commonwealth.
It’s no longer the neglected
stepchild; it’s a full-fledged
member of the Pa. farm family.
questions
energy, plant diseases and com
puters.
“Ask the Specialist” is one of the
most popular Ag Progress Days
features,” says Dr. Dennis
Scanlon, assistant professor of
agricultural education, who chairs
the “Ask the Specialist” com
mittee. “We will be providing
information that people may not be
able to find elsewhere at Ag
Progress Days.
Not only can you get your
questions answered, you can get
your plants examined. You can
bring a plant or plant sample to the
plant disease clinic, a part of the
specialist program. Experts will
try to identify the problem and
offer suggestions about what to do.
The growing popularity of home
computers makes many people
wonder if they should buy one.
Come and talk to the specialist
about your specific situation, and
find out whether a computer would
be worthwhile for you, your home
or your farm. Staff will be on hand
to discuss Penn State’s new
computer network that will link all
of the county Extension offices
electronically.