The Corn
and
Soybean
Digest
Another
450-plus
are
Master Marketer grads
from Minnesota.
The tremendous value of
the program is illustrated
by how it has helped the
bottom line of its producer
students.
March 1, 2006
You Can Be
Master Marketer
A
By Larry Stalcup
A $4 million investment
with a $130 million return those
beefy
figures
describe
the
highly
successful
Cooperative
Extension
economics
program known as Master
Marketer.
Celebrating
its
10th
anniversary in 2006, this
risk
management
education program started
at Texas A&M University
before expanding to the
University of Minnesota.
Master
Marketer
workshops have also been
held in South Dakota, and
the
Montana
Grain
Growers Association has
conducted
several
full
programs.
Master Marketer involves
64
hours
of
intense
marketing
training
for
growers who have some
knowledge of using futures
and options. More than 700
people have been through
Master Marketer in Texas.
In Texas, the average
increase in revenue of
these growers was more
than $32,000/year. Strong
increases in profit have
also
been
seen
in
Minnesota
and
other
states.
"Students learn how to
develop marketing plans,
evaluate
marketing
alternatives,
manage
production and price risk
and
execute
a
risk
management
and
marketing
plan,"
says
Steve Amosson, Texas
A&M Extension economist,
who started the program in
1996.
Edward Usset, Minnesota
Extension economist, adds
that Master Marketer is
different
from
other
marketing
education
opportunities.
"For too many producers,
marketing education is a
one-hour presentation on
the outlook for grain prices,
or a two-hour introduction
to the latest options
strategy," says Usset, who
worked with Amosson to
initiate
the
Minnesota
program in 1999. "A Master
Marketer
program
distinguishes itself with a
higher level of intensity, a
broader scope of topics
and a deeper level of
experienced speakers who
travel far to be part of the
program."
Of those participating, 9095%
of
the
Master
Marketers are growers,
including many spouses.
Pg. 20d ISSN:
0038-6014
Others
in the
classes
include
ag
lenders,
Extension personnel and
those with an interest in
commodity marketing.
Instructors are not limited
to A&M or University of
Minnesota
economists.
Other university grain,
cotton
and
livestock
marketing economists add
their expertise. So do
representatives
of
the
Chicago Board of Trade,
Chicago
Mercantile
Exchange, Kansas City
Board of Trade and other
private
commodity
companies.
"Two examples of the great
expertise we attract from
outside Minnesota are
Robert Wisner and Elwynn
Taylor of Iowa State
University. Their depth of
knowledge is unsurpassed
in the areas of grain
marketing and climatology.
It's great for our Minnesota
producers to share in their
insights,"
says
Usset,
noting that his program has
even crossed into South
Dakota Master Marketer
ventures.
Amosson says growers
"like being exposed to
quality
instructors,
the
subject matter that is
taught on a very applied
level and the interaction
with other producers."
Amosson started 2006
Master Marketer classes in
January.
Participants
applied
for
enrollment
through their local and
regional Extension office.
Each class has about 50
students.
Some
are
straight corn, wheat, grain
sorghum producers. Others
have corn, soybean, wheat
and cotton rotations, or run
stocker cattle on their
farms.
Usset started the eighth
year of Minnesota Master
Marketer
in
January.
"Producers
have
to
remember that the Master
Marketer
program
is
different
from
other
marketing
education
opportunities," he says.
"We cover basic and
advanced
marketing
strategies using futures
and options, fundamental
and
technical
price
analysis and the role of
crop
insurance
in
marketing. We also look at
climate trends and impacts,
key elements of a solid
marketing
plan
and
marketing clubs."
The
establishment
or
revitalization of marketing
clubs is a key segment of
the
overall
program
concept. In Texas, Master
Marketer
grads
have
started or revitalized more
than 100 marketing clubs
across the state. Dozens
more have been formed in
Minnesota.
dedicated
to
helping
producers become better
at pricing their grain."
"Efforts by our graduates to
develop marketing clubs
have been and will be
critical
in
increasing
marketing
and
management skills of a
much larger number of
producers," says Amosson.
Unfortunately,
producers
haven't done as good a job
in marketing their crops,
Amosson adds. "It may be
because
the
income
security of past farm
programs has not required
them
to
hone
their
marketing skills, or the fact
that marketing is usually
not
a
black-or-white
decision
but
various
shades of gray.
Richard Owen of the
Montana Grain Growers
Association
says
the
program, coordinated with
assistance from Texas
A&M, did a good job in
making better marketers
out of its participants.
Duane Griffith, Montana
State University Extension
economist, says Master
Marketer workshops have
helped promote marketing
clubs in his state. "The
program helps marketing
clubs stay active," he says.
"The clubs keep producers
involved in the marketing
process year-round."
Usset and Amosson see a
strong need for more
advanced
marketing
training for growers, who
usually do a better job of
producing their crops than
they do selling them.
"The
producers
who
remain in business today
have a good handle on
production, and the best of
them understand that the
next decade will challenge
those who can't master the
art of grain marketing,"
says Usset. "The Master
Marketer
program
is
"I believe most producers
could increase their gross
5-10% by improving their
marketing
and
risk
management skills, with
virtually all of that increase
going to net income," he
says.
Amosson
and
his
associates
have
consistently
conducted
two-year
post-graduate
surveys of producers. "The
results have been far more
than we expected and very
consistent over all the
classes
surveyed,"
he
says.
"Our graduates average
$32,370/year more in sales
based on what they
learned and implemented
from the training. That's a
3.6% increase in sales.
When you consider that
includes
some
that
reported
no
impact
because they still didn't feel
comfortable marketing, I
consider
that
impact
remarkable. Many times
$32,000 can make the
difference between having
a profit or loss."
Amosson stresses that
since growers can apply
the
Master
Marketer
training year after year,
long-time returns can be
even larger. "I have
producers from the first
class, which was 10 years
ago, tell me that they are
still using what they
learned," he says. "If you
consider that say, 75% of
the producers are in
business more than 10
years, the total increase in
the income of all graduates
would be more than $130
million."
Usset says the University
of Minnesota surveys of
producers
who
have
completed
the
Master
Marketer programs indicate
the bottom line impact has
been up to $12,000 per
year for their operation.
He says the concept
behind Master Marketer is
solid and transferable to
any state that wants to
establish similar programs.
"It takes a great deal of
effort and cooperation to
pull together a Master
Marketer program," he
says, "but the response
from past participants is so
overwhelmingly
positive
that we continue to make it
happen."
Even with its success rate,
Master Marketer hasn't
spread nationwide, due
mainly to tight budgets and
the shortage of personnel
at some locations. The
Texas
program
has
received
extensive
financial assistance from
state commodity groups,
which helps sustain the
progress of the program.
"In defense of other states,
most Extension services
are stretched so thin they
don't have the critical mass
of personnel to pull off this
type of program without an
influx of external funding,"
says Amosson. "We are
grateful in Texas for the
support we have received
from
our
commodity
groups."
For more information on
the Texas A&M Master
Marketer program, go to
http://mastermarketer.tamu
.edu/. A University of
Minnesota Master Marketer
brochure is available at
http://www.cffm.umn.edu/w
orkshops/mmmp.aspx.