NORTHEAST TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE Marketing of Agriculture Products AGRI 1325 Course Syllabus Chad Henry-Instructor e-mail: chenry@ntcc.edu
Spring, 2015 Course Description: Study of the operations in the movement of agriculture commodities from producer to consumer, including the essential marketing functions of buying, selling, transporting, storing, financing, standardizing, pricing, and risk bearing. Textbook: Marketing of Agricultural Products, 9 th Edition, Richard Kohls and Joseph Uhl, Prentice Hall Publishers. Course Goals: This course is designed to move the agriculture student in al logical learning process through the production and marketing of agricultural products. The student will develop an understanding of the structure and workings of the food marketing system, examine how this system affects farmers, consumers, and middlemen, and how this dynamic market system has responded to technological, social, economic, and political forces over time General Course Requirements: Class attendance is required. If you have more than three unexcused absences, you should consult with me about your grade. Anyone who wishes to withdraw from class must take the responsibility to formally drop with the Registrar; otherwise a failing grade will be given. Class Hours Office Hours MW 9:30-10:50 MTWR 7:30-8:00, 11:00-12:00 MWR 2:30-4:00 Appointments with me may be scheduled at other times. Call for an appointment at (903) 434-8177, Office AGC 110. E-mail address: chenry@ntcc.edu ADA Statement It is the policy of Northeast Texas Community College to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals who are students with disabilities. This College will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student s responsibility to arrange an appointment with a College counselor to obtain a Request for Accommodations form. For more information, please refer to the Northeast Texas Community College Catalog or Student Handbook. 2
Grading: Grades will be computed as follows: (3) Exams: 70% Class Participation: 10% Project: 20% The grading scale below will be used to determine your final grade. Points grade 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D BELOW 59% F Exams: There will be 3 exams that count for 70% of your overall grade. Class Participation: Class participation is based on attendance, classroom discussion, and participation. 2 Group Projects: The first group project, Farmer to Consumer, is a detailed report on the marketing channels a raw farm product has to go through to get to a consumer. Each group will select a food and they will have to explain in detail how that food went from the farmer to the consumer. Your grade will be based on the details included, presentation, and effort. You will present your project to class on February 25 th, 2015. The second group project, Marketing Plan, is to develop a marketing plan for an agriculture product. You will have to develop a product name, target group, and a plan to get the product from the producer to the consumer. Your grade will be based on creativity, branding, marketing detail, presentation, and overall effort. You will present your project to class on April 15, 2015. Academic Dishonesty: Cheating is against the Northeast Texas Community College policy. Cheating includes any attempt to defraud, deceive, or mislead the professor in arriving at an honest grade assessment. Plagiarism is a form of cheating that involves presenting as one s own the ideas or work of another. Violation of the cheating policy may result in a lowered grade of F in the course. A grade assigned to a student because of an alleged cheating policy violation may be appealed by the student through the appeals process of the College. See the Student Handbook for details. I recommend that you become familiar with your handbook. 3
Course Objectives: The student should be able to: -define marketing and explain why we have a food marketing system -explain how the food marketing system adds value to farm products by creating time, form, place, and possession utility -distinguish between the functional, institutional, behavioral science, and marketing management approaches to understanding and analyzing the food marketing system -discuss the sovereign role of consumers in determining the success of all food marketing decisions -describe the characteristics of farming and agricultural products which make the marketing of food different from other products -identify the farm marketing alternatives and the key marketing decisions that farmers make -identify the major trends in food spending and consumption -explain how and why food processors add value to farm products -appreciate the marketing and management problems of food processing companies -explain what functions food wholesalers and retailers perform in today s food industry -better understand the importance of international trade to the American farmer and food industry -explain some producer marketing problems using supply and demand curves -distinguish between price determination and price discovery -explain why competition is so important in food and agricultural markets -explain how the business cycle, agricultural production cycles, and seasonal variations affect farm prices -describe the food marketing margin and explain how it affects farm and consumer food prices -explain the purposes of agricultural cooperatives -explain the purposes of food product promotion and how it affects the sales of farm products -define the types of market and bargaining power in the food industry -distinguish between the different types of food marketing information -understand how the futures market can assist firms in protecting against price risk -explain how and when farmers and marketing firms use hedges and options to protect themselves -describe the changing market patterns and distribution channels of the meat and livestock sector -discuss the major trends affecting milk production and marketing -explain how the poultry industry has been able to provide increased supplies at declining real prices for food consumers -understand how and why the grain marketing industries are changing and the drivers of these changes -appreciate how promotional strategies have led to cotton s comeback in the clothing markets 4
Course Outline: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Introduction to food marketing Analyzing agricultural and food markets Agricultural production and marketing Food consumption and marketing Food processing and manufacturing Food wholesaling and retailing and the international food market Price analysis and the exchange function and competition in food markets Farm and food prices and food marketing costs Cooperatives in the food industry Market development and demand expansion Market and bargaining power Market information Risk management and the futures market Livestock and meat marketing Milk, dairy, poultry, and egg marketing Grain, cotton, and textile marketing 5