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Market Journal Toolbox

Rebecca Small

Summary

After realizing the need for a program that would educate agricultural producers on marketing and risk management, Market Journal Toolbox was designed by a team of educators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Market Journal Toolbox is a distance education program delivered through 16 classes in a five DVD set. This program is essentially a self-directed marketing course that complements Market Journal, a weekly television program featuring marketing and risk management strategies from UNL researchers and extension specialists.

This program teaches detailed hedging and risk management techniques using cash contracts, the futures and options market, insurance products for crops and livestock, as well as government farm program benefits. Market Journal Toolbox is unique in that it not only covers various marketing tools, it steps producers through the process of developing a marketing plan tailored to their operation.

The quality of the program’s content was initially tested through a beta testing stage. Forty two evaluators studied each section. Results indicated that in most sections there was 35-50% increase in understanding after participates completed the section.

Currently, Market Journal Toolbox is being distributed nationally. Future plans for Market Journal Toolbox include updates of material as it becomes dated (e.g., government programs), a section on technical analysis, and college credit for the course.

Details

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