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Marketing Planning as a Risk Management Strategy for Producers in Southeastern North Carolina Underserved Communities

Nelson Brownlee and James Hartsfield

Summary

Livestock and Specialty Crop Producers need the ability to deal with risks that come with new attractive farming opportunities. The project was funded by a grant from National Crop Insurance Services through a cooperative agreement with USDA-RMA and was conducted during the summer of 2017. Project goal was to enable producers of underserved commodities to develop marketing plans and strategies to manage risk. Applied education consisting of three sequential workshops in Lumberton and Clinton (6 total) supplemented by personal assignments and individualized counseling was delivered via a partnership of subject matter experts and local educators. The primary outcome was for participants to understand marketing principles well enough to establish a written goal for each of the 5 P’s of marketing specific to their farm, delineate for each goal at least three specific actions to reach those goals, and commit to follow through and implement their personal marketing plan.
There were 47 participants who completed their personal marketing plans. Follow-up evaluations with 31 of the participants showed that all had increased their profits ranging from $500 to $40,000. Some of the actions taken included: creating social media and personal web pages, developing a customer list, selling at local farmers’ markets, adding new markets, and becoming certified in good agricultural practices. Many of the participants stated that the actions they completed on their personal marketing plans have made their farms more profitable and sustainable.
More follow-up interviews and evaluations to measure progress and show impacts will be conducted in early 2019.

Details

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