|
|
|
|
|
By Lana Robinson
Field Editor
"These programs have kept me in business and have actually increased my bottom line each year since I started attending..." "It has made the difference in being able to stay in business; $20,000 or better each year..." "One of the best ways I have spent my time off the farm. It was good to network with other producers and learn from them and their experiences..."
Now in its ninth year, the Master Marketer Program, which combines three successful concepts—intensive education, the Master Volunteer and marketing clubs—continues to draw rave reviews from its graduates. The award-winning program offers producers the nuts and bolts they need to craft a plan for selling their commodities. Producers are trained in advanced risk management and marketing techniques during an intensive 64-hour program that costs $250 per person. Afterwards, graduates extend that knowledge to other producers by providing leadership for marketing clubs.
TAMU Extension Agricultural Economics piloted the Master Marketer Program in Amarillo during 1996. The success of that effort led to the statewide expansion of the program. To date, more than 500 producers and agribusinessmen have successfully completed the training.
Winston Ohlhausen, vice president of the Taylor County Farm Bureau, was among those receiving the training in Abilene in 2001. Ohlhausen said he knew next to nothing about marketing before becoming a Master Marketer.
"The way I have ended up using it is to be able to project ahead, plan ahead, to figure out what the market's going to be. It's been a big help," said Ohlhausen.
Ohlhausen appreciates the fact that the Master Marketer program teaches farmers to conduct business based on supply and demand which, going forward, will be especially important if producers are to succeed in a global economy.
"People tend to want to use it to speculate with the markets. They teach you not to do that. That's when you get in trouble," he said.
Ohlhausen said the Master Marketer Program revealed to him the importance of watching the markets. Before, he said, he was so busy making a crop, he didn't pay that much attention to marketing it.
"With this Internet, it makes it so easy. Several times a day, I check to see what the market is doing. I watch the ups and downs, and I've learned some helpful links, also," he said.
Ohlhausen believes producers who understand market forces and alternative marketing techniques will have a clear advantage in the future. A commercial producer who increases his net price just 2.5 to 5 percent will increase net returns by $10,000 to $50,000 a year, depending on the size of his operation.
According to TAES, graduates of the Master Marketer Program have started or revitalized over 100 marketing clubs across the state. Their efforts have been and will be critical in increasing marketing and management skills of a much larger number of producers.
TAES reported that graduates from the program's first five classes, on average, have increased their receipts by $31,711 annually. If similar results extend across the subsequent eight classes, the increase across all Master Marketer program graduates would exceed $15.3 million annually.
Doug Hlavaty of Lubbock, a Master Marketer grad with positive results, heads up the Lubbock County Marketing Club. Hlavaty has farmed cotton on the South Plains for 29 years.
"A group of us started a marketing club out here in 1988," said Hlavaty. "Carl Anderson (now-retired Extension cotton marketing economist) would meet with us, mostly to develop strategies. Later on, I enrolled in the Master Marketer Program. I was wanting more information upon which to base my decisions instead of gin talk."
He and his brothers, Tom and Lance, have 4,200 acres of cotton in 2005. Hlavaty tries to stay ahead of the game through marketing principles learned in the Master Marketer Program and by brainstorming with club members.
"You have to. At harvest, the alternatives to price are very limited," he said.
Hlavaty also believes that he's dollars ahead by marketing his own crop rather than participating in a pool. Much of his ability and confidence to do that is a result of the Master Marketer Program.
"It hasn't been easy, but I think we do better than the pool," he said. "We get our money early and can use it right away. If you're in the pool you only get a certain amount at one time and don't get the rest until later in the year. When you have a bunch of bales, that adds up to quite a few dollars you could be using for three or four months."
Master Marketer has evolved beyond the eight-day training into a program that supports its graduates' efforts to extend the technical expertise they have gained through the provision of human resources and educational materials. These resources reinforce, enhance, and improve the efficiency of the educational experience of the Master Marketer graduates and the marketing club participants. Annual follow-up conferences buttress key concepts learned in the program.
"We've had special Master Marketer meetings, and Mark Brown, the Lubbock County agent, gives us additional support through a newsletter and emails," Hlavaty said.
A Master Marketer program began Oct. 5 in El Campo. Another program is coming up Jan. 11-12, 2006 in Amarillo. Anyone needing to update their basic knowledge of the futures market will have an opportunity to do so at a one-day leveling workshop on Jan.10. The brochure/registration form is now available on the Master Marketer web site (http://mastermarketer.tamu.edu/About/about.htm). To register, call Dr. Steve Amosson in Amarillo at 806-677-5600.
The final schedule for the ATS (Advanced Topics Series) will be available soon. These advanced specialized courses will be offered around the state beginning in December. Watch for the final schedule to be posted on the Master Marketer web site (http://mastermarketer.tamu.edu/About/about.htm). These courses are designed to meet the needs of Master Marketer graduates and others with the market knowledge to tackle even more rigorous marketing strategies and special marketing problems.
