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Direct marketing in agriculture : the future of the family farm in the United States / by Robert Markiewicz.

by Markiewicz, Robert

Beef industry -- Management -- Wisconsin.

Agriculture -- History -- United States.

Direct selling.

Risk assessment

Business logistics

80 leaves:; ill. ; 29 cm.

Advisor: Dr. Paul Hudec.

Committee members: Timothy Charek, Gary Shimek.

Introduction -- Discovery of the New World -- Colonization of America -- Birth of a nation -- Post-Colonial immigration to the United States -- The views of the Founding Fathers -- The slavery issue -- Transformation of agriculture -- Current agricultural environment -- Farm failures -- Government participation in agriculture -- Challenges to the family farm -- Current farm organizations in the United States -- Rural residence farms -- Intermediate farms -- Commercial farms -- Beef marketing companies -- Agricultural direct marketing model -- Marketing background information -- Wisconsin's Best Beef marketing plan -- Product -- Target markets -- Promotion and distribution -- Price -- Supply chain organization -- Risk management -- Technology -- Potential benefits -- Areas for growth -- Areas for further study -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Appendix 1) Cost per pound comparison between traditional supermarkets and direct marketing beef companies.

This thesis examines the history of agriculture in the United States, current farm characteristics and structures, and the opportunity to establish an organization to direct market beef. Agriculture has been an important industry for the United States since colonial times with family farms being its cornerstone. Great numbers of immigrants were attracted to the farming opportunities in the United States due to the ability to own property and the abundance of land. Many of these immigrants settled in established regions of the country and left the development of the American West to experienced farmers who yearned for more fertile land. Following the Civil War, the pace of settlement in the Midwest and the Great Plains quickened with the westward expansion of the transcontinental railroad. The railroad provided a cost effective and efficient transportation system for the delivery of crops to market and the return of production inputs. Agriculture continued to develop through the twentieth century with innovations in mechanization, crop and livestock development, chemical engineering and genetics. These innovations have increased output, efficiency and turned a labor-intensive lifestyle into a highly automated process. Vertical integration of the food industry and the development of commodity crops have led to a shrinking share of consumer food dollar for American farmers.

Each farm organization in the United States differs based on the vision of management and is driven by factors such as the objective of the owner, management preference, financial resources, and geographic region. The United States Department of Agriculture has segmented farms into three categories: Rural Residence farms, Intermediate farms, and Commercial farms. Each farm segment utilizes different management practices and is driven by different ethical perspectives to accomplish its goals. In a comparison of the segments, it was found each organization fills a need in society and the business model of each has its strengths and weaknesses.

The final section of this report develops a business model to direct market the beef production of several local farmers. The objective of Wisconsin's Best Beef cooperative is to increase the producer's share of the consumer dollar spent on beef by direct marketing a premium quality and consistently flavorful beef product to the consumer. This will be accomplished by creating a marketing cooperative, which will pool the production of several beef producers, add value through contract processing, and market the finished product directly to consumers. The beef-marketing cooperative allows the producer to retain ownership of the product until it reaches the consumer. The outline of this business model features the major areas of an organization including, but not limited to, organizational design, finance, marketing, and supply chain.

Direct marketing agricultural products may help overcome some of the business challenges facing the American family farmer's share of the consumer food dollar spent. This increased revenue should then allow these farmers to compete and survive in an increasing globally-competitive agricultural sector.

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