Assignment
Overview
FARM MARKETING PLAN
This assignment involves the submission of a Mini marketing plan for an assigned Farm, identified by students. You may use Golden Acres Peach Company as a substitute.
Groups
Students will choose their own groups of three to five members for this project. No individual assignments will be accepted. All students in the group must contribute to this project in order to receive a mark. Team members who have not contributed to the project in a timely and/or accurate fashion may receive a mark of 0% at the discretion of the Professor. The Professor can request proof of each student's contribution to the project to support a grading decision, so please keep a record of your individual work.
Format
The format for this project is a written report. Answers to the questions will need to be presented in well-marked sections, in the order presented. Reports will need to be type-written and stapled.
All reports will need to include a cover page with the following information:
• Course name and Section #
• The Date
• Name of Professor
• Full Names of all group members
Research and Sourcing
Where appropriate, outside research is required to answer questions sufficiently. Students who do not provide value-added research will not be graded favorably.
All outside sources of information must be properly cited using APA format, with the inclusion of a References page. Students not familiar with the use of APA to cite sources should refer to the APA Referencing Guides posted to FOL.
Deadline and Submission Instructions
See Course Schedule for Submission Deadline.
Late projects will be subject to a late penalty of 20% per day (including weekends) to a maximum of three days, after which projects will not be accepted.
The report will need to be submitted in Digital copy (submitted through the FOL drop box) by the deadline date.
Farm Marketing Planning
Identify a farm. It can be your own, a friend or relatives or a fictitious farm you found on any property website. You may also use Golden Acres Peach Company. Based on the marketing text and other resources available on Fanshawe resource centre.
Farm Details
Farm name:
Members of farm team:
Geographic Location:
Website (if applicable):
Mission statement and objectives
A farm name, mission statement, and vision often include values. Craft a Mission Statement and list Objectives for the marketing plan . The mission statement should be 1-3 sentences and the objectives should be 3-5 separate bullet points.
Your Ideal Farm
When you think about your current or future farm, what do you picture? Write a brief description of your ideal farm. What products and services do you have?
What are your favorite tasks on the farm (e.g., handling animals, production, or marketing)?
Are you a risk taker? Are you comfortable with uncertainty, or do you prefer to know what to expect in most situations? Why?
What does the phrase "financial security" mean to you?
Would you prefer to have family members perform all farm labor, or are you interested in hiring outside help?
Do you own or rent your land? In some cases, renting land makes sense. What are the pros and cons of owning vs. renting?
Would product and services be helpful? What type of value-added products would benefit your business? Which markets are most profitable (consider income generated as well as labor and time expended)? Which markets are most consistent?
SWOT Analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
A SWOT analysis can help you identify obstacles and advantages of your farm or potential farm venture. First, identify each pro and con as a strength, weakness, opportunity, or threat (see examples below). Then classify it as internal or external to your business.
This analysis helps you better understand what you can control, where your risks are, where improvement is necessary, and what direction is best for your business. This exercise is best completed with the entire farm team.
Strengths:
• Knowledge, communication, and prior experiences of your farm team
• Infrastructure
• Access to water
• Certification
• Equipment & Machinery Weaknesses:
• Limitations of your land (e.g., climate, soil type, and water access)
• Lacking or dilapidated infrastructure and equipment
• Lacking or negative characteristics of your farm team
• Etc.
Weaknesses:
• Limitations of your land (e.g., climate, soil type, and water access)
• Lacking or dilapidated infrastructure and equipment
• Lacking or negative characteristics of your farm team Opportunities:
• Demand, market niches, and access to markets
• Grant opportunities
• Education programs and other resources
Opportunities:
• Demand, market niches, and access to markets
• Grant opportunities
• Education programs and other resources
• Etc.
Threats:
• Rising input costs (out of your control and can threaten profitability)
• Lack of access to labor
• Etc.
Competitive Analysis:
Identify the competition. Pick the top 3 competitors for your farming operation and include an evaluation of each competitor's Marketing Mix. This section should be supplemented with online research. Do not contact any firm by phone or email.
Consider issues such as who is your competition? How can you increase your competitive advantage? What is your niche marketing strategy? How will you differentiate your product from the competition? Your competitors can be within the geographic area, or the industry or anywhere else offering the same or similar products and services.
Customer Segmentation Analysis.
Are you producing and selling directly to the end user?
Identify the segment that would buy your products and services. Develop a Segmentation Chart profiling each customer segment against all of the segmentation bases from the course. Relevant data from the case should be included in the chart. Additionally, the investigation should include an analysis of each segment and a discussion of what would need to be done to satisfy each of these segments if they were chosen as a target market.
Product & Services: You need to evaluate how your product and services fits in the market you plan to enter.
Livestock systems include pork, lamb, goat, beef, dairy, broiler, and egg production Perennial cropping systems include nut and fruit trees, cranberries, hops, grapes, and grass. Annual cropping systems include vegetables, grains, and some herbs and flowers.
Production Techniques
Your choice of farming methods will affect establishment and operational costs, income from products grown, and how and where you market your products. These are some common terms used to define agricultural production methods:
• Conventional
• Sustainable
• Organic
What are your thoughts about using these production methods on your farm? Who will purchase your product? What is important to these customers? How can your product appeal to this audience? Consider product alterations (e.g., packaging) and marketing techniques (e.g., labeling).
Pricing: To optimize income, farmers need to take advantage of niche markets and high-margin sales. Select a pricing strategy and develop a pricing plan based on this strategy. A justification for the pricing strategy/plan and its applicability to the target market should be included. Consider factors such as competitors pricing strategy, cost of production, profitability. Also, if you are selling directly to the end user or through a vendor.
Distribution Decisions: Select a suitable distribution strategy. Direct sales to customers are one way to eliminate wholesale broker's fees and will put more money in farmer's pocket. Before engaging in direct marketing, evaluate Identify the different ways the Farm's products will be distributed to customers. How will consumers purchase your products? Consider the process of distribution, location, supply chain management etc.
Marketing Communications Plan: Include recommendations for advertising and promotion of the farm products and services. Keep recommendations reasonable, justification for any recommendations should be included. Creativity is encouraged and sketches/mock-ups can be included where appropriate. Relevant items could include design elements, signage, social media campaigns, promotions, videos, website content, contests, mobile marketing, broadcast, print, outdoor, and/or other relevant tactics. Examples such as advertising on National TV channel should be avoided.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.