Management Marketing Interface: Extension Programs

The marketing production interface is steeped in economic theory, but the principles integrating marketing and management have only recently been applied to the farm problem by extension economists. Further, past research mostly examined marketing or production problems separately. Complexity of issues and a price stabilizing farm policy nullified the need to examine these relationships and to integrate them into an extension program. In this paper the need for an integrated farm management/marketing (MM) program is examined. In this context, economic theory is briefly reviewed, reasons for the prior separation of MM programming for grain and livestock farmers are discussed, and the current interest in and the components of an integrated MM program are reviewed. A simple prescription for developing an integrated MM program is not provided in this paper. Instead, some of the issues are identified.