Marketing plan for agricultural and extension education - Assignment Example

?Marketing Plan for Agricultural and Extension Education I. Objectives and Purpose of the Marketing Plan Agricultural learning and knowledge has beenthe key method for farmers to gain an understanding on the contemporary tools in producing agricultural commodities. Moreover, the United States legislators have created policies that will sustain and maintain the agricultural livelihood and products within the country in order to have adequate agricultural resources in the future years (Kugler, 1997; Trauger et al., 2008). Weems and Weber (2007) implicated that the United States Congress enacted the Farm Bill every five years in order for the regulations and provisions of the bill to be in line with the current agricultural and nutritional state of the country. Consequently, this marketing plan is a proposal that endeavored on the effectiveness of Farm Bill within the United States. Hence, this marketing plan centers on ameliorating the food sustenance among all classes of American people through health education and providing suitable amount of unlimited healthy food resources (e.g., meat, milk, and fruits) with the help of national organizations such as the American Dietetic Association, Department of Agriculture and its subsidiary agencies. II. The Marketing Competition Agricultural products refer to the cultivation and production of foods and fibers that are considered as the basic commodities for human sustenance. The importance of agricultural merchandises has raised the importance because these give the needs for both people in the present and also for the future. As a result, the agricultural competition around the world is also increasing in order to generate products exportation and importation for the sustainability of country’s economic development. Accordingly, the United States has enacted the foreign trade and marketing of agricultural products from different countries, especially those products that are not naturally manufactured within the American soil (Yunlong & Smith, 1994; Weber & Becker, 2006). III. The Products and Price The Americans need to ensure that they have proper and suitable amount of nutritious food within their household in order to avoid any health risks and problems. Specifically, low income American people are those that experience the insufficient supply of healthy foods. Hence, this marketing plan introduces a list of alimentary products that are important in the human body, and these are bread, grains, rice, fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products, meat and fish, and also pasta. Accordingly, the prices of these products should be able to allow low income American people to purchase and enjoy a healthy living with healthy food and lifestyle (Morris, Neuhauser, & Campbell, 1992; Stewart & Blisard, 2006). IV. The Distribution Channel Agricultural products should be distributed equally to the American population with a reasonable amount of price. These agricultural commodities should be freshly available among all American people through retail outlets, marketplace, and also directly to agricultural farmers. Moreover, these agricultural products should also be available to government agencies in order to distribute to those low-income American people (Weber & Becker, 2006). V. The Development and Maintenance Agricultural farming and livelihood should be the top priority for development and maintenance in order to cultivate efficiently healthy agricultural products. Moreover, the knowledge and understanding of health foods should also be developed among American public, so they have the idea of the kinds of nutritious foods in order to avoid any health problems (Stewart & Blisard, 2006; Weber & Becker, 2006). VI. The Marketing Strategies Accordingly, media information and non-government organizations can be a useful aid for disseminating to the people the important knowledge and information with regard to having proper and healthy food intake. Hence, agricultural education can be one of the important factors in expanding the agricultural knowledge to the people. References Kugler, D. E. (1997). Policy directions for agricultural industrial products in the United States. Industrial Crops and Products, 6, 391-396. Morris, P. M., Neuhauser, L., & Campbell, C. (1992). Food security in rural America: A study of the availability and costs of food. Journal of Nutrition Education, 24 (1), 52S-58S. Stewart, H., & Blisard, N. (2006). The thrifty food plan and low-income household in the United States: What food groups are being neglected? Food Policy, 31, 469-482. Trauger, A., Sachs, C., Barbercheck, M., Kiernan, N. E., Brasier, K., & Findeis, J. (2008). Agricultural education: Gender identity and knowledge exchange. Journal of Rural Studies, 24, 432-439. Weber, J. A., & Becker, N. (2006). Framing the Farm Bill. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 106 (8), 1354-1357. Weems, S., & Weber, J. A. (2007). Farm Bills offers opportunity to improve nutrition of all Americans. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 107 (5), 736-738. Yunlong, C., & Smith, B. (1994). Sustainability in agriculture: A general review. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment, 49, 299-307. Evaluation and Reporting Plan for Agricultural and Extension Education I. Objectives and Purpose of the Evaluation and Reporting Plan The United States agricultural sectors are in the flux of changes with agricultural methods and strategies in order to sustain the increasing needs of agricultural commodities. Accordingly, the farmers, agribusinesses and consumers are protected with the provisions and regulations of different agricultural policies, especially with the Farm Bill (Mackay & Horton, 2003; Weems and Webers, 2007). Consequently, this current paper proposes an evaluation and reporting plan that will focus on the lapses and need for improvement of Agricultural and Extension Education. Particularly, this paper will discuss the significant organizations or people that will adhere or participate in formative evaluation of the Agricultural and Extension Education. II. The Program Evaluation The function of the evaluation processes is to assess the results or outcomes of a certain plan with the intention for improvement in programs such research and enactment of policies in order to further serve the people and protect the future of the society (Mackay & Horton, 2003). Accordingly, the form of evaluation process for the Agricultural and Extension Education Program will be through formative assessment in order to further enhance and improve the program so that it can give beneficial results for people. The assessment of the program, such as the Agricultural and Extension Education Program, is considered to be a “systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of programs to make a judgement about the program, improve program effectiveness, and inform decisions about future programming” (Horton & Mackay, 2003, p. 130). Hence, programs are ameliorated based on the learning and understanding of the people who coordinated to establish the said program, in which these learning are the results of experience among people with regard to challenges and problems faced by the establishment of the program. III. Evaluation Process The evaluation of the Agricultural and Extension Education Program will be participated by the developers of the program, representatives from farmers unions, the Department of Agriculture, American Dietetic Association, and other agencies or organizations that have a significant role in enhancing the agricultural sectors of the country. Accordingly, the program evaluation will center on the effectivity and efficiency of the program and also the evaluation process will recognize the lapses that the program has encountered after its establishment. The evaluation process will take in step by step, from the review of the program until the evaluation of the programs with its specific agendas and as a whole (Horton & Mackay, 2003). Consequently, the results of the program evaluation will be addressed to the program developers with the specificity of the program strengths and weaknesses, and with the identification of pursuing the program and improving the program for future utilization. Hence, the program evaluation process is a structured step by step process that will allow the representatives or participants to deliberate carefully on the proficiency and competency of the Agricultural and Extension Education Program. References Horton, D., & Mackay, R. (2003). Using evaluation to enhance institutional learning and change: Recent experiences with agricultural research and development. Agricultural Systems, 78, 127-142. Mackay, R., & Horton, D. (2003). Expanding the use of impact assessment and evaluation in agricultural research and development. Agricultural Systems, 78, 143-165. Weems, S., & Weber, J. A. (2007). Farm Bills offers opportunity to improve nutrition of all Americans. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 107 (5), 736-738. Critical Race Theory in Education The Critical Race Theory had an important role into addressing the race and racism issues that were becoming a problem to the US society. The theory has been applied to assess the impact of race and racism to the society, which has become one of the shortcomings of Critical Legal Studies (CLS) (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 26). The known founders of the Critical Race Theory were the legal scholars Derrick Bell, Allan Freeman, and Richard Delgado (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001 as cited in DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 26). Critical Race Theory had its focus on the superiority of the White Americans on the meritocratic system of the United States (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27). Critical Race Theory became valuable in legal research (e.g. Crenshaw), but eventually found a niche in the field of education (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27). Critical Race Theory was brought to the discipline of education by Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995 as cited in DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27), and is now being used as both a theoretical and analytical tool in educational research (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004). Counter- storytelling has become a principle of the Critical Race Theory and has turned out to be a component of educational studies that apply such a belief or hypothesis (Masuda as cited in DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27). Counter- storytelling refers to how one makes up a story that will create confusion regarding the legitimacy of an argument or myth particularly those that are defended by the majority. It has become an instrument to revealing and examining normalized conversations, which are supporting racial cliches (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27). Counter- storytelling serves as a means to deciphering the individual view of life that interests the reader to entering a strange or unfamiliar world (Delgado & Stefancic, as cited in DeCuir & Dixson, 2004). Involvement in counter-storytelling has enabled African-American students to share their sentiments in terms of how they were being treated unknown or anonymous in schools that are deemed aware of diversity (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p.27). The counter-narratives of these African-American students have given them the chance to contemplate on how they have become part of a school that is being dominated by the Whites. These minority groups, who are often considered invisible in American independent schools, are able to voice out their views, which confront privileged discourses in these so called elite and mostly White, independent schools (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004, p. 27). Racism is still in existence until now in the American society. Race is always an issue especially in education since students coming from other ethnicities usually become subject of discrimination by the dominating ones. With these societal dilemmas, the Critical Race Theory seeks to achieve the ending of racism and the equal treatment of individuals through a policy that will discourage racism in the society. The Critical Race Theory recognizes that people themselves may become catalysts of change if they embrace diversity despite their differences. Furthermore, the theory aims to enhance race relations, which is the key to racial equality in the United States. Reference DeCuir, J. T., & Dixson, A. D. (2004). So when it comes out, they aren't that surprised that it is there: Using critical race theory as a tool of analysis of race and racism in education. Educational Researcher, 33 (5), 26-31. Read More