In 1998-99 we attempted to hold a Strategic Advantage in Jasper that was appealing to our farmers. In the spring of 1999, Steve Johnson, with E-Markets in Ames, made a presentation at 2020 Forum that looked like a way to initiate marketing training in Jasper. Eighty people came to hear about new FSA programs, storage concerns and marketing using the internet for information and marketing. Later, when Steve Johnson was hired by ISU Extension as the Farm and Business Management Field Specialist, we continued with several opportunities for producers, landowners and agri-business to work on the strategic planning. The following opportunities have been held in Jasper County and through the newsletter and news media residents have been informed of other area and state opportunities.
Some opportunities are single meetings and some are sequential.
At each of these learning experiences we have included evaluations for the participants to complete. However, when asked to put a dollar value on the learning experience many left the question with no answer. Few of the 15 regular participants indicated that they had changed their practices to date. Many indicated that they still planned to do so before harvest. Most have indicated that they want to continue their participation in learning experiences on marketing.