Trade Wars Explained
For the last several months, one of the most contentious topics in the morning news, on social media, and around the table in my local coffee shop has been the trade war with China. Most days I can keep my mouth shut and just listen, but recently I feel compelled to educate readers on the...
Read moreOptimize your profit, not your price
One of the most difficult aspects of running a successful business is determining how to market and price your product. Do you adopt a retail mentality with a one price policy, selling all of your crop to retail customers? Do you adopt a multitier pricing strategy and sell part of your crop to retail customers,...
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Chinese Pecan Demand: Short Term or Here to Stay?
While I don’t get to attend as many pecan grower association meetings as I would like, I always find the conversations and comments interesting. Some of the more interesting comments that I regularly hear include: “Pecans will always be the highest priced nuts”; “The Chinese market is only going to get bigger because they can’t...
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It’s Time to Get Your Costs Under Control
It’s no secret that pecan growers have benefited from higher than normal prices for the last several years. As a result, many growers have increased their pecan acreage and replaced less productive trees and varieties with more productive ones. Unfortunately, the laws of supply and demand dictate that the natural outcome of high prices is...
Read moreGrowers vs. Processors: Who’s Making the Money?
Recently while I was out grocery shopping with my wife, we ran across a display of pecans and while there was nothing new or exciting about this display two things did catch my eye. These pecans were a pretty creamy gold color and not the mahogany brown that I was accustomed to seeing and they...
Read moreMarketing Pecans 101: Agricultural products impacted by unique constraints
Last month I introduced readers to the concept of target markets and discussed some of the pros and cons associated with each market segment. This month I will provide readers with a discussion of the 4 “P’s” of the marketing mix: product, price, place (physical distribution) and promotion, and their counterpart the 4 “C’s”: customer,...
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