Since 1996, Master Marketer has taught producers to reduce risk and gain profit through an intensive eight-day series that includes crop and livestock outlooks, developing marketing skills, and a trading game simulating marketing in an actual historic year. This year the flagship program returns to Vernon.
Board Update 1/3/2023
Tulia, Amarillo, Dalhart Average – Cattle Prices by Category 12/15/2022
Dates & Deadlines
1/5/2023 – Southern Mesa Ag Conference, Lamesa
1/13/2023 – Pioneer Spring Crop Meeting, Panhandle
1/17/2023 – Pioneer Spring Crop Meeting, Hereford
1/18/2023 – Moore County Ag Meeting on Rebuilding the Herd, Dumas
1/18/2023 – Southeast Panhandle Ag Conference, Claude
1/18-19/2023 – Red River Crops Conference, Childress
1/19/2023 – Pioneer Spring Crop Meeting, Plainview
1/19/2023 – Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Annual Water College, Lubbock
01/24/2023 – 03/09/2023 – Master Marketer, Vernon.
1/24/2023 – Crop Profitability Conference, Perryton
1/25/2023 – Top of Texas Cotton Conference, Pampa
1/26/2023 – Northwest Panhandle Ag Conference, Dalhart
1/27/2023 – High Plains Cotton Conference, Spearman
What We’re Reading
Strong 2022 profits lift farmer sentiment – Feedstuffs Daily
Forage sorghums growing in importance across High Plains – AgriLife Today
Solar power offsets energy cost on your irrigation pivot – Farm Progress Daily
2023 begins with continuing drought – BEEF
The Year Ahead: Forces That Will Shape the U.S. Rural Economy in 2023 – CoBank
As with every new year, we have the best tool in Vernon to start on the right foot. Since 1996, Master Marketer has taught producers to reduce risk and gain profit through an intensive eight-day series that includes crop and livestock outlooks, developing marketing skills, and a trading game simulating marketing in an actual historic year. Surveys show that the average producer gains 4.5% or $35,000 on their bottom lines each year due to attending Master Marketer.
Master Marketer Vernon
The Master Marketer program is designed for agricultural producers and agribusiness leaders to learn all about available marketing tools, marketing plans, and key drivers to understand market fundamentals. The main program includes 64 hours of intensive marketing training, focusing on cotton, grains, and livestock.
Mark Welch, program coordinator and Extension grain economist in College Station, shows the results of Master Marketer in AgriLife Today. The main reason for Master Marketer’s high results is a greater understanding and use of marketing concepts, including budget analysis, developing a marketing plan, general risk management, and crop and livestock marketing strategies.
The Schedule
The instructors for Master Marketer bring a diverse skill set to the course. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension specialists and outside speakers at the top of their respective fields will travel to Vernon for in-person presentations and discussions.
Our topics and instructors this year are:
Leveling Workshop – Mark Welch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Farm Policy – Joe Outlaw & Bart Fischer, Texas A&M Agricultural & Food Policy Center
Developing a Marketing Plan – Ed Usset, University of Minnesota
Managing Input Costs for this Year’s Budget – Pancho Abello, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Marketing Strategies – Mark Welch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Working with a Broker – Donna Hughes, StoneX
Weather – John Nielsen-Gammon, and Justin Glisam, Texas A&M University
Technical Analysis – Alan Brugler, Brugler Marketing & Management
Overview of the FARM Assistance Program – Steven Klose, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Farm Assistance
Alternative Crops – Calvin Trostle, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Grain Fundamentals – Mark Welch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Cotton Fundamentals – John Robinson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Livestock Fundamentals- David Anderson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Insurance – Raven Spratt, Diamond S Insurance
Legal Issues – Tiffany Dowell-Lashmet, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Mental Health – Shannn Ferrell, and Matt Brosi
Tying it Together – Darrell Holaday, Country Futures Inc.
Hire Education – Mel Kleiman, Humetrics
Marketing Groups – Mark Welch, Francisco Abello, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Where and When
The leveling workshop for Master Marketer will begin Tuesday, January 24, at 9:00 am. Dr. Mark Welch will spend the day detailing the basics of futures and options and how to use them in a marketing plan.
The rest of the program is divided into two-day blocks every other week through mid-March. The remaining dates are January 25-26, February 8-9, February 22-23, and March 8-9.
Sessions will be held in person at the Wilbarger Auditorium in Vernon, TX, 76384. This year, there is also a digital option, with limited portions of the program available online in real-time. The cost for in-person and online attendance is $350.
Registration and More Information
For the last 25 years, Master Marketer has developed a reputation as one of the most impactful programs offered by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. The investment of time and effort has historically paid back multiples for producers that attend. Registration is filling fast for the Vernon sessions; the program is capped at 50 attendees. You can register for the online and in-person versions of Master Marketer here.
If you have questions or need more information, check out Master Marketer Webpage, or feel free to reach out to Dr. Mark Welch at mark.welch@ag.tamu.edu, or Pancho Abello at pancho.abello@ag.tamu.edu.