Studies to Examine How Farmers' Decision-Making Habits Have Evolved in Recent Years

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- New technologies, traits and marketing opportunities, combined with high commodity and land prices have driven significant changes in how U.S. farmers weigh their options when it comes to inputs and management practices.  Entira, a marketing and management consulting firm for food and agribusiness, is conducting a series of multi-client studies designed to provide companies critical insight into their farmer-customers' frame of mind as they make decisions for their operations.

The new studies"U.S. Wheat Production:  Trends and Challenges" and "U.S. Corn and Soybean Production:  Trends and Challenges" are collaborative benchmarking studies that will examine how producers in traditional corn, soybean and wheat production areas are making decisions in a changing marketplace.  Entira will also use these studies to delve deeper into key findings uncovered in earlier research programs administered by the company.

"The factors that influence farmers' decision-making are evolving, and our research projects help participating food and agribusiness companies better understand these drivers so they can shape strategies to better serve their customers," said Mike Karst, senior partner, Entira.  The research will include qualitative interviews with producers, retailers and influencers in key corn, soybean and wheat production regions. 

"Entira has a unique approach to the qualitative phase of our research in that we go straight to the source, spending one-on-one time with farmers to glean their perspective," Karst says.  "Our associates are well-grounded in production agriculture, so they know how to talk to farmers and can extract really valuable insight during these visits." The results from these interviews, along with input from study subscribers, will determine categories and questions for a larger quantitative survey of producers during the second phase of research.

The multi-client study approach allows companies the opportunity to get unbiased, unfiltered opinions straight from leading farmers in key production regions ... at a fraction of the cost of proprietary research.  By jointly funding research, companies can gather important information and save internal resources for program implementation.  

Companies who purchase a study by October 18, 2013, will be able to participate in kick-off conferences to  design each study. During the conference, subscribers can voice the specific needs of their companies, and work with other subscribers to shape the study content. At the completion of the study, participants will receive a final written report and can attend a one-day conference for a final presentation of the findings.

Visit www.entira.net to view summaries of the studies and request a full prospectus.  Contact Nancy Appelquist at nappelquist@entira.net or Mike Karst at 901-734-3245 or mkarst@entira.net for more information.   

Entira is a marketing and management consulting firm for food and agribusiness. More information is available at www.entira.net.

SOURCE Entira