From Book News, Inc.
This text, geared toward students with little or no experience in marketing and economics, covers facts, principles, and values involved in food marketing, blending economic, marketing, and institutional perspectives. The food marketing system is examined from the functional, micro-firm, macro-system, and commodity approaches. Some new features of this ninth edition are mini-cases dramatizing food marketing problems, expanded discussion on biotechnology and risk management, updated information on vertical market coordination and farm policy, and material on the role of the Internet in the industry. Kohls is emeritus professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. Uhl teaches food marketing at Purdue University.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The publisher, Prentice-Hall Career & Technology
Introductory text written for students beginning their study of the food marketing system. No economics pre-req.

From the Back Cover
Now in its ninth edition, Marketing of Agricultural Products by Kohls and Uhl, is still the best in its field. Geared towards readers with little or no experience, this text strikes a balanced treatment between the facts, principles, and values involved in food marketing. It blends economic, marketing, and institutional approaches to provide the foundation needed by today's readers. SOME OF THE NEW FEATURES OF THIS EDITION ARE: New mini-cases dramatizing food marketing situations and problems. Assist readers in understanding and appreciating the real world of food marketing problem solving. New treatment of contemporary issues in food marketing, such as biotechnology, direct farmer marketing, and risk management. Helps readers understand how these new trends and developments affect food marketing. Special attention is given to the growing role of the Internet in the food industry. Assists readers in learning about and accessing on-line, the most recent food marketing studies, data sources, and websites.

About the Author
Richard Kohls, a pioneer in agricultural marketing, is Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Born in 1921 in Kentland, Indiana, he received his degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri and Purdue. He wrote the first edition of this pathbreaking book in 1955, when interest in agricultural marketing was beginning to increase. After teaching agricultural marketing for several years and conducting research and extension programs in the area, he served as Dean of Agriculture at Purdue from 1968 to 1980. Professor Kohls was awarded the American Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Teacher Award in 1966. Joe Uhl has been a professor of food marketing at Purdue University since 1966. He was born in Lima, Ohio in 1939. He teaches agricultural and food marketing classes, including the class that uses this text. He also counsels students and does research in food marketing. He served on the staff of the National Commission of Food Marketing in 1966, and he has lectured widely in Eastern Europe. He began collaborating with R. L. Kohls on this book in 1980. Professor Uhl has won both student counseling and teaching awards, the most recent for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching from the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1989.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This ninth edition represents an updating of Marketing of Agricultural Products, first published in 1955. As with previous editions, the goal has been to keep the text up to date with the real world in which food marketing students and managers find themselves. More than ever before, the appropriate organization and functioning of the world's food marketing system are of concern not only to those producers and marketing firms directly involved but to consumers and the general public as well. Increasingly, foreign trade in agricultural and food products ties domestic agricultural markets into the worldwide scene. No book can be all things to all people. This book, like the previous editions, is written for those who are beginning their study of the food marketing system. It is designed for students who have had little or no previous contact with marketing or economics. The book presents the starting points for learning and discussion and leaves to the teacher the task of adjusting the levels of knowledge and achievement to the particular class involved. To aid in this, bibliographic references to key government and commercial references are supplied. It is hoped that these will encourage further study and call attention to the immense volume of marketing literature now available. Textbooks are not novels! Learning requires work and discipline. However, it has been our pleasure over the years to hear students' and instructors' favorable comments on the readability of this book. Some of our colleagues have commented that it is too elementary and easy. This, however, we have accepted as a compliment rather than a criticism. Textbooks should be written for students, not our professional colleagues. The approach of this edition continues that of earlier editions. It attempts to look at the food marketing system from several angles: the functional approach, the institutional approach, the micro-firm and macro-system approaches, and the commodity approach. Each of these approaches provides unique and complementary perspectives of the food industry. The book also blends the descriptive, analytical, and normative approaches to understanding the food marketing system. New material has been added to update important market developments and events, particularly in the areas of vertical market coordination, risk management, farm policy, international trade and globalization, biotechnology, e-commerce, and value-added marketing strategies. Mini-cases have also been added to illustrate the controversial nature of food marketing and food marketing public policy concerns. There are also many new references to valuable public and private food marketing world wide web sites. The objectives of the book continue to be to assist students and managers in understanding the structure and workings of the food marketing system, to examine how this system affects farmers, consumers, and middlemen, and to illustrate how this dynamic market system has responded to technological, social, economic, and political forces over time. The book reflects the adage, Nothing is changing, except everything. While the focus of the book remains on the economics of the food system, there are liberal references to the social, political, and historical aspects of food marketing. The authors are aware of the use of this text throughout the world. The book emphasizes the U.S. food marketing system, but there are extensive references to marketing and market development in other countries. In any book that has an extended history such as this one, many people have made valuable comments and suggestions for improvement. Indeed, in a survey book like this, it is difficult to cite all the original sources of material. We have borrowed shamelessly from our book users and competitors in writing the text. The authors would be happy to receive suggestions and critical comments from readers (uh1@agecon.purdue.edu). The author's class at Purdue that uses this text can be visited at the web site: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/academic/agec220/index.html We wish to acknowledge, in particular, the following reviewers who provided valuable insight and helpful feedback in the preparation of this revision: Dragan Miljkovic, Southwest Missouri State University; Wendy Umberger, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Anthon H. Turley, Ricks College; Robert Herrmann, Penn State University; Kevin J. Bacon, Central Missouri State University; John E. Cottingham, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Douglas J. Miller, Iowa State University; and Raymond T. Folwell, Washington State University. We are grateful for the administrative support of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue and to our families. Richard L. Kohls Joseph N. Uhl

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Marketing of Agricultural Products has provided a readable, comprehensive and balanced treatment of food marketing systems since its introduction. It covers all phases of food marketing, from farmers and farm supply industries to food distribution and consumer interests. Emphasizing marketing as a productive, value-adding process, this book is written for the reader with little or no experience in economics. The text develops and applies analytical tools for decision-making and problem-solving while integrating various approaches to food marketing systems. New to the eighth edition is a discussion of co-ops as well as a discussion of global food markets and expanded coverage of issues pertaining to transportation, cattle, corn and soybean.

SYNOPSIS

This book has provided a readable comprehensive andbalanced treatment of food marketing systems since its introduction in 1955.It covers all phases of food marketing, from farmers andfarm supply industries to food distribution and consumer interests.MERKET: For the grower, distributer, and consumer of agriculturalproducts.

FROM THE CRITICS

Booknews

Discusses food marketing systems, covering the phases of food marketing from farmers and farm supply industries to food distribution and consumer interests. Emphasizes marketing as a productive, value- adding process for readers with little or no experience in economics. The text also develops and applies analytical tools for decision making and problem solving while integrating various approaches to food marketing systems. Also discusses co-ops, global food markets, risk management in agriculture, agricultural business management careers, and the growing concern of food quality. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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