Tom A. "Andy" Vestal, Ph.D.
State Coord. AgriFood Ed. Prg.

Barry L. Boyd, Ph.D.
Assistant Professon

Richard L. Cummins, Ph.D.
Visiting Lecturer
Dept. of Agric. Education, Texas A&M University

Background


Introduction

The State of Texas relies heavily on the health of it's second largest industry, agribusiness. This industry includes, but is not limited to traditional farm-based agricultural businesses (producers), suppliers, processors, wholesalers and retailers of the food, fiber and forestry products. These industry sectors have a sizable impact on the state's rural and urban regions in the form of employment, commerce, and economic development. Specialization has contributed to distancing agricultural producers from other industrial segments, and ultimately agricultural consumers. This is so evident, that agricultural consumers, especially those with no direct roots to the farm, do not recognize themselves as agricultural consumers at all, rather, they claim allegiance to name brand products and retailers, and often fail to make any connection to agriculture (Vestal, 1996).

The evolution of the agricultural system du ring the past century has yielded urban opinion leaders who are generations removed from their roots to the land, and unfamiliar with what it takes to make agriculture function to meet human and environmental needs. These urban constituents, who represent the overwhelming majority of our population, shape the future through public policy and economic development. These people support those industrial segments that they visualize as futuristic, growing, and advantageous to the urban portfolio of economic development.

During the 1980s, scores of metropolitan chambers of commerce dissolved long active committees for agriculture and agribusiness. To add to this growing demise of agricultural awareness in our cities, print media, as well as radio and television stations, dropped regularly scheduled columns and programming about agricultural happenings. Agricultural media coverage for the most part has been limited to crop disaster coverage, food safety and environmen tal awareness, and negative farm subsidy stories (Vestal, 1996).

A century ago, the word agriculture by definition included a farm family not only raising crops and livestock, but also producing their own farm supplies (seeds, tools, draft animals, etc.), processing their commodities, and distributing them in the community (Davis & Goldberg, 1957). In that time, storing and merchandising food, fiber, and forestry products became a function of the farm. With these operations administered by the farmer and his family, it was appropriate, then, to consider them within the context of the word, "agriculture."

During this century, these operations became specialized industrial segments, but the interdependency remains. The "agriculture" and "business" segments are most often thought of as two separate entities. Dr. John H. Davis of Harvard School of Business Administration discovered there was no term to describe the interrelated function of agriculture and business. As a result Davis coined the term, agribusiness defined as follows:

"Agribusiness is a concept of economics which includes the sum
total of all operations involved in the manufacturing and distribution
of farm supplies; production operation on the farm; and the storage,
processing and distribution of farm commodities and items made
from them."
(Davis & Goldberg, 1957)

Davis' term and its definition form the basis for the economic research that is utilized today to inform urban opinion leaders about agribusiness.

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service has employed a limited approach to relating agribusiness to urban opinion leaders (Vestal, 1996). Impact of Agribusiness brochures are currently one method by which the Texas Agricultural Extension Service is attempting to educate the state's urban opinion leaders about the importance of agribusiness in urban economies. Coupled with the publication are agribusiness luncheons, press conferences, distribution of publications, and public speaking initiatives orchestrated in an effort to inform the target audience.

The purpose of this study is to find the most effective methods to inform opinion leaders about the impact agribusiness and value-added industries have on economic development in urban Texas. The recommendations developed from this study can be utilized by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service to create a marketing strategy aimed at generating interest in value-added agribusiness among opinion leaders. A successful marketing strategy may motivate opinion leaders to incorporate agribusiness into the future economic development of their communities and spur economic growth in their respective regions.

The Impact of Agribusiness publications emphasize the importance of featuring agribusiness investment, especially food, textile, cold storage, and distribution businesses, as viable parts of the economic development portfolio of an urban community and generate greater awareness and understanding so that urban consumers and opinion leaders recognize themselves as agricultural consumers who need to make wise decisions regarding public policy that affects agriculture and agribusiness.

Historical Account of Impact of Agribusiness Publications in Texas

At the time of this study six regions had published Impact of Agribusiness brochures: San Antonio, Amarillo, Austin, San Angelo, Bryan/College Station, and Fort Worth. Each publication features data on six economic sectors - from the consumer back to the land where the products originated - as follows:
a) Retail: building materials and garden supplies, food stores, eating establishments, miscellaneous retail (luggage, leather goods, florists),
b) Wholesale trade, c) Manufacturing: food and kindred products, apparel and other textile products, lumber and wood products, manufa cturing furniture and fixtures, paper and allied products, chemicals and allied products, leather and leather products, d) Transportation and Public Utilities: firms involved with transporting and warehousing agricultural products and commodities,
e) Agricultural Services: veterinarian and agricultural services, farm labor, crop and livestock management services, landscape and horticultural services, forestry, fishing, hunting, trapping, f) Agricultural Cash Receipts: prices received for commodities.

According to Steve Wheeless (personal interview, October 12, 1995), County Extension Agent-Emeritus, of the Dallas County office of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Charlie Ball, editor of the Farm Journal magazine and the Dallas Agricultural Club published their first Impact of Agribusiness brochure in 1955. Wheeless discovered the 1955 report during his first year in the Dallas County position, 1968. Wheeless said, "It was an excellent report, but out of date." He recalled setting a personal goal of updating this report during his tenure as County Extension Agent.

His first challenge was to develop a method to assess the impact of agribusiness on a metropolitan area. The task should involve farming, ranching, farm and ranch supplies, manufacturing and distribution, transportation of commodities and consumer goods, commodity and cold storage, food processing and manufacturing, timber, wood and paper products manufacturing, textile manufacturing, wholesale and retail distribution and other related agribusiness. Agricultural income, agribusiness employment, payrolls, and value-added economics were all considerations, but he was concerned about how to acquire this information.

Wheeless, with determination, continued the quest to fulfill his goal. By the mid-1980s, the importance of agriculture in Dallas County was slipping and something needed to be done. He solicited financial support from the Dallas Ag ricultural Club, T.U. Electric, and Dr. Zerle Carpenter, Director of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Carpenter commissioned Extension Economist, Dr. Richard Edwards, at Texas A&M University, to establish a sound method, using state of the art computer software to assess the impact of agribusiness in Dallas County. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service published the Impact of Agribusiness in Dallas County in 1989. The report documented more than 140,000 agribusiness employees, with an annual payroll of $2 billion (Wheeless, 1989).

The Dallas Agricultural Club hosted a luncheon that featured the publication. Wheeless reported no significant response to press releases, although The Dallas Morning News did publish one article, written by Wheeless. Wheeless said the publication did not reach its potential impact because of the failure to reach the press and lack of acceptance by local business executives.

The next Impact of Agribusiness brochure was published when Jim Smith, County Extension Agent in Amarillo, teamed up with the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, the City of Amarillo, and Southwestern Public Service Company in 1989. The Impact of Agribusiness in the Texas High Plains Trade Area received expert journalistic attention from Kay Ledbetter, agribusiness editor for the Amarillo Globe News, Dr. Dick Edwards at Texas A&M, and Dr. Steve Amosson, Extension Economist for the Texas High Plains. This publication was the first of its kind to feature full color photography on high gloss paper to enhance attractiveness. Distribution and publicity was a joint effort by the Amarillo Globe News, City of Amarillo, Southwestern Public Service Company, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Response was very favorable in this heavy agriculture dependent economy.

Although many people believe the brochures to be somewhat effective at informing urban opinion leaders, these brochure s may not be realizing their potential; therefore, this study focused on the effectiveness of the Impact of Agribusiness brochures at informing opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are the members of the community including leaders from chambers of commerce, mass media, elected officials, and business leaders who have power and influence regarding economic development. Opinion leaders have the potential to shape the future of public policies and economic development as they relate to agribusiness.

For the purpose of this study it was hypothesized that while the brochures provide information to the urban populace, they may not be targeting the right audience with the right information. In order to create a marketing plan to inform public policy decision-makers and attract value-added industry, the effectiveness of Extension's Impact of Agribusiness brochures must be evaluated and communicated to people who are challenged to communicate the economic impact of agribusi ness in urban Texas.

In this study the following questions were addressed in order to find the most effective way to inform opinion leaders of the current and potential value of agribusiness to urban economic development.
1. What information is necessary to influence and empower opinion leaders?
2. How has agribusiness been marketed in other states?
3. What is the most effective medium for communicating information to opinion
leaders?
4. How effective are the current methods of informing opinion leaders?

Method

Methods/Procedures

The inductive nature of this project requires the use of qualitative analysis. Qualitative research is research through observation, either external or internal to the environment, with the goal of understanding the object's behavior (thoughts) from its point of view (Gorman & Clayton, 1997). Qualitative research uses a "bottom-up" approach to forming a hypothesis in contrast to quantitative research, which requires a hypothesis before any data is collected. Due to the complexity of variables and the difficulty in measuring them, a large data set would detract from the quality of data analysis.

Data collection began with a thorough literature review of the term agribusiness and its economic importance in Texas. Case studies were initiated to evaluate Texas' and other states' efforts to address issues similar to the research questions in this study. Then finally, Extension agents in the six counties wher e Impact of Agribusiness brochures had been developed during the 1996-1998 time frame provided names of four to six opinion leaders in their respective county. Although telephone surveys involved a diverse group of opinion leaders, those responding can be grouped into four categories as follows: a) those involved in banking, b) local government, c) private business, and d) chamber of commerce members. Too, the Extension agents provided a list of survey questions to be considered prior to interviewing selected opinion leaders.

Survey questions for this type of research need to be worded carefully to avoid bias and ambiguity (Kaplan, 1964; Frey, 1989); therefore, a panel of experts in questionnaire design and research methods evaluated the agribusiness survey. The panel helped to organize the questions into four categories: awareness of agriculture, impact of agriculture on the community, how to improve awareness, and evaluation of current agricultural awareness effo rts. This helped to categorize the data and aided in the formulation of the marketing recommendations.

After questions and names of opinion leaders were collected, each opinion leader was called by trained interviewers who asked scripted questions (Kvale, 1996). The interviewer began with a personal introduction then inquired to find out if the opinion leader had time to answer some questions (Table 1). The following points guided the structured interviewing process: a) interviewing with pre-established questions with limited response categories, b) established codes for recording responses, c) following the questionnaire like a script, and d) giving a short explanation of the study, e) no suggesting or disagreeing with answers (Frey, 1989). In order to prevent bias, care was taken to collect only an amount of data that could be analyzed in depth (Kvale, 1998).



Table 1. Survey Questions asked of Twenty-five Texas Opinion Leaders Regarding Imp act of Agribusiness Brochures.

1. Have you been involved with bringing value-added agribusiness to your region? Y or N; Give examples:
2. Where did you learn about value-added agribusiness?
3. Do you consider value-added agribusiness an important part of your community's economic future? Y or N; Why?
4. What types of organizations or businesses have the power to influence future economic development in your region?
5. What information about value-added products/processing/distributing would be useful to economic development in your region?
6. How should value-added agribusiness information be communicated to opinion leaders?
7. Are you familiar with the Impact of Agribusiness brochure in your region? Y or N
8. Do you believe the Impact of Agribusiness brochures have been effective toward their purpose?
9. Who do you think the publications should target?

Researchers had to reduce the findings into themes, data summaries, and code interview answers to sufficiently analyze the data (Frey, 1989). Extracting data from people who do not fit in one easily categorized group involves cross-case analysis. This enhances the ability to generalize conclusions, and extends external validity. However, such an approach makes interpreting the data more complicated. Researchers should avoid neglecting differences among subjects in order to prevent themselves from forming superficial conclusions. Specific cases must only be grouped with others that share critical components (Denzin, 1989).

Finally, researchers must verify conclusions. Many factors such as data overload, overconfidence, salience of first impressions, and poor sources can threaten the validity of analysis. In order to avoid such pitfalls an external auditor should systematically review the study (Schwandt & Halpern, 1988). In this study two faculty members in the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University served as auditors to the Eisenhower Leadership Studies Team.

Results

Results/Findings
Case Studies

The findings related to the research questions are best described in the text of a) each individual case study, b) a literature review on communications and advertising, and c) the findings of the survey of Texas opinion leaders regarding the effectiveness of Impact of Agribusiness brochures completed during 1996-1998.


State Regional Educational Initiative - Case Study

In 1993, a study done by the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service identified value-added enterprises as a key area that must be targeted to ensure future agricultural viability. Colorado soon combined with neighboring states (Arizona, New Mexico and Utah) to develop a strong regional focus on value-added opportunities. To date, there have been four major results of the Four-State Regional Education Initiative: a) compilation of a Value-Added Resource Kit, b) publication of A Guide to Value-A dded Agriculture and Forestry Enterprises, c) March 1995 symposium at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, d) March 1997 symposium at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico (Guide to Value-Added, 1997).

The "Guide to Value-Added Agriculture and Forestry Enterprises" was written for the March 1997 symposium. Its primary objective was to serve as a resource in aiding farmers or aspiring entrepreneurs in taking advantage of value-added opportunities. While the focus of this project centered on creating new value-added activities in rural areas, there are many ideas that can be applied to the urban sector. The importance of value-added agriculture is continually increasing. While the farm value of consumer food expenditures has remained relatively steady, the value-added expenditures have increased dramatically (Guide to Value-Added, 1997).

It is also interesting to note, however, that the actual contribution by farmers for each dollar spent on fo od has declined from $0.162 in 1950 to $0.035 in 1990 (Guide to Value-Added, 1997). The main cause of this unexpected decline is increased production efficiency. In the Guide to Value-Added (1997) data shows that increasing raw product production does not increase the total farm value received. To increase total farm value received is to invest in value-added and increase it's effectiveness at raising the value of farm commodities.

Identification of possible new value-added activities involves collaboration and information gathering from a wide array of sources within the community including producers, processors, retailers, lenders, local government, community leadership, area youth, economic development groups, colleges/universities, state/federal agencies, and non-profit groups (Guide to Value-Added, 1997). Specifically, it is suggested that information be gathered about the following: a) the availability of raw products, natural and human resources, b) the cur rent goals of area producers, businesses, and communities, and c) the local/regional infrastructure-investment capital, transportation, communications, water, waste disposal (Guide to Value-Added, 1997).

Many aspects of the Four Corners Region's value-added educational efforts may be applied to the task of promoting awareness of opinion leaders about agribusiness in urban Texas. Value-added efforts can and should benefit all parties involved: agriculture, business, and the regions in which they are undertaken. Information and education is essential to empowering local and state leaders, and continual evaluation must occur to keep the entire effort on track.


Economic Development Initiatives in Austin Texas - Case Study

An example of an industry successfully brought to a community can be seen in Austin, Texas. Austin has one of the fastest growing economies in the country. The main reason for this is that the city is very business-friendly. A leader in the high-tech industry, Austin supports its business base through reasonable tax structure, a well-educated workforce, good schools and a fairly low cost of living. All of these factors make Austin a welcome place to build a strong business presence (North America's Most Improved Cities, 1997).

Historically, however, the majority of Austin's economic base has been the University of Texas and the state government. These are no longer the only enterprises; the city's economy has taken off like its most famous homegrown success story, Dell Computer. Dell is now the region's largest private employer, adding 100 to 200 jobs per week nationally. Sixty-five percent of these new jobs are at the Austin headquarters.

Attracting businesses looking to relocate is Austin's economic goal. The city's highest economic development priority over the next several years is to more fully develop its evolving cluster economy. Economic clusters are geographic conc entrations of producer and supplier industries linked together in buyer-supplier relationships and supported by public and private sector institutions whose services are designed to make cluster firms competitive. Two types of clusters exist. The core clusters drive economic growth and continue to expand and diversify into higher value-added areas. The regional economy is composed of three core clusters: a) semiconductors and electronics, b) computers and peripherals, and c) software. The second is the emerging cluster, which contains new industries. There are seven emerging industries that have the potential to become core clusters as follows: a) biomedical products, b) logistics and distribution, c) film, d) music, e) multimedia, f) telecommunications, and transaction services. The city's goal for these clusters is to spur innovation and improve production by encouraging geographic proximity between similar industries (North America's Most Improved Cities, 1997).

Austin can stand as a model of the impact informed opinion leaders can have on a particular industry. However, opinion leaders must be convinced of the importance of an industry before they are willing to devote energy to promote it through entities such as economic development corporations.


Building the Future of North Dakota Agriculture - Case Study

In 1997, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson initiated a discussion about the future of the state's agriculture industry. He called together representatives from the Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, and North Dakota State University. Members from these organizations formed a steering committee that recognized the important impact agriculture has on the state. In November of that year, a 15-member working group was formed and over the next seven months addressed two central questions: a) What do we want North Dakota agriculture to look like in the future? b) What are we going to do to get there? (Building the Future of North Dakota Agriculture, 1998).

The Commission on the Future of Agriculture (COFA), composed of over 60 agricultural and rural organizations, was then formed in early 1998. The Commission held public forums around the state to allow for citizens to become active participants in the discussion. The Commission identified its mission to raise net farm income, enhance the quality of rural life, and increase North Dakota's rural jobs (Building the Future of North Dakota Agriculture, 1998).

The Commission hoped to establish policies such as tax incentives for investors in value-added agriculture, funding sources for value-added research, equity investments in value-added agricultural ventures, a mutual fund capital pool, and appropriated funds for the already present state supported Partnership in Assisting Community Expansion program with lower matching requirements for v alue-added processing projects.

In order for any of these objectives or goals to be reached, however, the suggestions of the Commission must be implemented. With its educational brochure, Building the Future of North Dakota Agriculture, the Commission hoped to raise the agribusiness awareness of the citizens of North Dakota and call them to action. According to COFA Coordinator James Moench, the state needs to find the political will and money to make the Commission's vision a reality.
Much can be learned from North Dakota's experience that may be applied to the current project of promoting agribusiness in urban Texas. The Commission chose to employ the people involved in agriculture to come up with recommendations through their statewide forums. This lends support to an idea of educating opinion leaders and then allowing them to take the next step in implementing solutions. Additionally, the objectives identified to achieve the goal of increasing value-added processing provide a vision into what types of action should take place. Targeting opinion leaders that actually have the power to make changes in areas such as investment financing could make a vast difference in the success of any educational initiative.


Agricultural Development Profile and Marketing Strategy for Southeastern Arizona - Case Study

The Southeastern Arizona Cooperative Extension took another approach to attract value-added industries to their communities, and developed a 98-page report entitled "Agricultural Development Profile and Marketing Strategy for Southeastern Arizona." The report identifies over 100 possible value-added agriculture opportunities in the region and gives details about the natural and human resources available to support such activities (Value-Added Newsletter, 1998). A $42,000 USDA grant was also obtained in 1998 to establish a center for agribusiness development in the area.

The six primary objective s for the center were to: a) recruit businesses that will provide an end use for locally grown agricultural products, b) help local producers develop markets, diversify and expand production opportunities, c) work with agribusiness prospects, d) facilitate the development of farms and ranches, recreation and agricultural tourism, e) maintain up-to-date resource data that can substantiate development opportunities, and f) generate positive publicity for agriculture in the region. Additionally, four regional agribusiness conference/tours were funded by the Agribusiness Council of Arizona to familiarize local and state officials on the agricultural resources of the area. Arizona Cooperative Extension received an "Innovation Award" from the National Association of Development Organizations for the report.


Communications and Advertising

Information about agribusiness is effective only if it is communicated to its target audience (Belch, 1998). A thorough l iterature review on the effectiveness of television, radio, magazines, newspapers, outdoor advertising, and conferences/seminars aimed at informing opinion leaders and the public on specific topics revealed that there are several mediums available, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages (Schoell & Giltinan, 1995).

The literature revealed that conferences and seminars are more appropriate mediums for communicating the concept of agribusiness to small, specialized groups of professionals. Studies of group interaction demonstrate a greater commitment to decisions when responsibility for decisions is spread as widely as possible. These studies also demonstrated synergistic effects of communication that lead to performance levels surpassing the level of performance expected on the basis of individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (Poole & Hirokawa, 1986). Synergistic effects can be expected to surpass individual performance when: a) members interact and work interdependently, b) there is no clearly defined "best answer" for assessing the correctness of the decision, and c) decision making situations involve high levels of ambiguity (uncertainty, complexity, and irreversibility) (Fandt, 1991).


Survey Measure of the Effectiveness of Impact of Agribusiness Brochures

Due to the small sample size (25 urban Texas opinion leaders surveyed) the data presented does not have statistical significance and is presented from a qualitative standpoint. The conclusions drawn from the data are drawn not only from totaled answers but forcefulness of views and context of questions. Although surveys were given to a diverse group of opinion leaders, those responding can be grouped into four categories as follows: a) those involved in banking, b) local government, c) private business, and d) chamber of commerce members. These categories are not intended to be mutually exclusive, as respondents may fit into more than one. The following subtitles reflect the survey questions that respondents were asked.

Survey responses indicate that opinion leaders who do not have immediate ties to production agriculture do not understand the significance of value-added agribusiness. The survey revealed that respondents representing private business and local government were particularly unfamiliar with agribusiness. Most respondents had learned about agribusiness and value-added agriculture through their employment. The respondents considered conventions and seminars as the best method to inform opinion leaders about the potential benefits of fostering value-added agriculture.

The respondents stated that chambers of commerce and economic development councils are the organizations most capable of bringing value-added industry into an area. Although about half of the respondents felt they were instrumental in bringing value-added agriculture to their respective communities only a t hird of the chamber of commerce members shared the view.

When asked what information should be shared in the Impact of Agribusiness brochures the respondents requested information regarding the present importance of agribusiness and a market analysis for their region as well as the present information in the document. Respondents who were familiar with the Impact of Agribusiness publications believed they did not target the right audience. The respondents said that the publications should target opinion leaders within the chambers of commerce, economic development boards, and the general public.


Assessment of Sources of Agribusiness/Value-added Information

The predominant means by which respondents had learned about agribusiness was through their jobs and family businesses. Respondents in general considered their business required them to understand agribusiness to compete in today's market. They considered professional conferences and sem inars the most appropriate method of informing opinion leaders.

Twenty-six percent of the respondents had learned about value-added products through traditional forms of mass media. Twenty-five percent of the respondents received information about the impact that agribusiness has in their region from Texas A&M or the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Because several of the respondents served on Extension committees to produce the Impact of Agribusiness publications, the data may over-represent the true portion of opinion leaders learning about agribusiness and value-added products from these sources. Almost 15% had learned about the value-added agribusiness through reading agribusiness publications.


Assessment of Proposed Methods for Informing Opinion Leaders

The respondents proposed several means of communicating information regarding the importance of agribusiness in urban areas to opinion leaders. Those who learned about agribusiness from the Extension service and agribusiness publications felt that these methods would be the best suited for informing opinion leaders. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents advocated the use of television, radio, and newspapers, although only 6% of the respondents learned about value-added products through these mass media. By far, the largest portion, 36% of the respondents, believed that conventions and seminars would the most effective means to educate urban opinion leaders about agribusiness and value-added concepts. Because conventions are usually sponsored by the organization employing those who attend, this suggestion correlates with the survey data indicating that most of those interviewed learned about agribusiness through work.


Assessment of Economic Importance of Agribusiness and Value-Added Products

The respondents to the survey considered agribusiness and value-added products were important to their communities' economic futures. A lthough a majority of the respondents from each category considered agribusiness value-added products as part of their communities' economic future, 33% of the local government officials did not. Sixty percent of the respondents believed agribusiness was important to their communities' economic future because it would drive economic growth.

Respondents from San Antonio saw their link to Mexican agribusiness as a driving force in their future economy. Twenty percent considered that because the demand for food is steady and always growing, agribusiness was important to the future of their communities. Eight percent considered that agribusiness was valuable for their future because it could increase employment. Leaders in Arlington and Austin felt agribusiness was not important to their community's economic future because industries such as electronics were already the driving force in their economy.


Assessment of Organizations Capable of Directing Economic Development

When asked which organizations had the power to influence economic development in their region the respondents held diverse views. Almost all of them mentioned the chamber of commerce and economic development councils. Universities, Extension agents, private industry, and local government were also considered important. Agricultural trade groups, banks, and their respective communities were rarely mentioned.


Assessment of Involvement in Agribusiness and Value-Added Agriculture

Fifty-five percent of the respondents were involved in bringing value-added products into their respective communities. About half of the bankers and local government officials responded that they had been instrumental in bringing value-added business into their region. A clear majority of the respondents representing private business responded that they had helped to attract value-added industry into their community. This data may be indicative of the fact that most of the respondents representing business represented agricultural businesses, which are by definition involved in value-added agribusiness. Interestingly, only 33% of the chamber of commerce members felt that they were responsible for bringing value-added business into their community.

This data is significant because most of the respondents said that chambers of commerce are the most influential organizations for bringing value-added industry into a community. This indicates that either chambers of commerce are not realizing their potential regarding value-added products or the survey's responding opinion leaders misunderstand the process involved in bringing agribusiness into a community. Although few of the respondents believed that local government and bankers have influence in bringing value-added industry into an area half of the respondents from these groups had been involved in just such a process.


Assessment of Informa tion Useful to Opinion Leaders

Although respondents suggested several types of information about agribusiness that would be useful to the organizations capable of bringing value-added industry into an area, two suggestions predominated. Fifty-five percent suggested information about the present impact of agribusiness in the region, while 31% of the respondents suggested some form of market analysis. The survey responses indicated that those wanting information about the present impact of agribusiness in their region wanted precisely the type of information found in the Impact of Agribusiness publications.

Those who suggested market analysis had several recommendations. They desired to review the impact of processing agricultural products locally as opposed to exporting them. They also requested information that would inform owners of entrepreneurial businesses of the benefits of small-scale value-added ventures. Finally, the respondents suggested this inf ormation be supported by cost-benefit analysis based on similar ventures in other regions.


Impact of Agribusiness Publications

Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were familiar with Impact of Agribusiness publications, but the methods of selecting interview candidates may over-represent the proportion of opinion leaders in the state aware of the publications. A majority of respondents representing private business were not familiar with the publications. Unfortunately, the fact that many respondents who were familiar with the Impact of Agribusiness publications had also assisted in their production leaves us with an unanswered dilemma, the researchers were unable to postulate what influence the methods of dissemination, informational content, or presentational style may have had; and thus, participation in the production process may account for differences in familiarity.

Sixty-two percent of those familiar with the brochures considered t hem effective but the majority did not feel that the publications reached the desired level of effectiveness. They claimed the publications targeted the wrong group. They believed that the publications "preach to the choir." The respondents that were indecisive regarding the effectiveness of the publications also believed they only appealed to readers already involved in agribusiness. One respondent suggested that the publications did target opinion leaders, but only those involved in agriculture. Opinion leaders who considered that the publications were effective used the data in presentations, and praised their content. Overall, the respondents were uncertain of the target audience for the publications and accordingly were less than satisfied with their current level of effectiveness.

The respondents held divergent views as to the best target audience for the publications. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents did not know whom the publications should targe t. Twenty-six percent believed the publications should target chambers of commerce and economic development boards. This recommendation may stem from the respondents' belief that these organizations were most capable of bringing agribusiness into a region. The most common single response to the question regarding the appropriate target audience was to target the general public. The respondents did not feel that the public was capable of bringing value-added industry into a region, so the response may seem strange. However some of the respondents believed that opinion leaders already understood the importance of agribusiness. From such a viewpoint the public would be the next logical group to inform, because public support is needed if decision-makers are to be successful at bringing value-added agriculture into their communities.

Conclusions

Conclusions

The potential of agribusiness and value-added industry is important not only in economic terms, but to ensure future agricultural viability. North Dakota recognized this fact and formed a commission made up of representatives from the Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, and North Dakota State University to determine what agriculture would look like in the future and how they would help to get it there. By making sure value-added agribusiness finds its niche in a community's economy, jobs will ultimately be created and the economy will prosper. The largest obstacle for a community is to move agribusiness into a new era with a broader definition of agribusiness and a greater awareness of its economic impact. By utilizing the most effective method of informing opinion leaders about pertinent information this obstacle may be overcome.

The current method of infor ming the urban opinion leaders about agribusiness, the Impact of Agribusiness brochures, may alone, not be the most effective method to inform opinion leaders. Respondents who were currently aware of the importance of agribusiness had been exposed to the brochures. Respondents who were not directly involved in agribusiness or did not understand agribusiness were unaware of the brochures. The respondents exposed to the brochures believed they targeted an audience already aware of the importance of agribusiness. The information within the brochures could be utilized in a marketing plan to provide opinion leaders who are heavily involved in promoting agribusiness with the evidence necessary to convince peers of the value of agribusiness to their community.

According to the respondents, chambers of commerce and the economic development corporations have the greatest potential to influence economic development. However, two of the three chamber of commerce members int erviewed had never been involved in bringing a value-added industry into their community. Because they are influential, yet least involved, informing chamber of commerce members of the potential economic benefits of agribusiness and value-added industries may stimulate growth in the agribusiness sector. These opinion leaders have the power to help shape future efforts applied to value-added industry (Guide to Value-Added, 1997). Targeting opinion leaders that actually have the power to influence changes may make a vast difference in the success of any educational initiative.

On the other hand, the relatively small number of local government officials who have been involved in bringing value-added agriculture into their communities are more effective than equally knowledgeable members of the other more aware groups. This indicates that it would be valuable to educate opinion leaders in local government. One point to consider is to transfer the funds used to creat e the brochures and concentrate this funding towards informing the economic development corporations about value-added industries.

The respondents to the survey conveyed the kind of economic impact information that would be most valuable. In general, they considered some form of a market analysis as most important. This information may be an assessment of the impact of processing local agricultural products as opposed to exporting them, or inform owners of entrepreneurial businesses the benefits of small-scale valued-added ventures.

The case studies should be followed to their fruition to evaluate the actual effectiveness of the methods employed to educate opinion leaders in other states. An interview survey similar to the one conducted in this study should be conducted with a larger sample size in order to give the results greater reliability. The interviews and case studies indicate that market analysis should be obtained. The analysis should include a regional tally of resources available to potential value-added agriculture, and projections of the value of processing agricultural products within the various regions of Texas as opposed to merely exporting the raw products.

The Impact of Agribusiness brochures should be distributed to leaders within the agribusiness community as a tool to educate their business peers. The market analysis information and the data in the brochures regarding the present impact of agribusiness should be featured during professional conferences and seminars. The conferences should be structured in a manner to allow opinion leaders an opportunity to interact and discuss the material presented. Initially these conferences should target members of local government and chamber of commerce members.

The medium to supply the above information to opinion leaders is important. Opinion leaders must be informed effectively in order to promote agribusiness. The suggested media was fairly consistent in the survey responses. Most of the responding opinion leaders believed that conventions and seminars are the most effective means to educate other opinion leaders about the agribusiness and value-added industry. Because conventions are usually sponsored by the organization employing those who attend, this suggestion correlates with the data indicating that most of those interviewed learned about agribusiness through work.

This exploratory study to enhance methods to inform opinion leaders about the importance of agribusiness has produced several possible courses of action. The survey responses indicate several important trends in the awareness of agribusiness among opinion leaders in Texas; however, the sample size was too small to give statistical significance to the conclusions. Therefore, the suggestions proposed by this study should be tested with a larger sampling population.

The marketing plans of other states demonstrated t hat good ideas of how to create an increased awareness of agribusiness and its importance, but due to the novelty of valued-added agribusiness the effectiveness of such programs has not yet been ascertained.


Recommendations

The authors formulated several recommendations for successfully creating a marketing plan to inform opinion leaders about agribusiness based on case studies, literature reviewed, and the interviews performed in this study.

1. The case studies should be followed to their fruition to evaluate the actual effectiveness of the methods employed to educate opinion leaders in other states.
2. An interview similar to the one conducted in this study should be conducted with a larger sample size in order to give the results statistical significance.
3. The interviews and case studies indicate that market analysis should be provided. The analysis should include a regional tally of resources available to potential value-added industry, an estimation of potential profits for specific ventures into value-added agriculture, and projections of the value of processing agricultural products within the various regions of Texas as opposed to merely exporting the raw products.
4. The Impact of Agribusiness brochures should be distributed to leaders within the agribusiness community as a tool to educate their business peers.
5. A market analysis and the present economic impact of agribusiness should be communicated to opinion leaders via seminars and conferences. The conferences should be structured in a manner to allow opinion leaders opportunity to interact and discuss the material presented. Initially these conferences should target members of local government and chambers of commerce.


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