ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the attributes of the major marketing alternatives as they affect strategic marketing planning. The major explanation for the high costs – this is typically the most costly marketing alternative – is the considerable labor involved in receiving and sorting the animals and the utilization of the market only one or two days per week. The objectives, plus the action plan, constitute the marketing strategy. Establishing a marketing strategy entails identifying specific goals of the livestock enterprise. Income from livestock sales can be maximized by instituting a marketing program or strategy as compared to sequential sales. Public markets handle between 11 and 20 percent of livestock sales by number for cattle, hogs, and sheep. Public markets include both auction markets and terminal markets. Public markets, however, are disproportionally important to pricing because they are the source of the major price reports.
