Agricultural producers often live up to their name. They are very good producers, but they often lack skills to be good marketers. Marketing and market planning to secure the best price for hogs sold and inputs purchased with an acceptable level of risk are an important part of management. Many of the exciting advancements in technology and opportunities for improvement are in production, but most pork operations can also benefit from improved marketing. However, unlike production efficiency, market prices are largely beyond the control of the manager. What is under the manager's control is how he or she chooses to deal with market . prices and price risk that the firm faces. Developing a marketing plan forces the manager to address the marketing questions that are crucial to the firm.