market. Such analysis I know as SWOT. Table 5 provide a summary of such items
which a further elaborated in this section.
Table 5.
Pacific Coast District SWOT (Strengts, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis Summery
Strengths Weaknesses
- Cargill Inc's. strong financial backing -High turnover in sales force and name -Low market share
*Industry-renown training in animal -Pricing strategy nutrition consulting -Less tradition in the area compared to competition
-Proprietary computerized technology -High price perception in the market 'Ration-formulation system (top in the
industry)
-Access to markets for alternative
ingredients
-Well managed mills. Safety & Quality
Opportunities Threats
-Higher margin business 'Two competitors are opening two new mills
'Synergy with Renissen 'Energy shortage in California
(Cargill/Monsanto joint venture) 'Less business from dairies w/ private consultants 'New distribution-1.8 million cows in Main competitors are staffing themselves with consultant type the marketplace sales people
'Growth of dairy consulting -Increasingly large dairies may find it more cost effective to
'Changing producer perception- Focus purchase and mange conumodities separately Feed, Herd Builder 'Consultant and feed company contradiction perception may be
hard to overcome
Strengths
The primary strengths of Cargill are all related to their expertise, vast resources,
and cutting edge technology in animal nutrition and feed formulation and manufacturing.
The Cargill company also has a great amount of weight and respect in its name, not to
mention its financial strength and accessibility to agriculture markets.
Cargill Animal Nutrition consultants are very sought after in the industry due to
the quality of training they receive. These consultants bring great value to their
customers and become their trusted advisors. They are well trained in ration formulation,
nutrition and general management, so they are able to help producers increase their
production and profitability through fine-tuning the entire operation. This is, of course,
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