Agriculture and seafood industries are about to get a serious marketing boost

Louisiana’s agricultural and seafood industries will have a new marketing tool in early 2010 when MarketMaker – a national Internet-driven service – arrives. Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor and director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, says Louisiana MarketMaker will serve as a central clearinghouse for any agricultural commodity in the state, including seafood products and specialty crops. “The service will help producers find a market anywhere in the country for their products,” Coreil says. “This raises our agricultural marketing efforts to the next level. This will be a huge boost for our rural economy.” Louisiana MarketMaker is made possible by Community Development Block Grant funding from the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, which have committed $125,000 in start-up and operations funding to keep the program going for three years. “We want to help simplify the direct marketing concept for our producers,” Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain says. MarketMaker has the ability to analyze the market, taking advantage of other databases, including the Census. Louisiana producers will have the ability to research customer demographics by location, ethnicity, household characteristics and income. The service is free to buyers and sellers. Users do not buy or sell directly through MarketMaker.