Evaluation of an introductory unit on grain marketing for secondary agricultural education students

There is a need by high school agriculture instructors for a new curriculum on grain marketing. The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching unit on basic grain marketing that properly explained the grain industry and was appropriate for secondary education. The researcher constructed a grain marketing unit based on input from experts, extensive time in the grain marketing industry and literature review. Instructors from the state of Illinois were asked to evaluate the teaching unit. Five high school agriculture instructors from the state of Illinois were asked to teach the unit for a period of 3 weeks. They were then asked to participate in a focus group.; After reviewing the surveys and analyzing the information from the discussion group, the following conclusions and recommendations were made: (A) The unit covered the important aspects of grain marketing and is appropriate for secondary agricultural education. (B) There is a need for instruction in agriculture economics in high school education. (C) More curriculums on grain marketing and agriculture economics need to be developed.