Marketing is a tough job. Our surveys repeatedly show farmers think it’s the hardest challenge they face in running their businesses. Futures, options, and a blizzard of cash contracts, combined with ever-changing terms and conditions can make it difficult to keep up.

But you’d be surprised how much you know. Farmers in general have a much better grasp of these topics than the typical small businessman, who doesn’t have to worry about hedging his production in a world of competitors, speculators and international money managers.

So how much do you know about marketing? Take our 20-question Marketing IQ test to find out. We’ve included not only the questions, but the answers to the test as well.

We recently gave the IQ test to farmers getting ready to attend our annual Farm Management Summit in St. Louis. For each question there’s a chart showing what percentage of these producers answered correctly. Most of the group answered most of the questions correctly. But the test showed there are still some gaps in knowledge, especially with terminology and options.

We graded the test on a curve developed back in 1996 when we gave a similar instrument to a large group of readers. (Markets have changed in the last 16 years, so we did have to modify one of the questions.) Our recent results show farmers overall have improved their knowledge. But they still couldn’t match a group of Nebraska women who had just completed a marketing course. Education works!

Don’t worry if you need to brush up on your skills. We’ve included a reading list at the end of the test. In addition to books, it includes free online materials to help you improve.

Use the link below to download the quiz, and enjoy!