What Is Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

What Is Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay Marketing mix is the key concept in the marketing task. It is the strategy used to perform marketing functions. Marketing mix according to De Aze (1985) is the planned package of elements which will support the organization in reaching its target markets and specific objectives. Marketing mix helps to position the library or information service very firmly in the perceptions of their communities served the wider community for the public library, academic community for the academic library or the clients and customers for the business or specialist information service. Marketing mix needs more properly to be termed marketing mixes, to encourage librarians and information managers to perceive the value of different marketing mixes for specific market segments or groups of users. These are inter-related, interdependent, and also a combination of many factors. C:UsersAjayDownloads69e6aa0beac8f353cdcc2768df8d9bdb_LARGE.png Product: As seen in the goods-service continuum, your product can have both tangible and intangible aspects, and is the thing you offer to satisfy your customers wants and needs. Within this element, you need to consider such things as your product range; its quality and design; its features and the benefits it offers; sizing and packaging; and any add-on guarantees and customer service offerings. Price: Sound pricing decisions are crucial to a successful business and should be considered at both long-term strategic and short-term tactical levels. Within this element of the mix you should consider list price and discount price; terms and conditions of payment; and the price sensitivity of your market. Worth remembering is the connection of price to your position in the marketing specifically that only one operator in any market can be the cheapest. Jostling between competitors for this position is rarely wise. Promotion: This is the element of the marketing mix that most people mean when they talk about marketing. But jumping straight into decisions about what promotional tools to use without considering their relationship to the rest of the mix can be a sure-fire way to waste money. There are many different promotional techniques, each with their own strengths but essentially they can be broken down into four broad categories: Advertising; Public Relations; Sales Promotions; and Direct Selling. These techniques are used to communicate the specific benefits of your product to your customers. Place: Marketers love models that explain the way they work; they love it even more when elements of each model begin with the same letter hence the use of the word Place to describe distribution channels. Your choice of such channels is important, as is the variety of channels you use. For example, a common issue for businesses beginning to trade on-line is how that will affect their off-line business, for example selling directly through the web could alienate retail outlets that have been the mainstay of your business in the past. People: The impact that your people can have on your marketing cannot be underestimated. At its most obvious, this element covers your front line sales and customer service staff who will have a direct impact on how your product is perceived. You need to consider the knowledge and skills of your staff; their motivation and investment in supporting your brand. Any element of the marketing mix will also have its impact on other elements of your business, but the people element is one where the importance of regarding marketing as an integral part of the way you do business is crystal clear. Process: The process part of the mix is about being easy to do business with. If youve ever become frustrated at call centers that cant answer your questions, or annoyed when you cant buy something in a shop because the computerized till doesnt recognize that it exists, even when you can see it on the shelves, youll know how important this element can be. The more high contact your product, and the more intangible, the more important it is to get your processes right. Remember to look at this from your customers point of view. The process problems that are most annoying to a customer are those that are designed for the providers convenience, not the customer. Physical Evidence: When you sell tangible goods, you can offer your customer the chance to try before they buy, or at least see, touch or smell. With services, unless you offer a free trial, your customer will often be buying on trust. And to help them do so you need to provide as much evidence of the quality you will be providing as possible. So physical evidence refers to all the tangible, visible touch points that your customer will encounter before they buy, from your reception area and signage, to your staffs clothing and they images you include in you corporate brochure. 7ps service marketing mix in mc Donalds After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by McDonalds are: Product   Product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. Product includes certain aspects such as packaging, guarantee, looks etc. This includes both the tangible and the non tangible aspects of the product and service. McDonalds has intentionally kept its product depth and product width limited. McDonalds studied the behaviour of the Indian customer and provided a totally different menu as compared to its International offering. It dropped ham, beef and mutton burgers from the menu. India is the only country where McDonalds serve vegetarian menu. Even the sauce and cheese used in India are 100% vegetarian. McDonalds continuously innovates its products according to the changing preferences and tastes of its customers. The recente xample is the introduction of the Chicken Maharaja Mac. McDonalds bring with it a globally reputed brand, world class food quality and excellent customer specific product features.   McDonalds Indian Menu: Vegetarian McVeggie McAlooTikki Paneer Salsa Wrap McCurry Pan Pizza McPuff   Non vegetarian Chicken Maharaja Mac McChicken Burger Shahi Chicken McCurry Wrap Chicken Mexican Fillet-O-Fish Chicken McNuggets   Price   Pricing includes the list price, the discount functions available, the financing options available etc. It should also take into the consideration the probable reaction from the competitor to the pricing strategy. This is the most important part of the marketing mix as this is the only part which generates revenue. All the other three are expenses incurred. The price must take into consideration the appropriate demand-supply equation. McDonalds came up with a very catchy punch line Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam. This was to attract the middle and lower class consumers and the effect can clearly be seen in the consumer base McDonalds has now. McDonalds has certain value pricing and bundling strategies such as happy meal, combo meal, family meal and happy price menu to increase overall sales volumes. Place   The place mainly consists of the distribution channels. It is important so that the product is available to the customer at the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Nearly 50% of U.S.A is within a 3 minute drive from a McDonalds outlet. There is a certain degree of fun and happiness that a customer feels each time he dines at McDonalds. There are certain value propositions that McDonalds offer to its customers based on their needs. McDonalds offers hygienic environment, good ambience and great service. Now McDonalds have also started giving internet facility at their centers and they have been playing music through radio instead of the normal music. There are certain dedicated areas for children where they can play while their parents can have some quality time together. Promotion The various promotion channels being used by McDonalds to effectively communicate the product information are given above. A clear understanding of the customer value helps decide whether the cost of promotion is worth spending. There are three main objectives of advertising for McDonalds are to make people aware of an item, feel positive about it and remember it. The right message has to be communicated to the right audience through the right media. McDonalds does its promotion through television, hoardings and bus shelters. They use print ads and the television programmers are also an important marketing medium for promotion. Some of the most famous marketing campaigns of McDonalds are:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You deserve a break today, so get up and get away- To McDonalds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Food, Folks, and Fun Im loving it. People   McDonalds understands the value of both its employees and its customers. It understands the fact that a happy employee can serve well and result in a happy customer. McDonald continuously does Internal Marketing. This is important as it must precede external marketing. This includes hiring, training and motivating able employees. This way they serve customers well and the final result is a happy customer. The level of importance has changed to be in the following order (the more important people are at the top): 1. Customers 2. Front line employees 3. Middle level managers 4. Front line managers Processes   McDonalds worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local customs and culture. McDonalds has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences. Keeping in line with this, McDonalds does not offer any beef or pork items in India. In the last decade it has introduced some vegetarian and non-vegetarian products with local flavors that have appealed to the Indian palate. There have been continuous efforts to enhance variety in the menu by developing more such products. It is completely transparent and visible to the customers, allowing them to judge hygiene standards where the process takes place. The customers are even invited to check the ingredients used in the food. McDonalds has also re-engineered its operations repeatedly in its 11 years in India to address the special requirements of a vegetarian menu. Vegetable products are 100% vegetarian, i.e. They are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. Only pure vegetarian oil is used as a cooking medium. Cheese and sauces are completely vegetarian and egg less. Separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. Food manufacturing transparent to customers across the counter. Training to the licensees about how to operate the franchise. Invented the most efficient cooking equipment with use of latest technology. New methods of food packaging and distribution are followed Physical evidence   The physical appearance affects not only the impression outsiders have of a business but also the way that business functions. McDonalds focuses on clean and hygienic interiors of its out lets at the same time they are attractive. It maintains a proper decorum at its joints. Staff members dress in McDonalds Dress code with Green shirts, Blue trousers, Black caps and Customized Ronald McDonalds tie. Building maintenance and visible cues are provided by the golden arches, the trademarks and the logos in the premises. The delivery scooters also add to the physicality of the company. 7ps service marketing mix in Pizza Hut After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by Pizza Hut are: PRODUCT Worldwide and in India, Pizza Hut has come to become synonymous with the best pizzas under one roof. This is because at Pizza Hut the belief is that every pizza has its own magic, thus making it a destination product which everyone seeks. It is this belief that has ignited the passion to create, innovate and serve the finest product the industry has to offer, while setting standards for others to strive to replicate. Pizza Hut is committed to providing uncompromising product quality, offering customers the highest value for money and giving service that is warm, friendly and personal. A critical factor in Pizza Huts success has been its unique dining experience. Crewmembers at Pizza Hut strive each day to provide customer mania the kind of service that ensures that every visit of the customer is a memorable one. Over the years Pizza Hut has also developed and successfully introduced a range of products especially suited to the Indian palate. These products like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer and the Masala and Tandoori pizzas have been a tremendous success. What has also given Pizza Hut a competitive edge is that in addition to an extensive range of internationally renowned pizzas like The Italian, the proprietary Pan Pizza and Stuffed Crust, in India the menu offers the option of a complete meal. It includes appetizers, a Salad Bar where the customers can make their own fresh salads, a range of soups, pastas and desserts PRICE In the past, Pizza Hut has successfully used the high/low pricing strategy when setting the retail price of its products. The high/low retail pricing strategy allows Pizza Hut to charge a price that is above the competition, but also promote frequent sales to lower the price below them. Both Pizza Hut and the beverage Mountain Dew are Pepsi subsidiaries, bundle pricing will be used.. Pizza Hut will be able to sell two products together at a single price to suggest a good value. Different groups of customers are willing to pay different prices for the same product. Pizza Hut can sell The Extreme to the customers who will pay the higher price to be the first to buy and also to the bargain hunters Finally, this strategy will emphasize product and service quality. Pizza Hut sets a high initial price for its products to send a signal to customers that its products are quality and the service is excellent. PROMOTION The objectives of promotion are to introduce a new product, stimulate demand, change the short-term behavior of the customers, and encourage repeat or greater usage by current customers. Pizza hut uses many promotional strategies. The main promotion is a coupon to purchase. This promotion is also distributed mainly by mail (VIP members), but also by fliers on college campuses around the country in order to reach the target market. They are using billboards on main stream places to get there customer. They are also distributing door to door brochures to capture more and more customers. Pizza huts also using marketing techniques. These are the strategies Pizza hut is using for its marketing. Pizza huts trys to attract the younger generation as their main market segment. Apart from this Pizza Hut is using intense marketing strategies they are also giving ads in magazines. Advertising camping will creates awareness of the products in our target markets. PEOPLE Here the job design is not the most difficult task to do. Also there is no specific requirement for recruiting process. After talking one of the employees in Pizza Hut, we came to know the criteria of selection. The girl was from west India, she was only 10th passed out. After this we it was confirmed that there is no proper requirement of the educational background. The only factor they were considering on the communication skills, how they communicate with the customers. Since the communication is the most important factor between the customer and employee because the whole process is depended on giving the orders for food. For this the Management conducted the training process for the new employees. The Training is given for total 5 days. Out of 5 days, they have 3 days for kitchen training and other 2 days in the main dining, that is, how to take orders and basically how to communicate with customers and make them happy by their services. PROCESS The design of the process of the pizza hut is very efficient .pizza hut do not follow any kind of hierarchy , all the employee is at the same level ,pizza hut has a very prescribe and well known process by adopting various technology software which help them to upgrade their supply management and also manage their crowd of customer efficiently. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE The ambience of the pizza hut is good enough to catch up the people .they provide a very good dining experience with high quality of atmosphere in terms of their physical evidence. And pizza hut always try to upgrade with changing environment and modernization is key of success of the pizza hut.

Opportunity Recognition Essay

Mr Kurian was born in December, 13th 1961 and had graduated in Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the year 1983. Mr Kurian has been in the engineering industry for almost 30 years, in which he has worked under different companies during the first 17 years. Mr Kurian had begun his career as entrepreneur in the year 2000, where he established his own engineering firm alongside with his 2 partners. Mr Kurian took full advantage of his experience working under different engineering firms for 17 years, and applied engineering and management skills that he had learnt to start his own business. Currently, Mr Kurian Zachariah is the Managing Director of Frezawa Engineering Sdn Bhd. This literature review concentrates on the topic of opportunity recognition for entrepreneurs. In order to start-up business, entrepreneurs have to identify the idea or core value of the business. Generally, entrepreneurs would go for opportunity or business which would promise greater success in the market. 2. 0 Literature Review Opportunity Recognition A stream of research shows that opportunity recognition is highly associated with entrepreneur’s alertness in the market, prior knowledge on a particular field, mental stimulation, social capital, and behavioral and cognitive skills. According to research done by Gregoire, Barr and Shepherd (2010, 29), cognitive skills are crucial for entrepreneurs to identify opportunities. Entrepreneurs used their prior knowledge and creativity skills in order to search for â€Å"open window† in the market. D’Souza, Rodney, and Schenkel (2011, 46) stated that greater prior knowledge breadth provide entrepreneurs with higher chances of identifying innovative opportunities. Research shows that 46% of the studied entrepreneurs agreed with crucial roles of knowledge in identifying the best opportunity. With knowledge, entrepreneurs know how and where to look for opportunities. Butler, Doktor and Lins (2012, 23)viewed alertness and social interaction as the major driving forces for entrepreneurs. St-Jean and Tremblay (2011, 42) stated in his research that entrepreneurs are alert to the environmental factors such as economy, political and social to create opportunities. Moreover, it is observed from the literature review that entrepreneurs applied different types of strategies and techniques throughout the opportunity recognition process. Studies done by Butler, Doktor and Lins (2012, 32) shows that entrepreneurs involved the technique of active searching and experiential learning throughout the recognition process. In other hand, Gregoire, Barr and Shepherd (2010, 63)concluded in his research that entrepreneur opportunities occurred based on timing and luck; thus waited for opportunities to occur instead of taking crucial steps searching for opportunities. Chitakornkijsil (2011, 53) noted that different individuals discovered different opportunities, according to their particular way of gathering and processing information. Based on the study done by Butler, Doktor and Lins (2012, 98), entrepreneurs have different sources of opportunities. First, Butler, Doktor and Lins viewed that entrepreneurs focused on innovation as a source of opportunity. Entrepreneurs focused on innovation of technology to create a â€Å"door† to the market. D’Souza, Rodney, and Schenkel (2011, 94)also stated that entrepreneurs used innovation to create new products and market for customers. For example, the introduction of smart phones and tablets to the market. Furthermore, entrepreneurs also considered society’s knowledge and awareness as one of the sources. The development of new knowledge would enhance awareness in the society. Therefore, entrepreneur used society’s awareness and created solution to the problems. Research conducted on sample group of Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics concluded that 53% of entrepreneur respondents would take great advantage from introduction of new knowledge to the market. Butler, Doktor and Lins (2012, 54) stated entrepreneurs likely taken opportunity regarding health and environmental awareness such as pollution and disease. In addition, entrepreneurs also depend on market trends and structure as a source of opportunity. Entrepreneurs studied growing trends in the market and implied related strategy to enter the market. Entrepreneurs focused on trends and demands to ensure profits and success. However, showed different view compared to other research reports. St-Jean and Tremblay (2011, 67) was less focused on these sources but emphasized on facts that entrepreneurs depends on external environmental factors such as politic, economy, and social environment as the major source of opportunity. D’Souza, Rodney, and Schenkel (2011, 85) implied that entrepreneurs take advantage of the current environmental crisis such as economy downfall, riot, and social crisis to create business opportunities. A stream of research showed that entrepreneurs search for business opportunities by implementing strategic methods which depends on active searching, social networking, past experience learning, and deep knowledge. Research by Pech and Cameron (2006, 142)showed that entrepreneurs used active searching for information in order to locate â€Å"new window† in the market. Plus, Nixdorff (2008, 44) stated that the potential of success for entrepreneurs depends on the social network ties of the individual. According to Chitakornkijsil (2011, 75), the bigger the size of entrepreneur’s social network in the market, the higher entrepreneur’s chances of gaining potential information. Social interaction also helped entrepreneurs in providing network chain of opportunities. Furthermore, most of the research project studied mutually agreed with the statement of entrepreneurs mostly depend on past experience in order to create new opportunity. Entrepreneurs used past experience learning method to create innovation to the previous idea such as features or design modification. Entrepreneurs with past experience have higher knowledge on what the future successful product should be. Survey conducted by Pech and Cameron (2006, 118)on sample group of successful entrepreneurs shows that almost 55% of the entrepreneurs managed to locate high potential opportunities through past experience learning. In other hand Ozgen (2011, 58) and Kolb (2010, 86) have the opposite views. Ozgen and Kolb denied social network and experience to be the best way for entrepreneurs in identifying opportunity. However, both of the research agreed that entrepreneurs move together with the demands of market and availability of technology in market. This means that entrepreneurs followed the trends and high demands in market, but produced only at limited innovation. Based on the literature review done on several research projects, different conflicting ideas were studied on the characteristics of a potential opportunity. Through comparison, most research projects agreed with characteristics of a high potential opportunity to be rare, exclusive, hard to copy and not readily substituted opportunity. In other words, the opportunity would require an introduction of new market. However, Ozgen (2011, 47) denied the idea of rare and exclusive opportunities to be majorly focused by entrepreneurs, as according to Ozgen, this type of opportunity would be cost expensive, compared to normal market opportunity. The research done in developing countries shows that 62% of the studied entrepreneurs went for low cost opportunity as they defined exclusive products to be less promising to succeed in the country. Nixdorff 2008, 62) Therefore, Nixdorff stated entrepreneurs considered low cost opportunity to be high potential opportunity in the market as it is more attractive and promise fewer loss. However, some entrepreneurs avoided low cost venture opportunity as it is a long-term profit venture. In other hand, entrepreneurs went for new markets as there would be fewer competitors in the market and are more attractive to society. Empirical research done by Gregoire, Barr and Shepherd (2010, 134) shows on average only 2 out of 5 entrepreneurs would gain greatest share in ighly competitive market. Therefore, it would be legit to decide opportunity with fewer competitors would offer greater potential of success for entrepreneurs. According to research projects studied, most of researchers mutually stated that the major challenges faced by entrepreneurs in identifying opportunity occurred from self and external environment. From the self view, entrepreneurs faced challenges in identifying potential opportunity due to anti-social lifestyle, uncertainty avoidance attitude, lack of creativity and imagination, poor knowledge, and refusal behavior. These factors studied to results in entrepreneurs having less network ties in the market, low confidence in taking risks, lack of alternative and innovative idea, and loss of opportunity. Based on study conducted by Kolb (2010, 131) on entrepreneurs of Institute of Wyoming, 44% out of 100 respondents agreed that the major challenge which could constraint them from identifying potential opportunities is entrepreneur’s own attitude and behavior. Furthermore, entrepreneurs also faced obstacles in opportunity recognition due to environmental factors such as lack of technology innovation and legal constraint idea. Research studied by Chitakornkijsil (2011, 113), proved that the rate of opportunity development in developed countries to be approximately 32% greater than developing countries. This shows that entrepreneurs in developing countries such as Malaysia, China, and etc, are facing obstacles due to level of technology enhancement and legal constraints idea, where entrepreneur’s idea have to be filtered by the ethical perspective of the society. This can be seen from development of smart phones in developed countries, but only few developers in developing countries. . 0 Conclusion As conclusion, entrepreneurs can be defined as innovators who, despite constraints, actively focus on searching and identifying potential opportunities in the market for the sake of the business establishment, survival and growth. Based on the literature review conducted, it is studied that entrepreneurs implemented cognitive and creativity skills in identifying the highest potential opportunities in the m arket. It is important for entrepreneurs to be alert and aware of market opportunity. With the presence of the required skills, entrepreneurs would still be required to implement strategic techniques and strategies such as active searching and social interaction to identify promising â€Å"window† in the market. Furthermore, it is studied that the strength or competitive advantage of entrepreneurs in the market depends on the entrepreneur’s network ties and prior knowledge on the field. The best way for entrepreneurs to increase the possibility of identifying potential opportunities is to increase size of network, which would increase sources of information.

Animal Farm Quiz Check Your Knowledge

The Impact of the Dust Bowl on the Environment

Many accidents and natural disasters have done serious environmental damage to the United States. Some of the most famous events include the  1989  Exxon Valdez  oil spill, the 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee, and the Love Canal toxic dump disaster that came to light in the 1970s. But despite their tragic consequences, none of these events come close to being the worst environmental disaster in the United States. That grave title belongs to the 1930s Dust Bowl, created by the drought, erosion, and dust storms (or black blizzards) of the so-called Dirty Thirties. It was the most damaging and prolonged environmental disaster in American history. The dust storms started at about the same time that the Great Depression really began to grip the country, and it continued to sweep across the Southern Plains—western Kansas, eastern Colorado, New Mexico, and the panhandle regions of Texas and Oklahoma—until the late 1930s. In some areas, the storms didnt relent until 1940. Decades later, the land is still not completely restored.  Once-thriving farms are still abandoned, and new dangers are again putting the Great Plains in serious jeopardy. The Dust Bowl Causes and Effects In the summer of 1931, rain stopped falling and a drought that would last for most of the decade descended on the region. And how did the Dust Bowl affect farmers? Crops withered and died. Farmers who had plowed under the native prairie grass that held soil in place saw tons of topsoil—which had taken thousands of years to accumulate—rise into the air and blow away in minutes. On the Southern Plains, the sky turned lethal. Livestock went blind and suffocated, their stomachs full of fine sand. Farmers, unable to see through the blowing sand, tied themselves to guide ropes to make the walk from their houses to their barns. It didnt stop there; the Dust Bowl affected all people. Families wore respiratory masks handed out by Red Cross workers, cleaned their homes each morning with shovels and brooms, and draped wet sheets over doors and windows to help filter out the dust. Still, children and adults inhaled sand, coughed up dirt, and died of a new epidemic called dust pneumonia. Frequency and Severity of Storms The weather got worse long before it got better. In 1932, the weather bureau reported 14 dust storms. In 1933, the number of dust storms climbed to 38, nearly three times as many as the year before. At its worst, the Dust Bowl covered about 100 million acres in the Southern Plains, an area roughly the size of Pennsylvania. Dust storms also swept across the northern prairies of the United States and Canada, but the damage there couldnt compare to the devastation farther south. Some of the worst storms blanketed the nation with dust from the Great Plains. A storm in May 1934 deposited 12 million tons of dust in Chicago and dropped layers of fine brown dust on the streets and parks of New York and Washington, D.C. Even ships at sea, 300 miles off the Atlantic coast, were left coated with dust. Black Sunday The worst dust storm of all hit on April 14, 1935—a day that became known as Black Sunday. Tim Egan, a New York Times reporter and best-selling author who wrote a book about the Dust Bowl called The Worst Hard Time, described that day as one of biblical horror: The storm carried twice as much dirt as was dug out of the earth to create the Panama Canal. The canal took seven years to dig; the storm lasted a single afternoon. More than 300,000 tons of Great Plains topsoil was airborne that day. Disaster Gives Way to Hope More than a quarter-million people became environmental refugees—they fled the Dust Bowl during the 1930s because they no longer had the reason or courage to stay. Three times that number remained on the land, however, and continued to battle the dust and to search the sky for signs of rain. In 1936, the people got their  first glimmer of hope. Hugh Bennett, an agricultural expert, persuaded Congress to finance a federal program to pay farmers to use new farming techniques that would conserve topsoil and gradually restore the land. By 1937, the Soil Conservation Service had been established, and by the following year, soil loss had been reduced by 65%. Nevertheless, the drought continued until the autumn of 1939, when rains finally returned to the parched and damaged prairie. In his epilogue to The Worst Hard Time, Egan writes: The high plains never fully recovered from the Dust Bowl. The land came through the 1930s deeply scarred and forever changed, but in places, it healed...After more than 65 years, some of the land is still sterile and drifting. But in the heart of the old Dust Bowl now are three national grasslands run by the Forest Service. The land is green in the spring and burns in the summer, as it did in the past, and antelope come through and graze, wandering among replanted buffalo grass and the old footings of farmsteads long abandoned. Looking Ahead: Present and Future Dangers In the 21st century, there are new dangers facing the Southern Plains. Agribusiness is draining the Ogallala Aquifer, the United States largest source of groundwater, which stretches from South Dakota to Texas and supplies about 30% of the nations irrigation water. Agribusiness is pumping water from the aquifer eight times faster than rain and other natural forces can refill it. Between 2013 and 2015, the aquifer lost 10.7 million acre-feet of storage. At that rate, it will be completely dry within a century. Ironically, the Ogallala Aquifer is not being depleted to feed American families or to support the kind of small farmers who hung on through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years. Instead, the agricultural subsidies that began as part of the New Deal to help farm families stay on the land are now being given to corporate farms that are growing crops to be sold overseas. In 2003, U.S. cotton growers received $3 billion in federal subsidies to grow fiber that would ultimately be shipped to China and made into cheap clothing to be sold in American stores. If the water runs out, there wont be any for the cotton or the inexpensive clothing, and the Great Plains could be the site of yet another environmental disaster.