The Agriculture Building at the Iowa State Fair has always been a source of interest for me. You know, the building with all the long lines, the one with the butter cow and all of the honey bee presentations. This building with all of the weirdΠinfomercial-type products has always provided a much-needed mind opening experience. Niche markets, as they are often called, provide a source of income for those who are smart enough to find them or dumb enough to stray from the norm, depending on which way you look at it.

Niche markets are sort of like finding a little cubby hole with benefits and negatives to be carefully weighed out. Finding a niche is somewhat difficult in the agriculture field. Very few people are able to find something that will work for them; however, the niche market is becoming a much more achievable concept and will continue to improve. This improvement can be attributed to the current move in the ag industry toward variation and versatility. One hundred years ago farming was marked by self-sufficiency. One farmer may have had cattle, hogs, horses, 40 acres of corn and a huge melon patch. Being able to provide for one¡s own needs was imperative. As we moved through the century, the agriculture industry saw a lot of specialization and a narrowed variation of products on each farm. Generally the concept of raising something different Œ is looked down upon.

Currently, my family feeds about 1,400 head of purebred and crossed Waygu Cattle. The Waygu cattle breed is native to Japan; the breed at first glance looks similar to that of the Angus breed. However Waygus are horned unlike the Angus breed, and as my dad says, Waygus look like black Jerseys. Which means Waygus look very small boned, dairy-like and not really like a good meat type breed for what a feeder generally wants. Nonetheless, contrary to what the critic believes, these animals do produce well. The average steer goes to market weighing about a ton, or 2,000 pounds, and heifers weigh about 1,400 pounds. This is quite a difference when average market cattle generally weigh about 1,250 pounds. Obviously this is a vast difference in weight and one might wonder why these animals that produce so much meat would not be widely used. This breed of cattle is typically fed for about three years, but the average market steer or heifer is only fed for about 250 days. Obviously this would not be an economically efficient breed to raise for the average person¡s beef consumption. Waygus are not really economically sound unless the cattle feeder has the resources for a somewhat different feeding plan than the average cattle feeder.

Thinking back to my freshman year, memories surface of people giving me a skeptical eye when they heard about the breed of cattle that my family feeds. This generally could be attributed to the different nutrition, breeding and marketing concepts used. Comments such as Couldn¡t make it in the regular industry, huhŒ sort of invaded the conversation when the subject of Waygus came up. Now as the idea of versatility becomes a much more widely accepted and advisable concept, people are not as harsh with their comments.

The capability to serve a small market requires careful consideration. The economics of niche markets are very volatile.

However, keeping an open mind to different ideas can be a very profitable way of making a living in the agricultural industry. The ability to keep an open mind is not often seen as cool.ΠThus many pass up the chance to better their abilities as a member of the agriculture industry. By keeping an open mind chances are that improvements will find their way into your pocket.

Danelle

Zellmer

is a junior in public service and administration in

agriculture from Atlantic.