Northey: Ag niches need processing plants
Ag secretary in FD to study ag developmentBy LARRY KERSHNER, Messenger staff writer
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Bill Northey, Iowa's secretary of agriculture, was in Fort Dodge Wednesday to study what has made the Mid Iowa Growth Partnership so successful in recent years by developing ag businesses opportunities.
The MIGP is a nine-county economic development organization encompassing the counties of Webster, Kossuth, Hardin, Hamilton, Wright, Calhoun, Palo Alto, Pocahontas and Humboldt.
In exchange for the research, Northey told members of the MIGP's value-added ag committee, that in the future, the group needs to look at how it can tap into the development of cellulosic ethanol, as well as growing niche markets such as the grape and winery, dairy goats, organic farming and the growing fruit and vegetable marketing industries.
In addition, he said all of these niche markets need processing plants and urged the committee to look into creating these types of manufacturing facilities.
"Iowa leads the nation in farmers markets per capita," Northey said, adding that the state's existing "food deserts" should create opportunities for encouraging more markets for home-grown and organic farming products.
"Right now there are 25,000 dairy goats in Iowa," he pointed out. "But there are only two dairy goat (milk) processing plants in the state."
He said more milk processing capability must be created because he anticipates the growth of dairy goats will continue.
He said the state will also see more turkey production growth in the coming years, and more processing plants will be needed for that industry, as well.
"The mind of agriculture is broader than it once was," Northey told a room of 24 listeners. "There is a lot of room in agriculture for diversity."
Secret of local success
Northey said he requested the meeting with the value added ag committee last year.
"This is a good group," he said. "At a time when (the region) needed a group to step up and get things initiated, that's what happened here.
"This has been a regional group that has been successful in bringing people to the region and selling the region."
He asked the group what it is that sells in the nine-county area that has seen the development of 35 percent of the state's ethanol production, the new Tate & Lyle corn wet milling plant, creation of wind power generation farms, expansion of ag businesses and creation of another large dairy farm in Pocahontas County.
Committee members listed for the secretary that what "sells" the region to new business interests are:
- Iowa work ethic. Iowa is known for people who are willing to work.
- And educated and trainable work force.
- Cooperation between city, county and state governing entities.
- Each community sharing its "labor shed" to find the needed work force for a new manufacturing plant.
- The cost of power tends to be less than in other regions of the country.
Gary Nelson, a committee members, area farmer and ag business told Northey that one measure of success was when ag interests teamed up with economic development interests, a relationship that has not always existed.
Northey noted that during the 1980s farm crisis it became apparent that Iowa needed to diversify its economic base, so many of the early economic development efforts went after non-ag interests.
However, since those early years, he said, it became obvious that Iowa "is big into ag" and it became apparent that city and rural interests needed to work together.
Jim Vermeer, committee member and vice president of development for Corn Belt Power Cooperative in Humboldt, told Farm News that the committee is refocusing its development efforts.
"We got a perspective (today) from the state on where the opportunities are," Vermeer said. He said the committee conducted a focusing strategy session three years ago. "Some things have changed since then and so we are refocusing," he said.
That refocusing may be in new processing facilities, Vermeer said.
Mike Nuss, chairman of the value added ag committee, said the group is "looking for anyway we can help the ag economy."
However, he added, there is another aspect for which the committee consider and that's creating a business without the area being able to provide the needed raw materials. For instance, could the area support more corn processing plants?
Biomass development is another area the committee is researching, Nuss said.
"We know," he said, "that it's not economically feasible to transport corn stover over 20 miles" to an ethanol plant. But the region is criss-crossed by old rural railroad lines that may make hauling the lightweight ethanol feed stock economically feasible.
Contact Larry Kershner at (515) 573-2141 or editor@messengernews.net
