Diversifying the Farm
Bruce and Ann Tiffany have designed a new new wildlife feed that they are producing and marketing through Tiffany Family Farms. Not content just to raise corn, wheat, peas, sweet corn, alfalfa, soybeans, sheep, cattle and hogs, Bruce also manages Quality Repair by Tiffany, a farm equipment repair shop.
“Making feed for animals is not difficult for a farmer — we make feed formulations all the time,” Bruce says. “I don’t have near the dollar investment that goes into livestock feeding. But there are more unknowns.”
Why is he inspired to do so much? “You drive — and get steeped in thoughts,” Bruce says. “I’ve always thought about how we can better utilize things and get the most good from what we have.”
“I have plenty of people telling me I can’t do it. That’s my motivation.”
Doing Fine on the Farm
Bruce received a degree in diversified agriculture from the University of Minnesota-Waseca, where he met Ann. They started farming and raising three boys — now 19, 17 and 14. The care and attention Bruce and Ann give their farm and family is obvious. Ann works in early childhood education, helps Bruce with the business, and maintains their turn-of-the century farmhouse, decorated with antiques and conversation-starters, including a porch arrangement of animal skulls her son collected. While Ann admits they’ve had some lean years, she says they’re doing fine with 1,500 acres and diversified income sources.
Aside from bulk commodities — corn, wheat and alfalfa — they raise soybeans for seed and sweetcorn and peas under contract. “People complain about how hard they work and how little they have,” Bruce says. “I’d rather change my position than complain about it. It’s not up to somebody else to do it for you.” They continually look for ways to add value to their crops and livestock.
One day, Bruce spotted an Ag Innovation News article about a Waseca pilot plant and contacted the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI). “When he approached us, I saw he was a go-getter,” says Al Doering, a specialist at the Waseca plant. “Bruce gets his mind on something and goes for it. His enthusiasm will push the project to completion.”
Part of the Challenge
To prepare feed samples for test marketing, “AURI had a batch of pellets packaged commercially and tested them for moisture, durability and shelf life.” When the lab work is complete, the Tiffany’s plan to set up a packaging operation in a granary on their farm. “I priced equipment for bagging and decided it was cost prohibitive, so I’ve scrounged to find what I needed and built most of it myself,” Bruce says. “But I haven’t tried it yet.”
Developing the product is just part of the challenge, Bruce says. They’ve also had to cut through masses of red tape: “Trademarks, copyrights, registrations have all been at issue here.” Setting up the company as a limited liability corporation or LLC “was more work than we thought,” as was getting rights to the name and a feed manufacturer’s license. Currently, they are working on package design with a Redwood Falls firm and will soon present their wildlife treats to sporting goods retailers and distributors. “Marketing is always a big hurdle,” Al says. “I’d like to see his product in Cabella’s and Gander Mountain. There are feed companies and independents manufacturing wildlife feeds, but I don’t believe a lot of them have done the research and field checks on what these animals want. That’s what will make these products stand out.”
As if this doesn’t take enough time, Bruce still looks for every possible avenue to get more income from his farm. He holds up bundled corn stalks and asks, “How do you decorate in the fall? If this were in a store and you could take it home wrapped up nice like this, would you buy it? How much would you pay?”