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July 1996

State Roundups
Wisconsin

Manufacturing Outreach Center benefits businesses and students

The Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center (NWMOC), located at the University of Wisconsin Stout in Menomonie, offers the technical expertise of faculty and students from colleges throughout the region to small- to mid-sized manufacturers, mostly in rural areas.

The center provides direct on-site assistance, refers companies to other agencies when appropriate, and links clients and vendors or other companies with similar concerns or problems. Manufacturers also have access to a Cray supercomputer with a fiber optic link to the university and its engineering and design computer programs. In addition, NWMOC conducts periodic manufacturing seminars for businesses in the region.

NWMOC charges for services on a sliding scale based on several factors, for example company size, but also receives funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Technical College System and the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

When it began operations two years ago, NWMOC was one of about 30 manufacturing support centers nationwide. It has been so successful in that short time that it has become a prototype operation for the state, which is in the process of adding three other regional centers, according to Larry Schneider, executive director of the Stout Technology Transfer Institute, the umbrella group under which NWMOC operates. Adding more centers is good news to Schneider, who sees the need for greater manufacturing support. "Over 80 percent of NWMOC's new clients have never used third-party services," he says.

Marplex Inc., a wood products manufacturer in Rhinelander, is one company that has profited from NWMOC's assistance. Joseph Ligotte, Marplex's president, says his business "can do more with less," now, and production capability has increased by 20 percent. "We learned to view things from a different perspective," says Ligotte, adding that the student who coordinated his production project was highly professional.

Students are involved in about three-fourths of the projects, on site or on campus, Schneider says. "This kind of experience enhances their receptiveness to academic coursework," Schneider says. "It also keeps faculty current and provides a real service to private businesses," he adds.

—Kathy Cobb

Red deer farmers hunt for market niche

The dairy farm is still ubiquitous across Wisconsin's countryside, but recent changes in the dairy industry have helped usher in a new agricultural industry—red deer farming.

Close to 3,000 red deer are grazing behind 90-inch fences on 29 Wisconsin farms, making red deer "the fastest growing meat processing business in Wisconsin," says Tony Rosecky, executive director, Wisconsin Commercial Deer and Elk Farmers Association.

As farmers are getting out of the dairy business, at the rate of three per day in Wisconsin, deer farming offers several advantages as an agricultural alternative. The deer can feed all summer off grass, and the land can support larger herds. Generally, three red deer can be raised on the pasture required for one beef cow, or one acre can support three to five deer.

Also, today's health-conscious environment is conducive to marketing red deer, as the venison is healthy—lower in fat and calories than beef—and milder tasting than wild game deer, according to Rosecky.

The largest red deer farm in North America, Boyer Creek Ranch, is located in Barronett, about 75 miles northwest of Eau Claire. After reading about the large quantities of venison imported to the United States from New Zealand—1,000 tons in 1995—Boyer Creek owner and operator Norb Berg decided that deer farming was worth pursuing. So Berg bought a defunct dairy farm and over the years has built a herd of 500 to 1,000 deer. Berg's ranch was the first to import red deer from New Zealand.

Berg, a retired business executive, says deer farming is a good alternative for the older farmer, since it is not as labor intensive as dairy farming.

Deer farmers can expect to get about $3 per pound for the venison; deer are also sold for breeding stock. Boyer Creek Ranch has sold deer to farms across the Midwest, Berg says. In addition to raising deer for venison and breeding, the antlers are sold for approximately $50 per pound for use in various Oriental medicines.

Currently, there is no established marketing system for domestically produced venison; rather, farmers have formed smaller cooperatives. One such is Venison America, established by Boyer Creek Ranch and seven other deer farmers from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin to tap the potential domestic market for venison.

Through Venison America the farmers sell venison snack sticks, jerky and bratwurst to convenience stores, while the prime cuts of meat are marketed to "white tablecloth restaurants" in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Texas.

—Diane Wells