Published: September 09, 2008 04:45 pm            

Land Minds: Getting rich on corn at the fair

Originally published in the September 5, 2008, print edition.

We sure got excited, and rightly so, when corn prices jumped into the $7-per-bushel range early this summer. It could happen again if an early frost or some other calamity suddenly shortchanges this 2008 crop.

Meanwhile, at the Minnesota State Fair I learned a lesson in the sudden riches of niche marketing. One particular food stand at the fair exemplified niche marketing at its best.

The big Corn Roast stand was favorably located along the heavily traveled walkways near the State Fair Grandstand. The sweet, buttery taste of corn on the cob came to mind as I approached the stand, and the $3 sticker price only slightly jarred my taste buds. Yep, that was $3 PER EAR. But it was tasty indeed, even at that price.

After picking the meal’s last remnant out of my molars, my mental calculator started running the numbers on that $3 ear of corn. A worker at the stand told me they sell about 15,000 ears per day on the weekends and about 150,000 for the total 12-day run. That means about $450,000 worth of corn in 12 days from one stand at the Minnesota State Fair.

I didn’t get any extra information — who grows the sweet corn, how many workers at the stand, operational costs for the 12-day run, etc. — but nearly one-half million dollars just selling sweet corn at the State Fair certainly reinforces the old marketing adage that if you’ve got the right product in the right place at the right time, just about anyone can make a buck.

For the record, while I once again tried a whole bunch of stick food at this great State Fair, I didn’t do the bacon dipped in chocolate — and now will forever (at least until next year) wonder how dazzling that must have been.

The Minnesota Get-Together really is an amazing event, and it’s an entertainment bargain, at least if you don’t go nuts on stick food.

There must be at least six stages with a variety of free entertainment. The Leinie Lodge Bandshell has super shows. For educational purposes, that small stage area just beyond the DNR building is great. Heritage Square, appropriately named, also has tremendous variety. (Those of us in the journalism world can conveniently see how newspapers were made in the good old days.) The Energy Expo building was fascinating, and just outside that, the Salem Lutheran Church stand still has egg coffee for $1.

But you don’t go to the State Fair for the latest in farm machinery. While the Machinery Hill label still lingers, it’s strictly a show for the garden, small tractor and ATV world today. An antique collector, however, has a block-long lineup of an amazing variety of old-time tractors. (To see the latest equipment, you’re better off going to Farmfest, definitely the ag show of Minnesota today.)

It’s somewhat hard to believe but this multi-million dollar extravaganza is strictly a self-supporting business entity run by the Minnesota State Fair Board, which employs a full-time staff of about 70 people, a number that swells to more than 1,700 employees during the 12 days of the fair.

With $11 admission and $8 parking — and more than 1.5 million people attending — the revenue stream is rather huge. Then there are all of those exhibitors, food stands included, who pay for the privilege of being there.

This year the fair was blessed with near-perfect weather for the entire run. I’m told only the Texas State Fair has greater attendance figures, but that’s just because it has a much longer run.

        

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