By Kevin Bonham
Published: February 21, 2010 - Grand Forks Herald
Rural Tolna, N.D. - As Rick Glynn and Spencer Hanson walk on a soft layer of straw, scores of geese - a few honking at excitement - waddle our of their way, some strolling to another part of the indoor pen, others sauntering outside into the crisp, bright February morning sun.
"They can go in and out as they want. They do real well in winter," Hanson said of the free-range birds.
"Each one has its own goose down coat," Glynn added.
Tolna, once called the "turkey capital" of North Dakota, is quickly becoming the "goose capital," since Schiltz Foods and Goose Farms, based in Sisseton, S.D., brought 8,000 breeding geese to a converted turkey barn here two years ago.
Schiltz remodeled the barns and did some building. Commercial geese facilities are not as crowded as turkey of chicken barns. Each goose requires at least 5 square feet of space.The barns and outdoor pens are divided to keep different bloodlines separated.
The move to Tolna was prompted partly by an outbreak of West Nile virus in 2002 that claimed 30 percent of the geese at the Sisseton farm, which accounts for about 80 percent of the nation's domestic goose supply. The company wanted to separate its breeders from the rest of the operation, to ensure that the company does not supper such a devastating blow again.
Schiltz also embarked on a research mission to find a vaccine in 2005. Today, the company is on the leading edge of research to create a vaccine for West Nile virus. It's made from antibodies drawn from goose eggs.
The company's Interglobal Biologics Inc., a biotech subsidiary, has joined with the UND Research Foundation to create a company called Avianax to develop antibodies and vaccines to protect against viral, infectious diseases - specifically West Nile Virus and Avian Flu.
Avianax is establishing a laboratory at UND's REAC 1, a 50,000-square-foot research and developmental hub that houses eight businesses, said Jim Petell, executive director of UND Research Foundation. REAC , which stands for Research Enterprise and Commercialization, provides Biosafety Level 3 laboratories for the sensitive studies.
The principal scientist at Avianax is Dr. David Bradley, an assistant professor in UND's microbiology and immunology department. Bradley also is working with Dr. Gregory Poland at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Poland, who is American editor of the medical journal Vaccine, is an internationally known expert in therapeutic vaccines.
The company is conducting "pre-clinical" studies, to determine what is called "proof of concept" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Jim Schiltz, Schiltz Foods president and CEO.
"After that, if all testing proves positive and we get FDA approval - and that is a "big IF" - you are looking at four to six years for creating such a facility and having it engage in such production," he said.
"There is no reason to believe the antibodies can't treat more diseases," he said. "It all depends on what the research find. There is potential to expand beyond West Nile and H1N1 flu is an example."
Additional research could result in antibodies and vaccines to help pharmaceutical companies develop drugs to treat other medical issues, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Avianax officials said it could take as many as 1 million eggs to realistically produce antibodies or vaccines.
Goose eggs make sense, Schiltz said. The have as much as five times the volume of chicken eggs. Each goose egg can produce as many as two doses of vaccine. In comparison, it takes two to three chicken eggs to produce one dose of vaccine.
300,000 eggs
Schiltz Foods could have moved its breeding operation anywhere in the region. But officials picked Tolna for a couple of reasons.
One is the location. It's just 90 miles from Grand Forks, rather than the 170 miles between Sisseton and Grand Forks.
Another is that it has turkey farms that can be converted to goose farms.
The company bought its first farm from a retiring turkey farmer who lived west of Tolna, in Benson County.
It recently completed converting a second turkey farm, which closed in 1994. Tolna city officials paid to keep in in that facility for 15 years, to make it available for a new economic enterprise.
It's just about the peak season for goose eggs. About 75 percent of the geese are female, which lay eggs in late winter and spring. Each female will lay about three dozen eggs per year, bringing the total of the 8,250 laying geese to almost 300,000 eggs a season, which lasts until mid-July. The eggs are shipped to Sisseton.
Slightly more than half of the eggs will hatch and develop into goslings. Some will be held back as replacement breeders.
Others will be shipped, at an average wight of 16 pounds, to the Sisseton facility, to be processed and sold. A 16-pound goose will produce about 11 pounds of meat.
The company markets the goose meat throughout the country, especially to the East and West coasts, where, it is a popular holiday meal, especially with people of Eastern descent, said Glynn, a Schiltz Foods representative.
Economic Boost
The combined operation now has about 11,000 breeding geese and employs about 10 people , including those who travel to Tolna just for the peak egg season and a driver who hauls eggs to Sisseton every day.
While some employees are area residents, others are moving to the region, said Bob Engen, A Tolna businessman and economic development leader.
Hanson moved his family here two years ago from Sisseton.
Glynn, who lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., plans to move his family to the area this spring or summer. He and his wife Pauline, who also works at Avianax in Grand Forks, have been commuting.
"It's one more thing that adds to the economic mix. It's good for the community," he said. "More people are eating lunch int eh cafe. They're buying groceries. They're attending schools."
It could grow even more, if things work out, from additional breeding and egg-producing barns, to other ventures.
The Company is working toward the possible future construction of a pathogen-free facility and possibly a satellite lab at the Tolna farm. That, Schiltz said, would be an FDA decision that could be a year or two away.
If it happens, employment likely would grow substantially with highly skilled workers, although it's too projections, Schiltz said.
"It has been my experience that you need to pay whatever is needed to get the skill set the job requires to accomplish the task in an error-free manner, especially when trying to run a facility of this nature," Schiltz said. "What is the average wage in North Dakota? I would guess these would be above that."
After two years here, company officials are convinced they made the right move.
"We really like the Tolna, and the geese are exceptionally happy," Schiltz said. "There are such nice trees that cut the wind in the winter and proved cool shade in the summer."
Geese do not like hot weather.
"The land itself drains and we do not end up with muddy conditions, again very good for geese. They begin laying eggs at the proper time and do not stop early, as Tolna does not often experience extreme heat, which will make them stop laying eggs. Good, clean water, lots of summer grazing area, nice building in the winter to "hang out" in, what more could a goose want?