Iowa farm kids joining the family business have been adding livestock to boost income opportunities for decades.

Pigs. Cattle. Dairy cows. Sheep.

Shelby Smith has chosen a chirpier path: crickets.

In all fairness, it was Dennis Smith, Shelby's dad, who suggested the 27-year-old find a niche when she returned to work the family's rural Story County corn and soybean farm after living in Ireland for nearly five years.

"You don't want to fight this corn and soybean market that I've been fighting for 30 years," Smith said, recalling her father's advice. "If you can find a niche, go after it."

U.S. farmers have struggled to post profits in recent years, with income today half of what it was in 2013.

Crickets are a way to diversify the family farm operation, Smith said. "It's like mini-livestock."

Read the full article on the Des Moines Register website.