The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-11-13
Wisconsin Climbing to Top
as a Poultry Raising Cen
ter of United States.
4 BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY

Wisconsin has become a poultry
state. Thirty years ago the value of
the harnyard fowl first began to be
appreciated in this state and poultry
raising was taken from the level Of
pin money aid to the farmer wife
and assumed an individuality as pro-
ductive factor in the community
4 Statistics Of the last few years have
shown the poultry industry to have
reached the magnitude where it is
rightly classed as A Billion Dollar In
dustry.' What share of this immense
industry may Wisconsin claim to its
ereditg Far more than the casual read
er would give it, for it is general
impression that eastern states lead in
the production of poultry and eggs, but
bulletins issued by the state boards of
agriculture Of the different states bear
me out in the statement that the Amer
lean farm hen is the busiest, most
numerous and most prolific in the cen
trail states. [ say farm hen, for the
bulletins deal only with poultry pro-
duced on farms.
During the last thirty years the
number of farm produced fowls has
been increased to three times the mum
Der produced in 1880 and the increase
in the products Of the Eback yard poul-
tryman' Of the city adds still more to
the total record for these years.
The cause Of this great increase is
the scarcity of cattle ranges in the
western states coupled with the grow
ing population Of the country, causing
a scarcity of beef and the resultant
higher prices, force the common people
to themselves become producers as well
as consumers.
The natural requirements of the
beef, mutton or pork producing ami
mails force the city man to disregard
them when seeking something to pro-
duce and his one salvation in the meat
line is the fowl, whether it be chick
ems, ducks, geese c. pigeons But re
ton has increased 800 per cent and
city production has also increased, the.
increase does not keep pace with the
demand and we have the resultant
high prices Of today on both fowls and
eggs, and as long as these prices con-
tinue do not be afraid Of overproduc
tion. If the thought of overproduc
ton should enter your mind trip to
the grocery store for dozen fresh
eggs will be a convincing argument.
During the last twenty years Wis
consin has made greater progress IN
poultry raising than at any time pre-
vious, and no state in the union can
boast of producing better class Of
poultry than the Badger state. We
have commission dealer for authority
on the statement. that Wisconsin raised
birds bring higher price in the Chi
cago market than do birds from other
states.
During the last twenty years Wis
consin has advanced from goth place in
the production of fowls in 1890 to 18th
In 1890 there were on Wisconsin
farms 6,o73,s12 fowls producing 90
390,784 dozens of eggs, while today
we have 1O,764,9S4 fowls producing
5o,623,813 dozen Of eggs, showing that
egg production has not increased at
the same rate as the prouction of fowls.
Knowing that egg production per lay
ing hen has increased we are led to
the belief that there is much greater
demand in Wisconsin markets for the
younger fowls today than there was
in former years and that large per
cent of the fowls are killed at the
broiler age.
The following figures show Wiscon-