The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-02-29
NORTH DAKOTA
TURKEY "CR0P"
REAL SURPRISE
Development of the Business
Is Described by Writer
Who Visited State
1928 TOTAL 6 MILLION
Turkey Raising Grows in I'm.
EpOrtance as Part of d.
verse Farming Scheme
Editor Note.-This is the first
of seri>s Of three articles on
turkey raising in North Dakota.

Editor Note.-This is the first
of series Of three articles on
turkey raising in North Oak ota.
When North Dakota farmers mud
ged the eastern produce markets last
fall and early winter with an esti-
mated output of some $4,000, 900
worth Of prime turkeys, the old es-
tablished commission houses and pro-
duccrs in other states rubbed their
eyes.
Here was a spectacle which was n
bit astonishing. North Dakota had
opened her bread basket of the
world and had handed out a real
surprise package. ComTaacently she
skinned the cream off the markets
and took home bulky wallet.
If the performance surprised the
Qlttimers in the turkey industry, it
NAS AN even greater revelation to
the state that did it. Interest in
the feat spread far.
Stories of Success
Recently the Northern Pacific
Railway sent writer to North Da-
kota to ask some of the farmers and
turkey, producers of the state how
the thing was done and they told
him interesting stories Of their ex-
periences and profits in raising tur-
keys. These narratives are related
in this series of articles.
1t would be hard to say exactly
how large Il part turkey raising has
in. the constantly growing scheme of
divErsificatiOn on North Dakota
farms. Accurate figures are not
available and there have been many
guesses. In some quarters it is es-
timated that the value of the turkeys
marketed in 1923 was $4,000, 900.
Other authorities say that reason
ably conservative estimate would be
$4,00O,000. If the latter figure is &C
coHted, the value of all turkeys in
the' state in 1923, including those
marketed and those retained for
breeding purposes and held over for
the early 1924 markets, might be
placed at $6,000,0O0. This figure may
be much too high.
A comparison Of the value of tur-
keys to the value of other livestock
is hardly possible because marketable
turkeys are produced in a single sea-
son or in a year at the most while n
considerably longer time is required
to produce most marketable livestock.
Nevertheless a comparison of this
KIND may be enlightening.
Turkey Industry Of Growing Impor-
lance
Accepting the value of all turkeys
in the state at the close of the 1923
season as $6,NOO,OOO, the figure as
sumes increased Importance when it
is seen that according to the United
States department of agriculture, all
the dairy cows on North Oak ota
farms on January ], 1924 had an es-
timated value of $22,132,0OO; all
other cattle, $l7,420,O0O; swine, &c.
$4,000 and sheep, $l,752,0O0. These
figures may give some indication of
the proportions to which the turkey
industry has grown in North Dakota.
NV for the stories Of some of the
individual producers whose aggregate
efforts made the state s unusual rec
ord
Turkeys in Dakota VS.. Gold in Alaska
II would rather raise turkeys in
North Dakota than dig gold in Alas
ka,' declared Mrs. Louis Huser of
Bgntry, N. d., who has raised turkeys
CONTINUOUSLY for the last IL years
I, I'd who was one Of the exhibitors
at the recent all-American Turkey
Show in Grand Forks, N. D.
Mrs. Huser was with her husband
in the Alaskan gold fields in the COS.
She says they have come nearer
striking it rich with turkeys on
North Dakota farm than they did in
the Klondike. Not that they have
amassed n fortune, but because they
have made a good living, have been
happier and more contented and have
haA better living conditions in North
Rkota than prevail in the gold camps
of \Alaska.
About SO turkeys were raised by
Mrs. Huser in 1923. Half of this
number she sold for $7O0 net. For
1924 hpeeding she is retaining a
flock of 81 fowls and expects to raise
a bigger young flock than last year.
'One-of the mistakes / made when. !
] started in the turkey business IL
years ago. she told the Northern
Pacific representative, was that l
started with u few scrub turkeys.
didn't realize that good breeding
laean more in the profitable produc-
ton of turkeys than it does in any
other kind of poultry sold for COM
mercial purposes. Produced under
the same conditions, purebred tur-
keys of good strain are far more
capable of greater growth and weight
in given tipe than scrub stock
Part of Diversified Farming
Turkeys certainly have a place in
diversified farming in North Dako-
|. { declares w. G. Chapman of Max
bass, N. ID.
Every year. am making several /
hundred dollars net out of my tur-
key flock, The said. Il hesitate to
give exact figures because they
might be nisconstrued but in 1922,
my, turkey flock brought me about
81 900. ~
I'm 1922, I matured between 1875
and 100 turkeys and little less than
twice as many in 1928. On the New
York market in 1922 received as
high as 64k cents. Last year my
highest price was 40 cents but this