The Turkey Rush on the Columbia
As irrigation transforms the desert, Benton County ranchers pivot from livestock to poultry, forming a new association to stake their claim in the Thanksgiving market.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Benton County’s resources seem unlimited. At first, all we thought we could raise was stock on the range. Then when the irrigation water was turned on, we added alfalfa, followed by wheat in the dry farming districts. It was then discovered that we had ideal soil and climate for fruit. With the success of peaches, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and apples, the dairy cow and the hog soon followed. Now, a new industry has appeared: the turkey. Residents along the Columbia River—at Walker, Longview, Coulidge, and Paterson, and back into the Horse Heaven Hills—have recognized their ideal climate for raising turkeys. Flocks vary from fifty to four hundred birds, totaling 1200 to 1500 this year. On November 12, twenty growers met at the home of N. W. Jacobson in Paterson to discuss breeding, care, and feeding, assisted by Mrs. John Sheller of Sunnyside. The group officially organized the Columbia River Turkey Association, electing Mrs. Jacobson as president.
“The good people along the Columbia river... recognizing that they had ideal climatic conditions for raising turkeys, and being a class of people who are awake and know an opportunity when they see it, have proven that the turkey is fast becoming one of our dependable resources.”
This 1914 pivot to turkey farming illustrates the constant economic experimentation required in the Tri-Cities as irrigation unlocked new agricultural possibilities. Today, while the specific locations like 'Coulidge' have faded from the map, the region remains a vital hub for diverse agricultural exports.
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