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“It’s important to take care of the birds. It’s the right thing to do.”

Bill Wuertz
Chicken Farmer

Name: Bill Wuertz
Location: Paynesville, Minnesota
Years farming: I’ve been farming my entire life, as I grew up on a family farm. We then bought our own farm 21 years ago.
My family: My wife Lynn is my high school sweetheart. We’ll be married this summer for 20 years. We have three daughters: Megan is 17, Brooke is 15, and Abbie is 11. We also have a rat terrier/schnauzer cross named Diesel, and we think he’s the smartest dog ever. He follows Lynn around from barn to barn and waits outside, keeping everything straight on the farm.
How I came to be a farmer: I grew up on a family farm and knew I wanted to farm my whole life. I loved tractors, equipment, and taking care of livestock. My parents built a Gold’n Plump barn in 1970. Lynn grew up on a farm, too, and we still help her parents with their farm.
The best thing about being a farmer: The flexibility of the job allows for the opportunity to work together and spend more time with my family. Most people don’t know what it takes to do this; a lot of 14 to 18-hour days, 100-hour weeks, starting in the spring. But that gives us time to play in the winter together. We love the outdoors and snowmobiling. A farm is a great place to raise kids, and you get to instill the values of farming in the next generation.
My personal philosophy on farming: I really feel I was put on this earth to help feed the world. The more you put into it—and the harder you work—the more you get out of it. Not only in terms of money, but the satisfaction of a job well-done and making a difference. It’s truly an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Hard work is rewarded.

Chicken Production in Minnesota and the United States

• Farmers in the state of Minnesota produce nearly 47 million “broiler” chickens – those intended for consumption – annually.
• September is National Chicken Month – sounds like a great time to prepare grilled chicken for the family!
• Chicken is a significant source of daily requirements of protein, niacin, B6, B12, vitamin D, iron and zinc.
• Chicken is versatile because you can roast it, fry it, barbeque it, sauté it, microwave it, poach it, or even find it pre-cooked, rotisserie or deli style, ready to eat.
• Always refrigerate raw chicken promptly. Never leave it on the countertop at room temperature.
• If you're transporting cooked chicken, put it in an insulated container or ice chest until ready to eat. Keep it below 40°F or above 140°F to ensure that it’s safe to eat.
• Marinade in which raw chicken has been soaking should never be used on cooked chicken.

For more information about chicken farming in Minnesota, please visit http://www.goldnplump.com.

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