On October 6, 1941, Orris J. Osheim opened a hatchery in the building just south of the Roland Record office, and started his first hatch February 12, 1942. In October 1943, the O. J. Erickson building across the street was purchased and equipment moved in.
In 1946, the business was reorganized as Ames In-Cross Farms and Hatchery, Inc. , and the following spring 2½ acres of land was bought in southwest Roland to build a 140x40 foot laying house with a 5,000-hen capacity. A Stinson five-passenger plane was purchased in 1948 for delivery of chicks, and in 1951 the firm was merged with Foxbilt, Inc., and the main office was moved from Ames to Des Moines.
As the business grew, the plant also expanded until dozens of buildings were used and a variety of modern equipment was purchased. Chicks and hatching eggs were shipped to most states and many foreign countries. By 1960 the firm had become one of the three largest in the world, and was sold to John Morrell G Co.
In 1961 the company opened a feed and supply store in Roland, which was sold the next year to Harold Lage. In 1963, the hatchery was sold to the DeKalb Agricultural Association, and the company purchased 11 additional acres of land in southwest Roland to build two 40x130 feet brooder houses to enter the broiler production field.
Organized in 1900 by T. Hegland, manager and sole proprietor, Hegland Produce Company was a pioneer in the produce business. As a young man, Mr. Hegland and Tom Sandvold started to dress poultry in the old log house that stood at the present site of the telephone building. In 1904 he went into partnership with his younger brother, Ben Hegland, and I. A. Iverson, and operated the Roland Poultry Company in the basement of the Thompson building, the present DeKalb building, on Main street. Mr. Iverson withdrew from the firm in 1906, and the name was changed to Hegland Produce Company. Ben Hegland died in 1916, and T. Hegland purchased the interest from his brother's estate.
In 1916 Mr. Hegland purchased the old Roland schoolhouse and moved it to a location north of the railroad tracks, fitting it up for a produce plant. The building burned to the ground in 1922, and a new building was constructed in 1924, which served as the company's main plant until dissolution of the firm in the early 1950's, some time after the death of the founder. The main building was 150x200 feet and one story. An adjoining "live room" was built north of the main building, and was 70x90 feet. The volume of business grew steadily, reaching $415,000 in 1926 and larger amounts in later years.
The company operated a branch plant at Story City, and the two plants hired as many as 50 to 60 men during the picking seasons. Many carloads of chickens and eggs were shipped each year to Chicago markets.
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