Hy-Line International in Iowa: History, What It Breeds, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Hy-Line International is a West Des Moines layer-genetics company that calls itself the world's oldest, tracing its roots to Henry A. Wallace's hybrid experiments on a southern Iowa farm. It reports operating the largest layer breeding stock hatchery in the world and distributing in more than 120 countries. Few Iowa agricultural names carry that kind of global reach.
| Location | West Des Moines, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1936, per the company website |
| Sectors | Layer chicken genetics; breeding stock; diagnostics |
| Scale | Largest layer breeding stock hatchery in the world and distribution in 120+ countries, per the company |
| Why it is elite | Seedstock and genetics leader; roots in the first commercial hybrid layer |
| Ownership | Company-owned; see the official site for current corporate details |
| Official website | Hy-Line International official site |
History of Hy-Line International
The company's story begins in the early 1900s, when Henry A. Wallace ran genetic experiments on his father's farm in southern Iowa. Wallace later became a nationally known agricultural editor and public figure. The experiments pointed toward hybrid vigor in poultry, an idea that reshaped egg production in the twentieth century.
Hy-Line's website states that its geneticists developed the world's first commercial hybrid egg-laying chicken roughly 90 years ago and dates the company to 1936. Iowa remained the home base while the business expanded across continents. Today it describes itself as the oldest layer genetics company in the world.
What Hy-Line International Grows and Raises
Hy-Line breeds and sells layer chicken varieties including W-36, W-80, Brown, Silver Brown, Sonia and Pink lines, per its website. The company does not sell eggs to grocery shoppers. It sells genetics, meaning parent stock and chicks that egg producers then raise for table-egg production.
It also operates what it describes as the largest breeding-company-owned diagnostic laboratory in the industry, supporting disease surveillance and health work. Customer tools such as the Eggcel software and a lighting program help producers get the most from the birds. In context, the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 43.1 million layers on Iowa farms, so the state is a natural home for a layer genetics leader.
How Hy-Line International Makes Money
Genetics and breeding stock sales
The primary revenue stream is the sale of layer breeding stock and chicks to egg producers around the world. Customers pay for performance traits, which the company develops through multi-generation selection.
Diagnostics and technical services
The company's published materials highlight an in-house diagnostic laboratory and technical support. Health monitoring and flock-management guidance help customers protect their investment in the birds.
Management tools
Hy-Line offers digital tools and lighting programs for customers. These services support long-term customer relationships and tie performance data back to the breeding program.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Hy-Line International
Genetic leadership compounds. A company that has bred layers for nearly a century can fold decades of performance data into each generation. Seedstock producers in any species can learn from the discipline of recording traits, selecting and communicating results to customers.
Support services around the product, such as diagnostics and management tools, build trust and recurring business. Operators who sell breeding stock can borrow that approach by pairing animals with clear guidance on handling, health and performance expectations.
Henry Wallace's hybrid-chicken experiments in southern Iowa gave the world an egg-laying bird that works hard and clucks little. At farm.FM we love sending good-natured farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes in the direction of a state that gave poultry science its big break. The hens may not appreciate the punchlines, but their genetics have surely earned a laugh.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Hy-Line International
Website: https://hyline.com/about-us
Contact details as published on the operation's own website, November 2026. The About page links to a Contact Us page; no street address or phone number was printed on the page reviewed. Confirm before traveling or sending anything.
Hy-Line International Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Hy-Line International - About Us - Company history, scale and products
- Hy-Line International overview - Independent encyclopedia summary of the company
- Hy-Line trade coverage - Poultry trade news on the company's international work
- USDA NASS Iowa 2022 Census of Agriculture - State farm counts and poultry inventory
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - State agency supporting Iowa agriculture
Hy-Line International FAQ
What does Hy-Line International do?
It breeds and sells layer chicken genetics, selling breeding stock and chicks to egg producers rather than eggs to consumers.
When was Hy-Line founded?
The company website dates it to 1936 and traces its roots to Henry A. Wallace's genetic work on a southern Iowa farm.
Where is Hy-Line based?
The company is based in West Des Moines, Iowa, with distribution in more than 120 countries.
Which Hy-Line varieties exist?
The website lists W-36, W-80, Brown, Silver Brown, Sonia/Gray and Pink layer varieties.
Hy-Line International shows how an Iowa farm experiment grew into a worldwide genetics business. To see how poultry, hogs, corn and soybeans fit together across the state, visit our Iowa farms guide and the other profiled operations.