Here are some eye-popping stats on agriculture from Marc Chandler at RealMoney.com ...Consider the chicken. In 1900 the average hen laid 30 eggs a year. Now she can lay 250 eggs or more a year. In 1900 it took 16 weeks for a chicken to come suitable for frying (weight of 2 pounds). Today a four-pound roasting chicken is ready in just six weeks. In 1930, it took more than six pounds of feed to yield one pound of broiler meat. By 1940 it required four pounds of grain. Today, less than two pounds of feed are needed. Now that is productivity.