18 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Report of Secretary. 



It is pleasing to note in this, the 42nd annual report to the 

 State Board of Agriculture, the favorable contrast in a prospective 

 with a retrospective view of agricultural conditions and possibili- 

 ties. Only a few weeks ago the president of one of our great rail- 

 way systems declared that "the prosperity of the nation depends 

 upon a scientific and permanent agriculture." The President of 

 the United States, in his annual message to Congress, declares that 

 "the welfare of the tiller of the soil is vital to the welfare of the 

 nation," and he also states that "the farmer represents a pecu- 

 liarly high type of American citizenship." When the great fin- 

 anciers and those high in the councils of our country give expres- 

 sion to such pronounced views it augurs well for the farming 

 classes. 



The past year has been a reasonably prosperous one for Mis- 

 souri farmers. We have just harvested a good corn crop, amount- 

 ing to 233,209,625 bushels, which was worth at the average farm 

 price 37 cents per bushel — $85,317,199. We produced this year 

 34,799,169 bushels of wheat, which brought the farmers $22,898,- 

 179. The drought which prevailed throughout the northern and 

 central parts of the State during the spring and early summer 

 greatly reduced the yield of hay and oats, and both these crops 

 were lighter than since the drought year of 1901. The average 

 yield of hay was .7 ton per acre, which is .3 ton below the aver- 

 age yield for the previous year. The average yield of oats was 

 only 21 . 1 bushels, compared with an average yield of 27 . 6 bushels 

 per acre the year previous. The deficiency in these crops, how- 

 ever, is largely made good by an increased acreage of other for- 

 age crops, such as alfalfa, cowpeas, millet and sorghum. These 

 temporary droughts may be blessings in disguise, by introducing 

 such legumes as alfalfa and cowpeas, both of which crops are 

 steadily increasing in both acreage and yield. The total farm 

 value of all crops for the year 1906 is $152,711,634, as compared 

 with $157,501,572 for 1905. 



