B. P. I.— 569. 



DRY-LAND GRAINS FOR WESTERN NORTH 

 AND SOUTH DAKOTA. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The i)iirp()se of this {)a])er is to present some of the results obtained 

 by the Office of Grain Investigations, United States Department 

 of Agriculture, in several years' work in western North and South 

 Dakota. The results of the work done at the Bellefourche experi- 

 ment farm, Bellefourche, S. Dak., and that in cooperation with the 

 state experiment stations at the substations at Highmore, S. Dak., 

 and Dickinson, X. Dak., for the purpose of determining the best 

 varieties of grain, arc rcijorted.*^ It is principally from these experi- 

 ment farms that definite and reliable information may be obtained 

 concerning this subject. 



Many varieties have been grown that are not mentioned here. It 

 has been the practice to add promising new varieties and to discard 

 old ones as they are found to be of no value. To include all these 

 would add needlessly to this paper and confuse the farmer in his 

 ell'orts to select those varieties suited to his needs. 



In addition to the work of vai'iety testing, brief mention is made 

 of milling and baking tests and of experiments to determine the best 

 rates of seeding for the various grains and the best time and method 

 of preparation for seeding winter wheat. Other lines of work are 

 being started from time to time as the need for them becomes 

 apparent. These will be reported when more complete information 

 concerning them is obtained. 



CONCLUSIONS SOMEWHAT TENTATIVE. 



Necessarily the scope of the work has been such that few attempts 

 have been made to draw conclusions. The results of two years' work 

 are reported for Bellefourche, of three for Dickinson, and of seven for 

 Highmore. Obviously one must be extremely careful in drawing 

 sweeping conclusions from the results t)f only a few years' work. 

 Those conclusions and opinions which are presented must be regarded 

 as largely tentative and likely to be revised as more knowledge on 



a The work with dry-land grains at the Bellefourche experiment farm was under 

 the direct charge of the writer of this circular. The results of variety trials at High- 

 more and Dickinson were taken from the reports of the superintendents of those 

 stations . 



[Cir. 59], 3 



