HANDLING WHEAT FROM FIELD TO MILL. 11 



it is therefore reasonable to assume that stacking could also have been 

 done more cheaply here and that this would lessen the difference in 

 cost of the two methods. At any rate, if by properly stacking the 

 wheat the product could be raised one grade, about 2 cents more per 

 bushel could be secured for it, and allowing an average yield of 

 only 12 bushels per acre this would amount to 24 cents, which fully 

 counterbalances the added cost of stacking in tliis case. 



ADDED ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM STACKING WHEAT. 



The farmer who properly stacks his wheat secures it against 

 further loss from exposure to weather, while the one who allows his 

 grain to stand in the shock from three to six weeks, waiting for the 

 thrasher, runs the risk of having it deteriorate in quality from No. 1 

 or No. 2 to No. 4 or even " no grade." 



Another gain Avhich may result from properly stacking the wheat 

 is that it will come out of the stack dry and thrash out clean from 

 chaff, thus jDreventing the loss sustained when thrashing bundles that 

 are damp and tough from rain or dew. With the bundles in this 

 damp condition, considerable wheat remains in the heads or is blown 

 over as '' whitecaps " and goes to the straw pile. This is usually a 

 total loss, as much of the straw in the Great Plains area is burned. 



Improvement in the quality and condition of the wheat is not the 

 only benefit derived from stacking the crop. In addition to making 

 the crop safe should several heavy rains come after harvest, which 

 would prevent thrashing and cause rapid deterioration, the stack- 

 thrashed grain can be placed in tight bins and kept, or it can be 

 shipped direct to market without imminent danger of heating and 

 spoiling in transit. Also, the shocks are removed from the field, so 

 that plowing may be begun at once, and all good farmers readily 

 agree that such early plowing is productive of good results in the 

 next year's crop. 



SUMMARY. 



(1) The average yearly area of wheat in the United States for the 

 last ten years has been 46,578^000 acres. The average yearly produc- 

 tion during the same time has been 659,509,000 bushels. 



(2) Of the winter-wheat acreage 44.3 per cent and of the spring- 

 wheat acreage 94.7 p»er cent, or a total of 29,876,000 acres, were grown 

 each year in the Great Plains area, where much of the wheat stood 

 in the shock exposed to unfavorable weather for a considerable time 

 while awaiting the thrasher. 



(3) The results of this exposure in the shock to the effects of rain 

 and sun are a bleaching in color, an increase in moisture content, and 

 a decrease in test weight jier measured bushel. Continued exposure 

 brings about sprouting and molding in the shock. 



[Cir. 68] 



