36 TEN YEARS' EXPERIENCE WITH THE SWEDISH SELECT OAT. 



1903. 



/904 



/90S. 



/906 



/907 /90B. 



able to infer that the Swedish Select oat will show the same supe- 

 riority over ordinary kinds when grown throughout the State. It 

 will therefore be interesting to calculate the possible increase in oat 

 production in Wisconsin if this oat were grown exclusively. The 

 average oat acreage of Wisconsin has recently been about 2,400,000 

 acres, and the average production about 80,300,000 bushels. The pro- 

 portion of this production that is already Swedish Select is 30,000,000 

 bushels, or nearly three-eighths of the crop. With the same yield per 

 acre, this portion would be grown on nearly three-eighths of the acre- 

 age, but of course it is really less. For safety in calculation we will 

 assume it to be just three-eighths. Then there remains five-eighths 



of the acreage, or about 

 1,500,000 acres, now 

 sown to other varieties. 

 Ten bushels on each of 

 these acres, or in all 

 15,000,000 bushels at 

 least, would therefore 

 be added to the present 

 oat production of Wis- 

 consin if Swedish Select 

 oats were grown exclu- 

 sively. 



Now, what is the ac- 

 tual present increase in 

 production in Wiscon- 

 sin due to the use of 

 this oat? As stated, 

 the present Swedish 

 Select acreage is less 

 than three-eighths of 

 the total. Again, for 

 safety in calculation 

 we may assume it to be at this time at least one-fourth, or 600,000 

 acres. Ten bushels increase on each of these acres, or, 6,000,000 

 bushels in all, is therefore the present annual addition to the oat 

 production of Wisconsin that can conservatively be credited to 

 the use of the Swedish Select. The value of this increase in pro- 

 duction at 36 cents per bushel, the average farm price December 1 

 for the years 1904-1908, is $2,160,000. The average farm price 

 for 1907, 1908, and 1909, however, was 44 cents per bushel, which 

 would increase the value to $2,640,000. Add to this the facts 

 that the 6-million-bushel increase is reckoned up to 1908 only and 

 that this extra production no doubt continues to be somewhat 

 greater each year, and it is seen that the present increase in farm value 



182 



Fig. 3.— Diagram showing in millions of bushels the rapid increase 

 in the production of Swedish Select oats in Wisconsin from 1903 

 to 1908. 



