WHEAT 



Montana's second largest wheat crop faced a less favorable market demand 

 during the first half of the 1928 marketing season (July to December) than was 

 the case with the big 1927 crop. 



Protein premiums likewise were reduced compared with those of the 1927 

 crop although the average protein content was slightly higher than in 1927 and 

 the proportion of the crop sold on a protein basis was larger as indexed by the 

 number of protein tests made in both seasons. 



In case of winter wheat producers in Montana in 1928, lower yields per 

 acre combined with lower prices for wheat than in 1927 accentuated difficulties 

 of growers and was partly responsible for the strong decrease in acreage of 

 winter wheat seeded in the fall of 1928. On basis of the state average yield of 

 15.0 bushels and the December 1 average farm price of winter wheat of 80 cents 

 the 1928 crop had an acre value of but $12.00 compared with $20.24 per acre 

 for the 1927 crop. 



In case of spring wheat where yields were more nearly up to the average 

 for 1927, the 1928 crop had an acre value of $15.96 compared with $19.98 per acre 

 for the 1927 crop. 



The large bulk of Montana wheat production being spring wheat gave the 

 average acre value of the entire crop in 1928 of $15.18 compared with $19.98 per 

 acre for the 1927 crop. 



PRODUCTION, MARKETINGS AND PRICES IN 1928 



Total production of wheat in Montana in 1928 was estimated finally at 77,- 

 218,000 bushels, compared with 80,208,000 bushels in 1927 and 44,665,000 bushels 

 in 1926. Marketings of 1928 wheat during the first half of the crop year were 

 heavier than for the corresponding period for the 1927 crop and prices during this 

 period averaged lower compared both with 1927 and 1926. The 1928 crop has 

 averaged a quality and test weight about as favorable as in 1927 and above that 

 of the 1926 crop. In protein, tests indicate a slight increase in the content of 

 the 1928 crop compai:?d with 1927, but lower compared with 1926, and slightly 

 lower than the five-year average. 



Market movement of the 1928 crop during the first half of the marketing 

 season compared with movement during this period for the 1927 and 1926 crops 



24 



