SUMMARY OF POTATO SHIPMENTS BY CROP YEARS 



Total 

 Crop Production 



1923 3,960,000 



1924 -. 2,992,000 



1926 3,780,000 



1926 2,975,000 



1927 5,400,000 



• Movement to March 16, 1928 — Shipping season from September 1, to June 30th. 



TREND QFHA^ACREASE 





"Tofa/- 



HAY 



With the largest hay acreage ever 

 grown in Montana and yields per acre 

 that averaged higher than usual, the 

 state produced for the first time a crop 

 of hay to total over three million tons. 

 A large crop of hay was needed by Mon- 

 tana farmers to restore reserve stocks, 

 depleted in the winter of 1926 and to pro- 

 vide against winter needs in 1927. 



Acreage devoted to tame hay in 1927 

 was decreased from that of 1926 due 

 chiefly to smaller amounts of grains cut 

 for hay. A higher acre yield than for 

 years, however, was sufficient to produce 

 the largest total crop of tame hay in the 

 records of the state. The total crop of 

 wild hay was also larger than ever be- 

 fore because of both greatly increased 

 acreage and higher than usual yields. 



APPLES 



The commercial apple crop in 1927 suffered early damage from unfavorable 

 weather during pollination and from a heavy June drop, resulting in a crop 

 that was smaller than the 1926 crop by almost 50,000 bushels. Poor weather for 

 maturing caused the quality of the crop to average below normal. 



However, apples were also scarce in other apple growing sections and the 

 Montana producers received higher prices for their product in 1927 than in 1926. 

 Comparative data for the past five years is shovm in the accompanying table, 

 which gives the total production by years and carlot shipments of apples from 

 each crop. 



MONTANA APPLE PRODUCTION 1923-1927 



YEAR Total Production Cars Shipped 



1923 990,000 451 



1924 290,000 173 



1925 80,000 29 



1926 325,000 343 



1927 277.000 145* 



* Total to February 4, 1928 ; total to same date 1926 was 341 cars. 



BEANS 



Bean production in Montana in 1927 

 more than doubled that of 1926. This 

 crop, composed almost entirely of the 

 Great Northern variety which was de- 

 veloped from a native Indian-grown bean, 

 has grown from practically no import- 

 ance in 1909 to a place in 1927, where it 

 was valued at nearly three million dol- 

 lars. The Great Northern bean is a white 

 dry bean of good eating quality that has 

 met with favor in eastern markets. 



Commercial production of this bean in 

 Montana is chiefly centered in Yellow- 

 stone county and in counties adjoining \ i 



Yellowstone. Beans grow successfullyon either irrigated or unirrigated land. 

 Montana ranked sixth in production of dry beans in both 1926 and 1927. The 

 average yield per acre of 17 bushels was surpassed by only two other states. 



—28— 



BEAN PRODUCTION BV YEARS 



