THE PRODUCTION OF OATS 181 



IMPORTANCE OF THE CROP 



224. World Production. Oats grow best in a cool, rather 

 moist climate, and are most largely produced in the North 

 Temperate zone. Among the leading countries in the pro- 

 duction of this crop are the United States, European Russia, 

 Germany, France, Canada, Austria-Hungary, and the United 

 Kingdom. Such northern countries as Sweden and Norway 

 also produce large quantities of oats, but they are not im- 

 portant factors in the world production because of their com- 

 paratively small area. According to the figures of the Bureau 

 of Statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 the world production of oats is about four billion bushels 

 annually, or about the same as that of corn or wheat. On 

 account of the much greater weight of a bushel of either of 

 the other grains, the total weight of those crops is con- 

 siderably more than that of oats, and the value is also much 

 greater. 



In the five years from 1906 to 1910, the average annual 

 production of oats in the United States was 932,000,000 

 bushels, or a little less than one-fourth of the world produc- 

 tion. European Russia averaged 865,000,000 bushels in 

 the same period; Germany, 583,000,000 bushels; France, 

 299,000,000 bushels; and Canada, 295,000,000 bushels. 



225. Production in the United States. In the United 

 States, oats rank second to corn in the number of bushels 

 of grain produced, but are exceeded in total weight by wheat 

 as well as by corn. In value, they rank fifth among our 

 field crops, falling below corn, cotton, hay, and wheat. 

 The average annual area devoted to the production of oats 

 in the United States for the ten years from 1902 to 1911 

 was 31,779,000 acres; the mean annual yield, 29.35 bushels 

 to the acre; average total production, 926,202,000 bushels; 



