122 FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



bread-eating nations is not far to seek. Wheat is an inter- 

 national crop, the price of which is fixed by the supply 

 upon the world's markets. The price of the grain in 

 countries having a surplus is dependent upon the com- 

 petitive offers from importing nations. The United King- 

 dom, being the largest importer of wheat, fixes, to a great 

 extent, the price of that crop in all wheat-producing and 

 exporting countries. The United Kingdom imports 

 annually about 180 million bushels. German}^ demands 

 85 millions, Belgium, 70 millions, The Netherlands, 50 

 millions, and smaller amounts enter the ports of Italy, 

 France, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, Denmark, and 

 other countries. 



In all about 550 million bushels, almost as much as is 

 produced in the United States, annually enter into inter- 

 national trade. The principal countries supplying this 

 demand, with their average annual exportation for the 

 five years 1907-11, are Russia, 140 million, Argentina, 95 

 million, the United States, 55 million, Canada, 50 million, 

 Roumania, 40 million, India and Australia, 35 million 

 each, and Belgium, 20 million bushels. It will be noted 

 that the United States is a wheat-exporting country, but 

 statistics show that her annual exportations are becoming 

 less each year. Considering the present rate of increase in 

 population, it is interesting to speculate upon the length 

 of time that will elapse before the United States becomes 

 a wheat-importing nation. It is interesting also to note 

 that the exports of Argentina, which produces but one- 

 fourth as much as the United States, are almost twice as 

 great as the exports of this country. Argentina has great 

 possibilities as a wheat-producing country, and undoubt- 

 edly will in the future have an important part in feeding the 

 world. 



