"WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 7 



period during which the experiments have been conducted is now 

 sufficiently long to warrant the summarizing of the most important 

 results in a single paper. 



Some important facts have been brought out. Those varieties 

 which have given the best results almost invariably have come from 

 regions of similar climate. Climatic conditions so far dominate soil 

 conditions that the State may be roughly divided into two sections, 

 one subhumid and the other semiarid. Each section has its specially 

 adapted varieties, though some are adapted to both. The important 

 practical problem now is how to encourage the more common use of 

 these varieties. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH WHEAT. 



PRODUCTION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 



The production of wheat in South Dakota has remained stationary 

 during the 10-year period under discussion (1903 to 1912). In 

 Table II it is shown that the lowest yield of this period was pro- 

 duced in 1911-. During that season the return was only about 50 

 per cent of the cost of production, while in 1901 it averaged 4 per 

 cent less than the cost of production. During the remaining eight 

 years wheat production has been profitable, to the State as a whole. 

 The highest gain, 46 per cent over the cost of production, was ob- 

 tained in 1909. The average gain for the whole period for the 

 entire State has been 20 per cent on the production cost. In making 

 these estimates the average cost of production for a period of years 

 has been considered as equivalent to the value of a yield of 10 bushels 

 to the acre. That is, it takes approximately the first 10 bushels per 

 acre each year to pay the cost of production, not taking into account 

 the plant food removed. While it is true that such an estimate can 

 not be used in determining the profits of any individual farmer, 

 owing to local and seasonal variations, it serves as a broad economic 

 basis by which the profits of wheat production in general may be 

 measured. On the whole, wheat growing has been profitable during 

 the decade, if the loss in soil fertility is not considered. Up to the 

 present time very little consideration has been given to this factor by 

 the farmers. 



Willis, Clifford. Report of progress in variety tpsts of oats. South Dakota Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Bulletin 110, p. 421-450, illus., 1908. 



Willis, Clifford, and Bopp, J. V. Report of progress in variety tests of barley. South 

 Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 113, p. 501-522, illus., 1909. 



Willis, Clifford. Report of work for 1907 and 1908 at Highmore substation. South 

 Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 115, p. 557-570, 1909. 



Willis, Clifford, and Champlin, Manley. Progress of grain investigations. South 

 Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 124, p. 19-55, 1910. 



Willis, Clifford, and Burleson, W. L. Progress of wheat investigations. South 

 Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 128, p. 123-144, illus., 1911. 



2 Salmon, Cecil. Dry-land grains for western North and South Dakota. U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 59, 24 p., 1 fig., 1910, 



