WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 



23 



At Cottonwood and Eureka oat growing has not been profitable 

 during the last four years, even when the best varieties were used, 

 as shown in Table VIII. That it has been profitable at Highmore 

 during the last seven years again illustrates the fact that one must 

 make plans on a long-time basis in order to succeed in a region of 

 limited moisture. It is also evident that no attempt should be made 

 to grow oats in central and western South Dakota for market pur- 

 poses, but the surplus in favorable seasons should be kept to provide 

 feed for live stock in the less favorable years. By this method oats 

 may be utilized profitably in that area, but if freight is paid to ship 

 the crop out in good seasons and to bring it back in bad seasons 

 profit can scarcely be expected. 



In Table IX the yields of two of the best varieties at Brookings 

 and at Highmore for the 10 years from 1903 to 1912, inclusive, are 

 compared with the average production of oats for the State for the 

 same period. These data show that the Swedish Select variety (S. 

 Dak. No. 112, C. I. No. 134) at Brookings exceeded the average for 

 the State by 9.5 bushels, and at Highmore by 4.2 bushels for the 10 

 years. During these years the Sixty-Day oat at Brookings exceeded 

 the average yield of oats for the State by 17.6 bushels per acre, and 

 at Highmore lacked but 0.3 bushel of equaling the State average, not- 

 withstanding the three unfavorable seasons at that station (1910 to 

 1912). 



Table IX. — Annual and average yields of Swedish Select and Sixty-Day oats at 

 Brookings and at Highmore, S. Dak., from 1903 to 1 9 12, with the average 

 yield of all varieties for the entire State for comparison. 





Variety. 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



Locality. 



1903 



1904 



1905 



1906 



1907 



1908 



1909 



1910 



1911 



1912 



Aver- 

 age. 





All 



38.6 



10 



38.1 



10 



24.1 



39.0 

 70.0 

 54.4 

 84.5 

 41.2 



39.0 

 43.5 

 55.0 

 80.0 

 64.0 



36.4 

 61.6 

 65.0 

 61.6 

 43.3 



24.7 

 24.1 

 30.3 

 24.7 

 31.6 



23.0 



25.0 

 30.3 

 59.2 

 47.5 



27.9 

 44.0 

 36.6 

 46.7 

 28.8 



23.0 



29.0 



25.0 



28.7 



9.4 



7.4 

 4.7 



2 



19.4 



20 



33.8 



86.0 



2 



64.0 



20 



29.3 



Brookings 



Highmore 



Brookings 



Highmore 



Swedish Select. . 

 do 



Sixty-Day 



do 



38.8 

 33.5 

 46.9 

 29.0 



1 Crop destroyed by hail. 



2 Crop destroyed by drought. 



CULTURAL METHODS. 



In Table X the results of an experiment to determine the gain 

 which may be expected by better farming methods are reported. In 

 this experiment oats are grown in rotation with an intertilled crop, 

 using seed of the best grade obtainable by means of an ordinary 

 fanning mill. This is compared with ordinary, well-cleaned seed 

 sown on land well plowed and prepared, but which had produced 

 a crop of oats the previous year. The test was made at Highmore 



