28 



BULLETIN 1000, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



GRAIN SORGHUMS. 



The records available on the cost of producing kafir and milo (1917) 

 covered acreage as follows : Texas, 2,408; Oklahoma, 1,276; Kansas, 

 642; total, 4,726 acres. (See Table 17). l 



Kafir and milo are not handled in the same manner in all districts. 

 About 50 per cent of the Texas growers plowed, and 50 per cent 

 plank-listed before planting. Thirty-five per cent used the disk 

 and 65 per cent used the spike-tooth harrow. In Oklahoma about 

 13 per cent plowed, 43 per cent listed, and approximately the same 

 percentage disked. Occasionally it was necessary to harrow. Fifty 

 per cent of the Kansas operators disked, 25 per cent listed, and 25 

 per cent plowed. 



Three types of planters were used in putting in the kafir, namely, 

 the lister planter, the corn planter with furrow openers attached, 

 and what is known as the "knife planter." The latter type is used 

 invariably on sod land. 



There are two general methods of harvesting: (1) The heads are 

 harvested from standing stalks and hauled to bins or stacked in the 

 barnyard; (2) the corn is cut with a corn binder, shocked, and 

 headed from the shock with a knife attached to the end gate or side 

 of the wagon. The heads are then hauled to bins and fed, or they 

 may be stacked and thrashed out later from the stack. 



In general, 1917 yields were below the average. In some sections 

 the crop made no grain and it had to be utilized as fodder or it was 

 pastured or put into the silo. The latter method was unusual, 

 although the number of silos in this territory has apparently increased 

 within recent years. 



Table 17. — Kafir and milo: Labor and material requirements per acre (96 records, 1917). 









Man labor. 



Horse labor. 









Per 





Num- 

 ber 

 of 















cent of 



Region. 



Yield 

 per 



Prior 







Prior 







Seed. 



Ma- 



Twine. 



opera- 

 ting ex- 





rec- 

 ords. 



acre. 



to 



har- 

 vest. 



Har- 

 vest. 



Total. 



to 



har- 

 vest. 



Har- 

 vest. 



Total. 









covered 

 by fore- 

 going, a 







Bush. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



Lbs. 



Tons. 



Lbs. 





Texas 



40 



20.8 



9.7 



6.7 



16 4 



29.5 



8.8 



38.3 



3.8 





.5 



67 



Oklahoma 



37 



22.6 



8.8 



10.0 



18 8 



25.6 



12.8 



38.4 



3.0 



2 



1.3 



77 



Kansas 



19 



23.2 



11.4 



12.9 



24.3 



26.4 



15.4 



41.8 



5.1 



5.3 



3.6 



78 



a Excluding interest on land. 



1 From an unpublished report prepared by T. H. Summers, formerly employed by the Office of Farm 

 Management and Farm Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



