26 BULLETIN" 920, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



building lots, etc., in this area is a very negligible proportion of the 

 farm area. 



Figure 9 shows graphically the average distribution of the crop area. 

 Corn and oats occupy the largest acreages, followed by hay and 

 wheat. Comparing the last two years with the first two, the corn 

 acreage was increased 22 per cent and oats 16 per cent, while wheat 

 was decreased 48 per cent and hay 15 per cent. Wheat showed the 

 greatest variation in area. In 1916, when wheat was nearly an entire 

 failure, considerable acreages were plowed in the early spring and put 

 in oats, thereby making the acreage devoted to oats highest in that 

 year. Because of the unprofitable results in 1916, only a small area 

 was put out the following year and an average of only 9 acres per farm 

 in 1918, when the yield was highest. 



CROP YIELDS. 



The seven-year average yield of corn was 45 bushels per acre. The 

 lowest average of any year was 32 bushels and the highest 55 bushels. 

 The two discouraging corn years were 1917 and 1918, and the effects 

 of these were reflected in purchased feeds for these years (shown in 

 Table V and figure 11). The average yield of oats was 43 bushels 

 per acre, the lowest being 36 bushels and the highest 53 bushels. 

 The average yield of wheat was 18 bushels per acre, with a range 

 of from 6 to 27 bushels. The acreage in wheat varied widely over 

 the period, with a marked decrease during the later years. The 

 average yield of hay was 1.3 tons per acre, the lowest 1 ton and 

 the highest 1.5 tons. Oats and hay showed the least variation in 

 yield per acre over the seven-year period and wheat the greatest. 

 Twenty-six per cent of the corn, 79 per cent of the oats, 88 per cent 

 of the wheat, and 26 per cent of the hay produced on these farms were 

 sold as cash crops. 



AMOUNT OF LIVE STOCK KEPT. 



The number of productive animal units per farm (expressed as the 

 equivalent of mature cattle) averaged 20.2, not counting work horses. 

 This is an average of one head to each 5.9 acres of crops and pasture. 

 When measured by the amount of feed required, hogs represented over 

 one-half of the live stock and cattle about one-third. Brood sows 

 kept averaged 7 per farm, and the number of hogs sold per farm was 

 49, or 7 per brood sow. In addition about 4 hogs were slaughtered 

 per farm for home use, so that the average production was 1 1 pigs per 

 sow. Work horses averaged 4.7 per farm. Only a small number of 

 cattle were raised, and only a few farms bought feeding cattle. 

 Most of the farms produced a small amount of dairy products for 

 sale. The proportion of the various classes of live stock showed 

 only slight variation over the period. The small increase was in 

 cattle. 



