CROPPING SYSTEMS WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO. 







Table IV. — Relation of field crop area in legumes to crop yields per acre on 144 silt loam 

 soil farms in the Willamette Valley, Oreg. 



[Farms grouped according to percentage of field crop area in legumes, a] 



Average percentage crop area in legumes. 



Number of farms 



Average yields per acre: 



Potatoes (bushels) 



Wheat (bushels) 



Oats (bushels) 



Hay (tons) 



Crop index 



None. 



Under 18 



18 to 33 



Over 33 



percent. 



percent. 



per cent. 



None 



12.0 



26.0 



44.8 



35 



37 



37 



35 



132.8 



145.5 



172.0 



183.5 



18.8 



21.5 



23.8 



23.7 



28.5 



38.3 



40.9 



44.5 



1.82 



2.00 



1.86 



2.07 



82.8 



100.4 



105.0 



111.4 



All farms. 



20.4 

 144 



150.2 



22.0 



37.7 



1.94 



100.0 



a Clover occupied 58 per cent of the area in legumes. 



Table V. — Percentage of field crop area in clover in relation to farm profits and yields on 

 144 silt loam soil farms in the Willamette Valley, Oreg. 



|Farms grouped according to percentage of field crop area in clover.] 



Item. 



Average percentage of field crop area in clover. 



Number of farms 



Average capital .- 



Average farm income 



Average labor income 



Average per cent made on investment a 



Crop index 



None. 



Loss than 



More than 



20 percent. 



20 per cent. 



None. 



11.2 



32.7 



64 



42 



38 



$20,547 



822, 920 



$21,372 



$1 , 098 



$1,546 



81, 834 



-8135 



$171 



$560 



5.34 



6.75 



8.63 



95.8 



102.7 



110.7 



A.11 farms. 



11.7 

 144 



$21,457 



$1,425 



$138 



6.64 



100.0 



a Per cent made on investment in this table means per cent farm income is of capital. 



The relation of field crop area in legumes to crop yields is shown 

 in Table IV. The per acre yields of the four principal crops, potatoes, 

 wheat, oats, and hay showed a marked increase on farms devoting 

 more than 33 per cent of their rotation area to legumes over the per 

 acre yield of those growing no legumes. The increases in yields in 

 a comparison of the two groups of farms were as follows: Potatoes, 

 38.2 per cent; wheat, 26.1 per cent; oats, 56.2 per cent; hay, 13.7 

 per cent. The average increase in yields due to the use of legumes, 

 for all crops, as shown by the crop index, was 34.5 per cent. The 

 largest increase in crop yields occurred in comparing the group hav- 

 ing an average of 12 per cent of the crop area devoted to these crops 

 and the group of farms having no legumes. The increase in crop 

 yields as between these two groups amounts to 21.3 per cent, while the 

 increases as between the second and third and the third and fourth 

 groups are 4.7 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively. (See Table V.) 



The crop index indicates that those farms having more than 20 

 per cent of their field-crop area in clover had 15.5 per cent larger 

 yields than farms without clover. The group of farms w T hich grew 

 no clover made a minus labor income of $135; that is, the net farm 

 profits lacked $135 of amounting to 6 percent of the capital invested. 1 



"Six per cent was the current rate on farm loans in this region in 1912. 



