BARLEY IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 3 



tion of the region for other crops. The fact that the combination 

 of soil and climatic conditions in certain sections is not favorable 

 to the production of barley does not signify that such conditions will 

 prove unfavorable to other crops. 



IMPORTANCE OF BARLEY AS A GRAIN CROP. 



In some sections of the region barley has not been considered 

 strictly as a market crop, but rather as a feed crop. In certain 

 parts of the Northwest it has been grown quite extensively as a 

 market crop. The price is usually determined by the quality of the 

 barley from a brewing standpoint, the demand being for a product 

 that is uniform, well matured, and of good color. Certain sections 

 of the dry-land regions afford opportunity to grow barley of good 

 quality, especially in those years when conditions are favorable for 

 the production of a good, plump berry. The dry weather, with the 

 absence of dews, gives good conditions under which to harvest the 

 crop without injury to quality or color. In the main, however, 

 barley has been grown in the Great Plains as feed rather than as a 

 market crop. 



Barley has the advantage of requiring on the average a shorter 

 growing season than either oats or wheat, and is, therefore, exposed 

 for a shorter length of time to the unfavorable climatic conditions 

 likely to occur. When seeded at approximately the same time as 

 oats, it will ripen with or before the earliest oats. The variety of 

 barley which is grown determines somewhat the length of the growing 

 season, but the foregoing applies to the average barleys. Earliness 

 of maturity may be of considerable importance in enabling a crop to 

 escape drought. 



AREA INCLUDED LN THESE INVESTIGATIONS. 



The area included in these investigations covers a part of 10 States, 

 viz, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, 

 Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It extends 

 from the ninety-eighth meridian of longitude to the foothills of the 

 Rocky Mountains and from the Canadian border to the thirty-second 

 parallel. 



The altitude varies from approximately 1,400 feet in the northeast- 

 ern part of the area to 6,000 feet at Cheyenne, Wyo. These repre- 

 sent the highest and the lowest altitudes. The southern portion of 

 the territory has a higher average altitude and higher average rainfall 

 and a correspondingly higher rate of evaporation than the northern 

 portion. The average annual precipitation at the various stations 

 varies from about 15 to 21 inches. 



Figure 1 shows the location of the various field stations within 

 the area which, as outlined, is bounded on the west by the 5,000-foot 

 contour and does not include Archer, Wyo. 



