GRAIN FARMING IN NORTH DAKOTA. 29 
- Table VI shows the average yield per acre of the leading crops of 
the State. There is a wide variation in yield from year to year and 
also between farms. The lowest yield of wheat recorded for the 
State is 4.9 bushels in 1900 and the next lowest 5 bushels in 1910. 
Other crops made their lowest yields also in these years. 
RELATION OF LAND VALUE TO YIELD. 
Little relation appears between the selling price of land and the 
yield per acre of wheat. Table VII shows the relation of land value 
to yield per acre for the three leading crops. 
Tapie VII.—Relation of land value to yicld per acre of wheat, oats, and barley. 
[Figures are per acre.] 
Wheat. Oats. Barley. 
Value 0 Value mo 3 Value a 
ofland. | Yield. | ofjana. | Yiel4- | ofiana. | Yiel4- 
Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. 
$19 12 $23 28 $27 22 
31 13 34 32 41 21 
50 14 52 38 58 22 
As previously pointed out, other factors than yield appear to de- 
termine the price of land in North Dakota. Land in the western 
part of the State, valued at $19 per acre, produced average yields of 
12 bushels of wheat; while land in the Red River Valley, valued at 
$50 per acre, produced average yields of only 14 bushels. However, 
the risk in the western portion is many times greater than in the 
_ eastern, because of the fact that seasons of drought occur more fre- 
quently in a given period. This risk is reflected in the value of the 
land. Furthermore, the fact that the annual rainfall is approxi- 
mately 6 inches greater in the eastern portion than in the western 
makes it possible to have a much wider diversification of crops and 
stock in the east than in the west. 
RELATION OF TILLAGE TO YIELDS. 
The operations in which an increase of labor may affect yield are 
plowing and the various operations of preparation, such as harrow- 
ing, disking, rolling, etc. The amount of labor used in seeding is 
practically the same on all farms, the ground being covered with a 
drill. The efficient plowing of the land is of prime importance. 
More depends upon proper plowing than upon any other operation. 
A few farmers were found who planted wheat without plowing, disk- , 
ing the seed into the stubble. These farmers made yields of 10 
bushels or under per acre. 
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