HAKVEST LABOR PROBLEMS IE" WHEAT BELT. 3 



ducing areas, the winter-wheat area, centering in Kansas, and the 

 spring- wheat area, centering in North Dakota (fig. 1). The wheat 

 areas of Nebraska and South Dakota are much smaller than those of 

 Kansas and North Dakota (Tables 1 and 2). 



Table 1. — Wheat production of the United States. 1 



State. 



Average production, 

 1914-1920. 



Winter. 



Spring. 



Percentage of total. 



Winter. Spring 



United States 



Total for States given 



North Dakota... 



South Dakota... 



Minnesota 



Missouri 



Nebraska 



Kansas 



Oklahoma 



Texas 



All other 



Bushels. 

 587,459,143 

 265,505,143 



1,590,000 



1,126,857 



38,066,286 



49,894,000 



116,553,143 



40,418,429 



17,856,429 



321.954,000 



Bushels. 



246,26-1,714 



172,790,285 



79,737,000 



39,952,000 



47,892,807 



266,667 



5,099,143 



423,571 



Per cent. 

 100.0 

 45.2 



73,474,429 



.1 

 .2 

 6.5 

 8.5 

 19.8 

 6.9 

 3.2 

 54.8 



Per cent. 



100.0 



70.2 



32.4 



16.1 



19.4 



.1 



2.0 



.2 



figures taken from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks, 1914-1917, and Crop Reporter, 1918-1920 (revised 

 figures not used for 1919-20). 



Table 2. 



-Average annual production of small grains other than wheat in the 

 Wheat Belt, 19U-1920. 1 





Average production, 1914-1920 (000 omitted). 



Percent- 

 age of 



all small 

 grains. 



Percent- 

 age of 



State. 



Oats. 



Barley. 



Rye. 



Buck- 

 wheat. 



Total. 



all small 

 grains in 

 wheat. 





Bushels. 

 1,404,719 



,477, 068 

 57, 689 

 56, 720 



112, 724 

 40, 813 

 77, 787 

 53, 454 

 33, 957 

 43, 924 



927, 651 



Bushels. 



206, 744 



• 101, 433 



■ 28, 220 



25, 167 



32,024 



185 



4,756 



10,011 



772 



298 



105,311 



Bushels. 



64, 257 



26,876 



9,256 



4,863 



6,767 



435 



3,893 



1,453 



167 



42 



37,381 



Bushels. 



15,577 



281 



Bushels. 



1,691,297 

 605,658 

 95, 165 

 86,750 

 151,704 

 41,504 

 86, 457 

 64,918 

 34,896 

 44,264 



1,085,639 



Per cent. 

 66.9 

 58.0 

 54.4 

 67.6 

 75.2 

 52.0 

 61.1 

 35.7 

 46.2 

 71.1 

 73.2 



Per cent. 

 33 1 





42 



North Dakota 



45 6 



South Dakota 





32.4 





189 

 71 

 21 











38 9 





64 3 







53 8 







28 9 



All others 



15, 296 



26 8 









1 Figures taken from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks, 1914-1919, and Monthly Crop Reporter, 1920 (figures 

 for 1919-20 not revised). 



FLUCTUATIONS IN HARVEST LABOR DEMAND. 



Farming is essentially a seasonal industry, and small-grain culti- 

 vation is one of the most seasonal forms of farming. At seedinof 

 time extra help is needed for preparing the soil and sowing, and 

 in the summer a crew of men for harvesting and thrashing is neces- 

 sary. During the remainder of the year, however, the farmer and 

 his family, with perhaps a hired man, do the work on the representa- 

 tive grain-belt farm. The harvest labor force is several times as 

 large as the force at work during most of the year. This, essen- 

 tially, is the cause of the great movement of labor into the southern 



