FORAGE CROPS IN NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 



37 



FIELD PEAS. 



The acreage of field peas cut for forage in the northern Great Plains 

 is very small. According to the last census, only 30,000 acres were 

 harvested for this purpose. Most of this acreage is credited to 

 North Dakota. The area grown for seed outside of the irrigated 

 districts is practically negligible. Early h$t weather is a decidedly 

 detrimental factor to the field-pea crop in the southern part of the 

 region, and to the west the rainfall is too low to make profitable 

 yields reasonably certain. 



Table 20 gives the results with field peas at the various experiment 

 stations. 



Table 20. — Forage yields of field-yea varieties at five stations in the northern 

 Great Plains region in stated years. 



[W= Yields not taken because of weeds — not considered in the averages.] 





Yields per acre, field cured (pounds). 



Station and variety. 



1915 



1916 



1917 



1918 



1919 



1920 



1921 



1922 



Aver- 

 age . 



Havre, Mont.: 









 

 

 



2,132 

 2,486 



2,887 



1,767 

 1,555 

 1,720 

 1,461 



2,650 

 3,050 

 2,000 



3,988 

 3, 823 

 4,400 

 2,970 



515 

 330 

 345 

 165 



3,125 

 2,875 

 2,900 



358 

 303 

 309 

 172 



1,950 

 1,350 

 1,775 

 2,175 



4,125 



3,537 



1,636 

 2.076 

 1,856 

 1,746 



4,389 

 4,150 

 4,256 



W 

 W 



w 



2,262 

 2,150 

 2,287 



1,651 



1,307 

 1,1(19 

 1,100 



1,309 

 1,067 

 1,232 



846 

 880 

 752 

 710 



1,550 



1,400 



1,300 



980 



4,787 

 4,421 

 5,256 



3,507 

 2,475 

 3,300 

 2,476 



4,040 

 4,103 

 4,437 



1,640 

 1,060 

 1,340 

 1,160 



1,004 



770 















855 









830 



Redfield, S. Dak.: 





1,927 

 1,677 

 1,225 



3,718 

 3,43z 

 3,652 

 2,376 



3,001 



2,777 











2 870 



Moccasin, Mont.: 



3,630 

 2,800 



2,532 





2,221 

 2,344 

 1 757 









Dickinson, N. Dak.: 





3,246 

 3 107 

























3,308 

 913 



Sheridan, Wyo.: 





1,113 



567 

 833 

 730 



966 



667 



1,333 



1,370 





 

 

 







635 







852 







794 





1 







The best average yields of field peas cut for forage have been 

 obtained at Redfield and Dickinson. At Redfield the average pro- 

 duction for the past seven years is about 1^ tons per acre, which is 

 appreciably less than the average yield of alfalfa at that point . The 

 yearly range there varies from about J ton to 2\ tons per acre. The 

 yields at Dickinson are a little better than at Redfield. This is con- 

 siderably above the average yields of alfalfa at that station. At 

 Moccasin the average yield of most varieties for the past eight years 

 has been somewhat over a ton per acre, which corresponds very 

 closely to the alfalfa yields. 



The yields of most varieties at Havre and Sheridan have aver- 

 aged less than half a ton per acre. Such yields can not be regarded 

 as satisfactory. 



In general there is no marked difference in the yields of the 

 varieties shown in Table 20. At every station except Dickinson the 

 Kaiser variety has outyielded the others. Tests have also been con- 

 ducted to determine the yields of seed that may be expected in this 



