FORAGE CROPS IN NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 47 



Corn meets these requirements and is the leading cultivated forage 

 crop. Its increasing popularity is due to its performance during 

 years of exceedingly unfavorable weather conditions and to the dis- 

 semination of early-maturing and otherwise better adapted varieties. 

 For fodder, certain of the sorghums, especially strains of Amber, give 

 a somewhat heavier yield than corn in the southern part of the region, 

 but in general they can not compete with corn north of central South 

 Dakota. Furthermore, the grain of sweet sorghums is not particu- 

 larly valuable for feeding, and even in the sections where these 

 sorghums yield in excess of corn, whatever advantage they may 

 possess over corn in this respect is confined to the making of silage. 

 Where corn will mature grain in average years — and this is the 

 case over most of the northern Great Plains except at high alti- 

 tudes — it is both a roughage and a concentrate. This makes it a 

 highly desirable crop to raise. 



Alfalfa is an excellent forage crop and in both acreage and pro- 

 duction exceeds corn for forage in the region. However, the future 

 increase in its acreage will doubtless be confined to relatively small 

 areas of low-lying lands along creek and river bottoms and elsewhere, 

 where the moisture conditions are the most favorable. With the 

 advent of Grimm and other hardy varieties, the effect of winter- 

 killing on alfalfa acreage is decreasing. It is its inability to produce 

 satisfactory yields of hay on the dry uplands, even when the best 

 cultural methods are followed, that prevents alfalfa from becoming 

 much more generally grown. It would not be surprising if, in the 

 next decade, corn for forage overtakes it both in acreage and pro- 

 duction. At any rate, it is very probable that corn will make the 

 more rapid growth of the two in the point of acreage. The advan- 

 tages of corn as a silage crop will help it to gain the ascendancy if 

 silos become more popular. 



The extent to which grains are harvested for hay is determined 

 largely by the weather conditions, principally the rainfall of the season 

 and the scarcity of forage. There is usually a close relation between 

 these two factors. Weather conditions cut short a grain crop and 

 leave the farmer with no alternative than to cut what has been 

 produced for forage. A cereal crop may be regarded as a failure for 

 grain and yet be valuable for hay when there is livestock to be fed. 



The millets, particularly the foxtail millets, are not very popular, 

 but they contribute appreciably to the forage possibilities of the 

 region. They withstand drought as well as any of the other forage 

 crops, and under conditions of low rainfall they are capable of pro- 

 ducing very good yields of hay. Another point in their favor is the 

 short growing season required to mature them. Millet hay is neither 

 especially relished by stock nor is it highly nutritious, but when fed 

 properly it is eaten with a relatively small proportion of waste and 

 is more than an actual maintenance ration. Millet seed is relatively 

 cheap, and as a catch crop the millets will continue to be useful. It 

 is hardly likely, however, that they will increase rapidly in popularity. 



Sudan grass, while requiring a longer season than the millets for 

 maturing and therefore not so well adapted to the higher latitudes, 

 is a useful annual hay grass south of the latitude of Mandan. It 

 withstands drought well and doubtless will be much more generally 

 grown in the northern Great Plains than it is at present. 



