52 BULLETIN 1244, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



inefficient enterprise under dry-farming conditions. That it can be 

 improved can scarcely be questioned, but in general its requirements 

 are not easy to meet. 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE NEED FOR A CHANGE IN THE 



TYPE OF FARMING. 



The data previously presented under " Agricultural Resources" 

 and other captions disclose the fact that farming is not highly diver- 

 sified in the northern Great Plains and that grain growing is the 

 principal type on tilled farms. Since the total area devoted to cul- 

 tivated forage crops is less than 2,500,000 acres, which is less by 

 2,000,000 acres than the area normally devoted to spring wheat, and 

 since this acreage is distributed over approximately 123,000 farms, 

 it is quite apparent that the livestock industry must be largely cred- 

 ited to the range and native grasslands and only in a minor degree 

 to tilled farms. Poor crop years have occurred so frequently in the 

 drier parts of the northern Great Plains since 1916 as to bring about 

 depressing economic conditions. The situation has been so acute at 

 times in certain sections as to attract aid from the Federal Govern- 

 ment in the form of loans for the purchase of seed grains. These 

 loans have been three in number. The first one made in 1918 was 

 used in part for fall sowings in that year and in part for spring sow- 

 ings in 1919. Other loans for spring sowings were made in 1921 and 

 1922. These loans also covered sections outside the northern Great 

 Plains region. 



Economic emergencies calling for aid of this kind so frequently 

 show beyond a reasonable doubt that the present type of agricul- 

 ture does not meet the needs of the situation. Farmers, merchants, 

 and bankers who have lived in sections where crop failures or par- 

 tial failures have occurred with discouraging frequency are unani- 

 mously agreed that some change must be made to relieve the present 

 precarious agricultural condition. 



SUMMARY. 



The part of the United States to which the data here presented 

 applies includes northwestern Nebraska; the western two-thirds of 

 South Dakota; that part of North Dakota which lies south and 

 west of the line extending approximately from Minot to Jamestown; 

 eastern Wyoming; and the greater part of Montana. 



The average annual precipitation varies from about 20 inches in 

 the eastern part of the region to 12 inches in the vicinity of Shelby, 

 Mont. The region is noted for extremes in temperature. 



The soils for the most part are capable of producing good crops 

 where moisture is not a limiting factor. 



Cereals are the chief crops, although forage, especially Dative 

 grasses, contribute largely to the agricultural resources by making 

 slock raising possible. The acreage of cultivated forage crops is 

 only a little more than half that of native glasses cut for hay. 



The extremely precarious conditions under which crop production 

 is being attempted in the drier parts of this region make livestock 

 necessary to stabilize the income of the farmer and provide a respect- 

 able living. Grain farming alone will not do this. To raise live- 

 stock successfully, forage musi l>e grown. 



