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



For the northern Great Plains the millets are the chief members of 

 this group. There are small acreages of awnless brome grass (Bromus 

 inermis L.) and of slender wheat grass (Agropyron tenerum L.), but 

 the millets exceed these many times both in acreage and production. 

 They are short-season drought-resistant annual grasses that under 

 reasonably favorable conditions produce fair yields of a very good 

 quality of hay. The total acreage of " other tame grasses" in the 

 northern Great Plains in 1919 was given by the census at 201,600 

 acres and the total production at 166,000 tons of hay. 



The acreage of timothy and clover is small, and much of this is 

 under irrigation. These forage plants are of little value where the 

 annual precipitation is less than 20 inches, and consequently they 

 can not be depended upon for forage production in the greater part 

 of the region. 



The sorghums, the chief cultivated forage dependence of the 

 Great Plains region south of Nebraska and west of the ninety-eighth 

 meridian, are grown only to a very limited extent in the northern 

 Great Plains; but south of the latitude of Mandan, Sudan grass and 

 early-maturing strains of the sweet sorghums offer possibilities for 

 the future. 



In North Dakota and Montana a considerable acreage of cereals 

 is cut for hay. The area given by the census for 1919 was 356,500 

 and 432,000 acres, respectively. The total area for the region was 

 967,958 acres. From this area it is estimated that 399,000 tons of 

 hay were produced. The acreage of small grains cut for hay in 1919 

 was appreciably higher than the normal annual acreage because of 

 the shortage of forage due to drought conditions and to the fact 

 that if left for grain it would not have been worth harvesting. On 

 the other hand, the production per acre was lower because of the 

 unfavorable season. For hay production cereals may be regarded 

 as emergency crops, the acreage harvested each year depending 

 largely upon the f avorableness of conditions for the ranges, pastures, 

 and the growing of forage crops. Furthermore, a cereal crop may 

 not be profitable to harvest for grain and still be profitable enough 

 to justify harvesting it for hay if forage is or promises to be scarce, 

 as is commonly the case under such conditions. 



It is interesting as well as significant that the total tonnage of 

 grain produced in the northern Great Plains in 1919 was approxi- 

 mately equal to the total tonnage of harvested roughage. When 

 it is considered that 1919 was a poor crop year and that much more 

 grain was cut for hay that year than is normally the case, something 

 of the relation of harvested roughage to the agriculture of this 

 region may be appreciated. From the data here presented it is 

 quite evident that there is not the proper relation between the pro- 

 duction of harvested roughage and the production of grain when a 

 really permanent system of agriculture is considered. 



LIVESTOCK RESOURCES. 



Forage is of value only as it is consumed by livestock. Therefore, 

 in order that the forage resources of the northern Great Plains 

 may be fully appreciated, the Livestock resources will be briefly 

 reviewed. 



It is estimated by the Bureau of the Census thai there were on 

 farms in the northern Great Plains on January 1, 1920, a total of 



