BARLEY IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 3 
tion of the region for other erops. The fact that the comhination 
of soil and climatic conditions in certain sections is not favorable 
to the production of barley does not signify that such conditions will 
prove unfavorable to other crops. 
IMPORTANCE OF BARLEY AS A GRAIN CROP. 
In some sections of the region barley has not been considered 
strictly as a market crop, but rather as a feed crop. In certain 
parts of the Northwest it has been grown quite extensively as a 
market crop. The price is usually determined by the quality of the 
barley from a brewing standpoint, the demand being for a product 
that is uniform, well matured, and of good color. Certain sections 
of the dry-land regions afford opportunity to grow barley of good 
quality, especially in those years when conditions are favorable for 
the production of a good, plump berry. The dry weather, with the 
absence of dews, gives good conditions under which to harvest the 
crop without injury to quality or color. In the main, however, 
barley has been grown in the Great Plains as feed rather than as a 
market crop. 
Barley has the advantage of requiring on the average a shorter 
growing season than either oats or wheat, and is, therefore, exposed 
for a shorter length of time to the unfavorable climatic conditions 
likely to occur. When seeded at approximately the same time as 
oats, it will ripen with or before the earliest oats. The variety of 
barley which is grown determines somewhat the length of the growing 
season, but the foregoing applies to the average barleys. Earliness 
of maturity may be of considerable importance in enabling a crop to 
escape drought. 
AREA INCLUDED IN THESE INVESTIGATIONS. 
The area included in these investigations covers a part of 10 States, 
viz, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, 
Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It extends 
from the ninety-eighth meridian of longitude to the foothills of the 
Rocky Mountains and from the Canadian border to the thirty-second 
parallel. 
The altitude varies from approximately 1,400 feet in the northeast- 
ern part of the area to 6,000 feet at Cheyenne, Wyo. These repre- 
sent the highest and the lowest altitudes. The southern portion of 
the territory has a higher average altitude and higher average rainfall 
and a correspondingly higher rate of evaporation than the northern 
portion. The average annual precipitation at the various stations 
varies from about 15 to 21 inches. 
Figure 1 shows the location of the various field stations within 
the area which, as outlined, is bounded on the west by the 5,000-foot 
contour and does not include Archer, Wyo. 
