HARVEST LABOR PROBLEMS IX WHEAT BELT. 3 
during areas, the winter-wheat area, centering in Kansas, and the 
spring-wheat area, centering in North Dakota (fig. 1). The wheal 
areas of Nebraska and South Dakota are much smaller than those of 
Kansas and North Dakota (Tables 1 and 2). 
Table 1. — Wheat production of the United States. 1 
State. 
Average production, 
1914-1920. 
Percentage of total. 
Winter. 
Spring. 
Winter. 
Bushels. 
587,459,143 
265,505,143 
Bushels. 
216,261,711 
172,790,285 
79, 737, 000 
39,952,000 
47,892,857 
266, 667 
5,099,143 
423,571 
Per cent. 
100.0 
45.2 
Pel r, : f. 
LOO 
70 2 
North Dakota 
32 4 
1,590,000 
1,126,857 
38,066,286 
49,894,000 
116,553,143 
40,418,429 
17,856,429 
321,954,000 
.1 
.2 
6.5 
8.5 
19.8 
6.9 
3.2 
54.8 
16 1 
19 4 
.1 
Nebraska 
2.0 
.2 
Oklahoma 
All other 
73.474,429 
2'.'. 8 
figures taken from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks, 1914-1917, and Crop Reporter, 1918-1920 (revised 
figures not used for 1919-20). 
Table 2. — Average annual production of small grains other than wheat in the 
Wheat Belt, 19U-1920. 1 
Average production, 1914-1920 "(000 omitted). 
Percent- 
age of 
all small 
grains. 
Percent- 
age of 
State. 
Oats. 
Barley. 
Rye. 
Buck- 
wheat. 
Total. 
all small 
grains in 
wheat. 
United States 
Bushels. 
1,404,719 
477, 068 
57, 689 
56, 720 
112, 724 
40, 813 
77, 787 
53, 454 
33,957 
43,924 
927., 651 
Bushels. 
206, 744 
101, 433 
28, 220 
25, 167 
32,024 
185 
4,756 
10,011 
772 
298 
105,311 
Bushels. 
64,257 
26,876 
9,256 
4,863 
6,767 
435 
3,893 
1,453 
167 
42 
37,381 
Bushels. 
15,577 
281 
Busheh. 
1,691,297 
605, 658 
95, 165 
86,750 
151, 704 
41,504 
86,457 
64,918 
31,896 
44.264 
1,085,639 
Per cent. 
66.9 
5S.0 
54.4 
67.6 
75.2 
52.0 
61.1 
35.7 
46.2 
71.1 
73.2 
Per cent. 
33. 1 
42.0 
Ci.fi 
32.4 
189 
71 
21 
21.8 
18.0 
38.9 
61.. 3 
53. 8 
28.9 
All others 
15,296 
26.8 
1 Figures taken from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks, 1914-1919, and Monthly Crop Reporter, 1920 (figures 
for 1919-20 not revised). 
FLUCTUATIONS IN HARVEST LABOR DEMAND. 
Farming is essentially a seasonal industry, and small-grain culti- 
vation is one of the most seasonal forms of farming. At seeding 
time extra help is needed for preparing the soil and sowing, and 
in the summer a crew of men for harvesting and thrashing is neces- 
sary. During the remainder of the year, however, the farmer and 
his family, with perjiaps a hired man, do the work on the representa- 
tive grain-belt farm. The harvest labor force is several times as 
large as the force at work during most of the year. This, essen- 
tially, is the cause of the great movement of labor into the southern 
