4 BULLETIN 755, U. S. DEPAKTME^T OF AGRICULTURE, 
Compared to such products as corn or vegetables, gradual elevation 
in the price levels of oats is a distinguishing characteristic, as well as 
comparative regularity in the upward slope of prices from the region 
of minimum price. In the commerce in oats, a weight per bushel 
nearly half that of wheat or corn lowers the freight charges. More- 
over, the rate per 100 pounds is sometimes less than for wheat, 
consequently oats move at nearly half the expense of other cereals, 
and the greater the distance the more marked does this difference in 
costs of transportation become. 
The trend of the price levels is evidently closely related to such 
influences as the location of areas of surplus and deficient production, 
the local uses of oats, and to the group of factors which enter into 
the distributive movement. 
DISPOSITION OF UNITED STATES OAT CROP. 
The price of oats is dominated by the demand for them as a feed- 
stuff; as such by far the larger part of the crop is consumed on farms, 
and second in importance is the consumption by live stock in cities. 
Imports and exports are normally unimportant, and only a small 
part of the crop is used for human food and for seed. 
A few general phases of the uses and distributive movement of oats 
are shown in Table 1 . 
Table 1. — Oats: Approximate distribution of the harvest of the United States, 
[Figures are five-year averages for the years 1911 to 1915. Number of bushels rounded to the nearest 
•million.] 
Item. 
Per cent. 
Bushels. 
Production 
Shinned out of counties where grown i 
Remaining in counties where grown : 
Farm eonsumntion: 2 
Horses and mules . 
Milch cows 
Other cattle 
Swine 
Sheep 
Poultry 
Human beings — 
Seed 
Other or doubtful 
Total . 
Not used on farms: 
Exports 
Consumed in merchant flour mills 
Other urban uses, principally consumption by over 3,000,000 horses in 
cities, also human food (rolled oats and "breakfast foods''') , 
Total. 
59, 000, 000 
361.000.000 
863. 000. 000 
570. 000, 000 
61.000,000 
22', 000'. 000 
22, 000; 000 
22, 000, 000 
27, 000, 000 
12, 000, 000 
94.000,000 
55'. 000, 000 
855,000,000 
4S 000.000 
50, 000, 000 
246,000.000 
344,000,000 
1 In the cenms ypar 1909, total sales of oats from farms constituted 32.7 per cent of the crop. As in the 
same year shipments out of counties where grown amounted to 25.9 per cent, the difference represents 
approximate! v the local sales, amounting to 6.8 per cent of the crop. 
2 U. S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletin 629, p. 8. (1914.) 
