14 BULLETIN 1421, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The acreage devoted to these three clover crops increased very 
rapidly from 1913 to 1916, because it was found that this district is 
well adapted to the production of heavy yields of clover seed, and 
prices for seed were reasonably good. In 1917 and 1918 there was 
a rapid decrease in the clover acreage, owing partly to the desire. to 
increase the acreage of wheat, and partly to the difficulty in control- 
ling the clover aphis, which became a serious pest. The high prices 
of clover seed in 1918 and 1919, it would seem, had some influence 
in causing the increase in the clover acreage in 1920 and 1921. 
THE ROW-TILLED CROPS 
Potatoes, sugar beets, beans, and corn are the row-tilled crops of 
the project. These crops are competitive; that is, one crop may 
be substituted for any of the others in the rotation and cropping sys- 
tems of the project by making minor adjustments in the farm opera- 
tions. It is of interest, therefore, to note how the relative acreages 
devoted to potatoes, sugar beets, and beans (prior to 1922 corn occu- 
pied a very minor position) have seesawed back and forth during the 
12-year period, 1913-1924, as shown in Figure 7. These changes may 
be considered as the expression of the efforts of farmers to find the 
most remunerative crops to grow. The constant changing of prices, 
the variations of yields from farm to farm and from year to year 
and the differences in their acre cost of production are the chief fac- 
tors which have prevented farmers from arriving at a fairly accurate 
judgment as to the relative merits of these crops. 
Potatoes.—The estimated average price received for potatoes 
fluctuated more violently during the 14-year period covered by 
Table 2 and Figure 6 than did the price of any of the other crops. 
These violent changes in price seem to have been followed by cor- 
responding changes in the potato acreage. For example, the esti- 
mated price received for the 1912 crop was low and relatively low for 
the 1913 and 1914 crops. The potato acreage was materially reduced 
in 1915 and againin 1916. The estimated price received for the 1916 
crop was extremely high when compared with the prices received for 
the other crops and in 1917 the potato acreage was more than doubled. 
The price received for the 1917 crop fell to a lower level than that of 
any of the other crops and remained at this low level for the crop 
erown in 1918. 
The average peak price of the 14-year period ($2.10 per bushel) 
was reached for the crop grown in 1919. The high price obtained for 
this crop seems to have had but little influence on the acreage planted 
in 1920, for the increase was slight. It is believed that the extremely 
high price of seed potatoes in the spring of 1920 ($3 to $6 per bushel) 
deterred many from planting potatoes. 
In 1921 the acreage of potatoes was increased nearly 75 per cent 
although the average price received for the 1920 crop was relatively 
low. ‘The price received for the 1921 crop was high when compared 
with the prices received for other crops and in 1922 the potato acre- 
age was Increased about 70 per cent. The price received for the 
1922 crop dropped to a very low level and the acreage was materially 
reduced in both 1923 and 1924. 
The irrigation and harvesting of potatoes are shown in Figures 10 
and 11. 
