WHEAT, OATS, AND BAKLEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 7 
period during which the experiments have been conducted is now 
sufficiently long to warrant the summarizing of the most important 
results in. a single paper. 
Some important facts have been brought out. Those varieties 
which have given the best results almost invariably have come from 
regions of similar climate. Climatic conditions so far dominate soil 
conditions that the State may be roughly divided into two sections, 
one subhumid and the other semiarid. Each section has its specially 
adapted varieties, though some are adapted to both. The important 
practical problem now is how to encourage the more common use of 
these varieties. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH WHEAT. 
PRODUCTION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 
The production of wheat in South Dakota has remained stationary 
during the 10-year period under discussion (1903 to 1912). In 
Table II it is shown that the lowest yield of this period was pro- 
duced in 1911. During that season the return was only about 50 
per cent of the cost of production, while in 1901 it averaged 4 per 
cent less than the cost of production. During the remaining eight 
years wheat production has been profitable to the State as a whole. 
The highest gain, 46 per cent over the cost of production, was ob- 
tained in 1909. The average gain for the whole period for the 
entire State has been 20 per cent on the production cost. In making 
these estimates the average cost of production for a period of years 
has been considered as equivalent to the value of a yield of 10 bushels 
to the acre. That is, it takes approximately the first 10 bushels per 
acre each year to pay the cost of production, not taking into account 
the plant food removed. While it is true that such an estimate can 
not be used in determining the profits of any individual farmer, 
owing to local and seasonal variations, it serves as a broad economic 
basis by which the profits of wheat production in general may be 
measured. On the whole, wheat growing has been profitable during 
the decade, if the loss in soil fertility is not considered. Up to the 
present time very little consideration has been given to this factor by 
the farmers. 
Willis, Clifford. Report of progress in variety tests of oats. South Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station, Bulletin 110, p. 421-450, illus., 1908. 
Willis, Clifford, and Bopp, J. V. Report of progress in variety tests of barley. South 
Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 113, p. 501-522, illus., 1909. 
Willis, Clifford. Report of work for 1907 and 1908 at Highmore substation. South 
Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 115, p. 557-570, 1909. 
Willis, Clifford, and Champlin, Manley. Progress of grain investigations. South 
Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 124, p. 19-55, 1910. 
Willis, Clifford, and Burleson, W. L. Progress of wheat investigations. South 
Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 128, p. 123-144, illus., 1911. 
2 Salmon, Cecil. Dry-land grains for western North and South Dakota. U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 59, 24 p., 1 fig., 1910. 
