WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 
23 
At Cottonwood and Eureka oat growing has not been profitable 
during the last four years, even w T hen the best varieties were used, 
as shown in Table VIII. That it has been profitable at Highmore 
during the last seven years again illustrates the fact that one must 
make plans on a long-time basis in order to succeed in a region of 
limited moisture. It is also evident that no attempt should be made 
to grow oats in central and western South Dakota for market pur- 
poses, but the surplus in favorable seasons should be kept to provide 
feed for live stock in the less favorable years. By this method oats 
may be utilized profitably in that area, but if freight is paid to ship 
the crop out in good seasons and to bring it back in bad seasons 
profit can scarcely be expected. 
In Table IX the yields of two of the best varieties at Brookings 
and at Highmore for the 10 years from 1003 to 1912, inclusive, are 
compared with the average production of oats for the State for the 
same period. These data show that the Swedish Select variety (S. 
Dak. No. 112, C. I. No. 134) at Brookings exceeded the average for 
the State by 9.5 bushels, and at Highmore by 4.2 bushels for the 10 
years. During these years the Sixty-Day oat at Brookings exceeded 
the average yield of oats for the State by 17.6 bushels per acre, and 
at Highmore lacked but 0.3 bushel of equaling the State average, not- 
withstanding the three unfavorable seasons at that station (1910 to 
1912). 
Table IX. — Annual and average yields of Swedish Select and Sixty-Day oats at 
Brookings and at Highmore, S. Dak., from 1903 to J 9 12, with the average 
yield of all varieties for the entire State for comparison. 
Locality. 
Yield per acre (bushels). 
Variety. 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
38.6 
39.0 
39.0 
36.4 
24.7 
23.0 
27.9 
23.0 
7.4 
33.8 
10 
70.0 
43.5 
61.6 
24.1 
25.0 
44.0 
29.0 
4.7 
86.0 
38.1 
54.4 
55.0 
65.0 
30.3 
30.3 
36.6 
25.0 
2 
20 
10 
84.5 
80.0 
61.6 
24.7 
59.2 
46.7 
28.7 
19.4 
64.0 
24.1 
41.2 
64.0 
43.3 
31.6 
47.5 
28.8 
9.4 
2 
2 
Aver- 
Entire State 
Brookings 
Highmore 
Brookings 
Highmore 
All 
Swedish Select. 
....do 
Sixty -Day 
do 
29.3 
38.8 
33.5 
46.9 
29.0 
Crop destroyed by hail. 
2 Crop destroyed by drought. 
CULTURAL METHODS. 
In Table X the results of an experiment to determine the gain 
which may be expected by better farming methods are reported. In 
this experiment oats are grown in rotation with an intertilled crop, 
using seed of the best grade obtainable by means of an ordinary 
fanning mill. This is compared with ordinary, well-cleaned seed 
sown on land well plowed and prepared, but which had produced 
a crop of oats the previous year. The test was made at Highmore 
