2 BULLETIN 1039, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
work was conducted wholly on dry land, but in 1912 a considerable 
portion of the farm was put under irrigation, and experiments with 
cereals on irrigated land were begun. The results of these investiga- 
tions have been reported in part in several previous bulletins of the 
United States Department of Agriculture and the South Dakota 
Agricultural Experiment Station. 
The results obtained from the experiments on the dry land up 
to and including 1913 have been published in detail. 2 The work 
was discontinued at the close of the season of 1919 and all of the 
important results are published here in order to bring the data up 
to date and to make the unpublished results from all experiments 
available. Owing to the widely varying climatic conditions, the 
yields of the grains show large fluctuations in different seasons. 
Most of the experiments here reported, however, have been con- 
ducted for a sufficiently long period to show quite definitely which 
are the best varieties and the best cultural methods for growing the 
various cereals in this region. The results are applicable to a large 
part of western South Dakota and adjacent portions of northeastern 
Wyoming, southeastern Montana, and southwestern North Dakota, 
especially on the heavier types of soil. 
The average yields of wheat, oats, and barley obtained on dry 
land are not large, but might be profitable if seasonal conditions were 
more uniform. Low yields have been obtained in several years and 
failures of a part or all of the crops in others. High yields were 
obtained in 1915 and fairly high yields of some crops in 1908, 1909, 
and 1918. Grain growing alone is not likely to be successful in 
western South Dakota, but if carried on in conjunction with stock 
raising will be profitable some years. \Vheat, oats, and barley are 
more successful than other small grains. 
The average yields of the grains on irrigated land are not large. 
Fair yields of most grain crops were obtained each year and good 
yields were produced from time to time, so that grain growing has 
proved successful, especially in rotations with other crops. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIELD STATION. 
LOCATION. 
The Belle Fourche Experiment Farm consists of 360 acres located 
near the center of the Belle Fourche reclamation project in western 
South Dakota, about 30 miles northeast of the Black Hills. The 
farm is about 24 miles northeast of Bellefourche and 2 miles north- 
west of Newell. The latitude is about 44° 43' 45" N., and the longi- 
tude 103° 26' 15" W. The altitude is almost 2,900 feet. Most of 
2 Salmon, Cecil. Cereal investigations on the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm. U. S, 
Dept. Agr. Bui. 297, 41 p., 12 fig. 1915. 
