8 BULLETIN 748, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
CROP ROTATION. 
A fairly definite rotation of crops was found in each district 
visited, depending on local conditions and the crops best adapted to 
the region. Following is an outline of the typical rotations followed: 
Caroand Alma areas: | Grand Rapids area: Northwestern Ohio area: 
Clover and timothy 1 | Clover and timothy 1 Clover and timothy 1 
to 3 years. | to 3 years. to 2 years. 
Corn 1 year or beans 1 Corn 1 year. f| Sugar beets or corn 1 
year. | Sugar beets 1 year. | year. 
Sugar beets 1 year. Grain 1 year. | Grain 1 year. 
Grain 1 year. | Reseed to clover Reseed to clover and 
Reseed to clover and timothy. timothy. 
and timothy. 
The Caro and Alma records were combined in the study of crop 
rotation, because the conditions in these two districts were very 
similar. The chief difference noted was that in the Alma district 
the general practice was to follow timothy and clover with corn, 
while in the Caro district beets or beans are often substituted for 
corn as the crop to follow timothy and clover. 
In the Caro district sugar beets and beans are the two most im- 
portant competing cash crops. For the year 1915 the sugar-beet 
and bean acreage was about equally divided. An average of about 
15 acres per farm was devoted to each crop. Approximately 9 acres 
per farm was planted to corn. On 30 per cent of the farms in this 
district beans followed clover and timothy and preceded sugar beets. 
On 17 per cent, corn followed clover and timothy and preceded the 
sugar beet. On 10 per cent, beans were planted after corn and were 
followed by sugar beets. 
Beans did not occupy so prominent a place in the cropping system 
of the Alma district. However, on those farms where beans were 
erown the average acreage per farm was 13, while that of sugar beets 
was 10. An average of 13 acres per farm was devoted to corn. The 
sugar beet followed corn on 57 per cent of the farms visited; on 25 
per cent sugar beets followed beans. 
In the Grand Rapids area, where 36 farms were visited, beans 
were reported on 19 farms and corn on all farms, the average corn 
acreage being 17. Sugar beets followed corn on 24 farms and beans 
on 2 farms. The average acreage per farm of beans was 9, while 
that of sugar beets was 6. 
In northwestern Ohio beans were not included in any of the rota- 
tions mentioned. Corn appeared in the rotation on every farm and 
preceded sugar beets on 28 per cent of the farms in this district. 
(See fig. 3.) The average acreage of corn per farm was 33. The 
average acreage devoted to sugar beets was 16. On 39 per cent of 
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