8 BULLETIN 1271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
oral expansion of the total grain acreage began again in 1886 and 
continued until the end of the nineties. 
About 1900 there began a rapid shift away from wheat toward 
oats and corn. Prior to this time the production of these crops was 
confined principally to the needs of the work stock, cattle, and hogs 
kept on the farms. Unfortunately no data are available on the 
yields of wheat obtained during the period when the shift was made. 
Interviews with men who were farming at the time seem to sub- 
stantiate the opinion that low wheat yields as a result of rust damage, 
hot winds, and depletion of soil fertility were largely responsible 
for the rapid change; and they attached much significance to the 
fact that a number of farmers came into the country from the corn 
area of Iowa during this period, bringing with them a better knowl- 
edge of the proper practices in corn growing that resulted in improved 
corn yields. Also, the development of varieties of corn better adapted 
to conditions in the area was a significant factor in the expansion 
of the corn crop in this region. 
For the last four years for which data on local yields of crops are 
available (1919-1922), those for corn, oats, and barley have been 
relatively more satisfactory than the wheat yields. No significant 
shifts in the relative prices of these crops occurred during this period. 
Corn and oats began to replace wheat as cash grain crops about 
1905, and since 1910 wheat has been relatively unimportant. Wheat 
prices have not been quoted on local markets since 1916. 
CHANGES IN NUMBERS AND KINDS OF LIVESTOCK 
Increase in the importance of the different classes of livestock in 
Cottonwood County, with few exceptions, has followed the general 
trend of the expansion of the cultivated area. The classes of pro- 
ductive livestock that have been important in this area are hogs, 
dairy cattle, beef cattle, and sheep. Changes in the numbers of 
these classes of livestock from 1872 to 1920 and the prices of the 
different livestock products are shown in Figure 4. 
Strictly speaking there has never been a lar^e number of cattle 
of a purely dairy type in the county. The cattle are principally of 
a type commonly known as dual purpose. During most of the 
period from 1870 to 1890 the milk cows were kept primarily for the 
production of milk for use on the farms and for the calves raised. 
Beginning with the latter part of the eighties the production of butter 
for eastern markets has been gradually increasing in importance. 
From 1870 to 1890, " other cattle" 3 consisted of oxen used for 
farm work and the young stock raised. The expansion of livestock 
enterprises during the early years was held in check by lack of feeds 
as a result of low yields during the periods of grasshopper damage 
and unfavorable seasons and because of inability to obtain loans 
for the purchase of breeding stock. Cattle have never been shipped 
into these counties for feeding on any large scale. The period of 
the early nineties was one of low beef prices, and there was a tem- 
porary decline in the number of other cattle produced. 
Dairy and other cattle provide a market for the supplies of natural 
pasture, wild and tame hay, and other nonmarke table feeds common 
' "Other cattle" include all cattle other than cows. 
