Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-26
Competition In Wheat Grswin e.


Competition In Wheat Growing.
From oaday Pienser Press. @s
The time is drawing near when the
area deyo.sd ta wheat growing must be
determined more closely than ever be-
fore by the adaptability Of soil and eli
mate to the productino Of the variet les
most in demand in the worlds markets.
The TACT that this cereal finds home in
all latitsades from the equator to the frig-
id zone, Joined with the fact that it has
heretofore been product for. which the
demand was practically unlimited, com-
manding sale so ready aud certain that
bashel OF wheat was the prcticai equiv
a!ent ct certain amount Of cash, has
distributed the culture OF wheat more
widely than that Of any other agricultay-
| al product We:ale now in the presence
OF circumstances which sid fair 10 change
al this. Constant additions tt the wheat
acreage Of This country, renewed atten-
zion giveHsto wheat cultivation by na-
tons which have grown aii,tle res,Yvs at
depending so largely for their food sup.
ply upon aforei2h source, and especially
the appearance Of India asa gigantic
competitor among tie wheat producers
Of the world, show that over-production
Of wheat is not an impossibiity; and by
overproduction ie meant only that the
supply furnished by an enormously ex-
panded area the world over has growa to
proportions which threaten to reduce
prices below the level Of living profit.
When this happens, the farmer who
raises wheat under the least favorable
circumstances must just as surely turn
his attention to other produce more
suited to the locality where be is fixed,
and less abundant in the worlds store
house, as the builders Of railroads must
engage in other employments when all
the railroads needed to carry on the
transportation business Of a community
at reasonable rates have been supplied.
We are not far from that limit now. In
spite Of a greatly decreased wheat crop
last year, prices haye remained obstinate
ly low, In the least favored sections,
the wheat grower is able to command
market which will barely recompeuse
him for the capital and labor expended
upon his crop, leaving no margin of
prcfit whatever, If it does not involve
him in actual loss. Except in years Of
war or famine, there is some reason to
doubt that the foreign demand will ever
again reach ito ord dimensions. Ifthis |
be true, then the business Of wheat cult
walton is upon the eve of changes which |
must culminate in the survival Of the |!
fttest. Of course every state will en-
deavor to raise enough for home con-
sumption. But il will be cultivated for
general consumption and for export on
an extensive scale only in those sections
which are endowed with distinguished
natural advantages as compared with
the foremost wheat producing regions Of
the world. It becomes Of some moment,
therefore, to know, if possible, where the
regions so favored are to be found.
The ncoptrovertible facts Of nature and
The indications of statistics unite in con-
tirmjng the belief that the southern por.
ton Of the United States, and the great
middle belt as we'll, will soon be com.
PEELED to abandon to some con siderable
extent the raising of wNat as a staple
crop, and that the Northwest is destined
10 retain permanently its place as a chief
source of the worlds supply. As the
area devoted 10 wheat expands in tire
Northwest it will gradually contract in
he states which arg commonly known
Is the corn belt, and industry will turn
% other channels OF usefulness. Some
'easons for this faith will not be hard to
ind. In the first place, we note that the
conditions Of the market already point
oward this consummation. The highest
grade commands about 7S cents at Min
'eapolis. At Kansas City the price is SO
'ents. 1t is evident that the farmer Of
he Northwest is a competitor on more
han equal terms with the wheat raiser
arther to the south, and that in the
vent Of close competition be can drive
he latter to the wall. That competition
las already come. The farmer OF West
rn Kansas cannot afford to raise wheat
t 40 cents per bushel. Probably it costs L
i'm nearl y the whole of that, and the 4
lrst effect Of the market will be to turn
lis attention to more remunerative crops.
]nder these conditions little increase of =.
Wheat acreage can be expected in the .
tates of the middle belt. Extensions
nust be limited chiefly to the " orthwess;
nd this not only because the market is
t present more favorable, bat for the
eeper reasons whicht lies behind that .
pparent favoritism. Northwestern
7heat brings high price in the market
ecause it is unique and superior grade.
he grain known as No. l hard cannot
e produced south of certain latitude
ny more than bananas can be grown in
'anada. The cultivation of this variety
) species of natural monopoly, and it
ill be profitable according to the value
f that variety for consumptivc purpo.
es. Now it is known to every one that
MS hard wheat is in, universal and per f.
lament demand. tits absolutely neces- :,
ary for mixing with the softer varieties !
a order to produce the best -four. TheI
teady demand for it at high prices is
ccounted for by this fact; and the fact