Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1911-06-07
GRAIN RAISING IN VERMONT.


consider grain growing, they are quite
likely to think Of the fertile fields Of
the great prairie states of the Middle I
West as the country where the soil !
eff tickled with hoe laughs a har-
vest" and yet that prosaic little
pamphlet issued every month by the
United States Department of Agricul
ture and known as the Crop Reporter,
sets forth some facts that surprise !
many people, telling as they do in
their tables of statistics that in the |
yield per acre of staple crops, Yer
mont surpasses most of the West.
Corn reigns as king of American
crops without rival, and yet only
four States of the Union-and those
four in New England-surpassed Yer
mont in 1910 in the yield of corn per
acre. The great corn States last year
were Illinois with 10. 500, 00U acres
Iowa, with 9,473,00O acres; Kansas,
with $780, 900 acres; Texas with g.
800, 900: Missouri. with $500, ZOO
acres, NCDEhShd Win OgOOOD OOC all CO
Oklahoma with TIP, 00U acres and In
diana with 5,l2I, 900 acres. Vermont
with only $1,000 acres, although hav-
ing the largest corn acreage Of New
England, occupies an Insignificant posi-
ton in the size Of its fields, but an
other story is told in the bushels har-
vested from each acre. The yield of
the big corn states in bushels per
acre was as follows: Illinois, 39.1
Iowa, 1858: Kansas 10; Texas, POS:
Missouri. SO; Oklahoma, Is; Indiana,
1873. Vermont's yield was 43 bushels
per acre or more than twice that Of
Kansas, and nearly three times that
of the new state of Oklahoma. That
report would indicate that there is
something besides rocks 10 Verm ont.
Vermont's corn crop amounted to
1881 600 bushels last year while that
of Colorado was little less. 2,846.
600 bushels and that of North Dakota,
. a little more 1896, 000 bushels, but
although the aggregate yield was
nearly the same, when compared with
Vermont's acreage OF g., 900, Colorado
corn growers planted 143, 900 acre S
and North Dakota farmers planted
2I4,000 acres. Thus it will be seen
that Vermont's yield was twofold
that of Colorado and threefold that of
North Dakota. The price per bushel
=. DOoopohou &c
cents, or nearly twice that of the ban
ner State, Illinois, which was 80 cents.
The price in the other big corn states
was Iowa, IS cents: Kansas, AS cents !;
Texas, 63 cents; Missouri, "A cents !;
Nebraska, SO cents; Oklahoma, 81
cents; Indiana, 40 cents. A big yield
and big price made a pretty good
combination and indicates that Yer
mont farmers are Quite as we'll stu
ated as their Western brothers.
Only five states in the union sur
passed Vermont last year in yield per
acre of oats, two or three being in
New England and the other three in
the irrigated region of the far west
The states of Iowa and Illinois far ex-
coed all others in acreage of oats and
number of bushels raised, but Yer
mont raises Ais bushels per acre COM
pared with 37.8 for Iowa and SO for
Illinois. The yield Of Wisconsin is
1913 and that Of Minnesota, 28.7,
while that of North Dakota is only 7
bushels. The Vermont acre thus
yields almost six times the quantity of
oats that the North Dakota acre
yields, yet many Vermont boys have
gone to the latter state to seek their
fortune.
Only six states of the union can
beat Vermont's record in the yield
per acre of barley and these are all in
the states where irrigation has made
possible the cultivation of rich soil
that for centuries has not been titled
The Green Mountain State raises 81
bushels per acre. Let US see how this
compares with some of the states tina
are supposed to be far in advance o.
our own as agricultural common
wealths. Nebraska raised Is. bushels
of barley per acre in 1910; South Da
kota raised 1872 bushels; Kansa
raised IL bushels, while North Dakot
raised SIS bushels. Surely Vernon
does not need to be ashamed of thes
comparative figures.
Only eleven States raise more ry
per acre than Vermont. Such state
as Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wiscon
sin, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma an
North Dakota rank lower in the mum
Der of bushels they can raise per acre
1t may be that the poets have no
sung much about uckwheat. but buck
wheat pancakes served with mapl
syrup on winter morning ought t
he an insnir 3tiOn TO the most ethnros