Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-12-13
Will RAISE
MORE DURUM
Farmers are Finding II More
Profitable thar Ordinary
Wheat

Duluth Herald: A. y. Peake of Val.
ley City. N. d., owner OF farms In
Barnes county, that state, asgrcgating
5000 to 5000 acres, who was a visitor
on the Duluth exchange today, re-
marked that he believed that next
year that state would raise great
deal more durum that 1t did this year,
but that the acreage OF spring wheat
would be decreased. ..
There Is better market for durum
than there is for spring wheat. and
prices ava better" said Mr.. Peake
"Durum is now higher priced than
spring wheat. Two years and more
ago, durum was selling at 10, is, and
at times even 20 cents per bushel low
er than spring wheat. At that time the
farmers of our part of North Dakota
were putting durum In about a third
Of their wheat lands and spring wheat
in the other two.thirds. Then they
went more largely into spring wheat
because that was a better seller and
paid better. There was an excellent
home market for spring wheat, and
there was none to export. The mar
ket for durum depended largely on
the export. But this year conditions
are very different. There is more
spring wheat to export than the for.
eigners really want and the durum
holds its value much better. ] be.
lieve that next year the farmers OF
North Dakota will again put in about
a bushel of durum to two bushels of
spring wheat.
Farmers keep following after the
high-priced grains in what they raise
and then they raise SO much Of the
high-priced grains that the prices are
beaten right down. This year farm.
ers raised a great deal of barley, be.
cause the price was high last year,
and they paid high prices for the seed.
But believe that the acreage of bar.
ley in North Dakota win not be di.
minished next year, because the farm.
ers did little fall blowing, and next
year they will have to put in such
grains as are adapted to spring plow-
ing. That, think, is another reason
for believing that there will be an in.
crease in the acreage Of durum and
decrease in the acreage of spring
wheat.
"This year the farmers of North
Dakota did not get more than 25 per
cent Of the fall blowing they did
year ago. Thus there is great deal
Of blowing to be done IL the spring
This fall they had vast crops to hand.
lie and were handicapped in not get
ting the help they needed. Thus the
fall blowing was neglected. There
was rainy weather il September that
put the threshing back, and later
there was quite a snow fall, which
drove most of the threshing help out
of the state. Later there was long
period of fine threshing weather. but
he farmers had to do 1t by clubbing
together, because they did pot have
the help they needed. So there was
great delay in getting the fall work
done. In the region of Valley City
threshing was going on until after the
national election. E
Yet alon the main line of the Nor
thern Pacific in North Dakota the
threshing is practically finished and
along the branch lines 1t Is finished
about, as far west as Jamestown.
am not so familiar with conditions
along the Great Northern but from
what hear ! think there is great
deal of threshing of wheat and fax
still to be done in the northwestern