Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-09

vested In h United States with the
exception of the crops OF 1914 and
1915 when the acreages harvested and
Yields per acre were both above nor
If the extremely favorable condi-
tons under which the winter wheat
crop OF 1914 was grown are again ex-
perienced, the yield Of winter wheat
next Year will be 100000. 900 bushels
or by far the largest winter wheat
GRO ever produced and even larger
than the total of both winter and
spring wheat crops for all past years
except two.
It is too early to determine the
area which should be sown to wheat
next spring. but If this is equal to
ina sown In the spring Of 1917, or
10 million acres. and thet yield is up
to the average Of the last ten years, a
crop OF Psi million bushels of, spring
wheat will be harvested, and IL the
yield per acre should equal that OBJ
tained In 1915 the crop will be $50
million bushels, the same as the
greatest spring wheat crop ever pro-
duced. Thus with no increase in the
spring wheat acreage but with the 10
per cent increase over the 1915 winter
wheat sowings planned for this fall,
the total wheat crop next year will
be more than n billion bushels, II
n crop meets with slightly better
than 10-year average conditions.
With extremely favorable conditions,
such as were experienced by the win
ter wheat crop in 1914 and the spring
wheat crop in 1915. the total yield
would amount to one and one-quarter
billion bushels.
Ax1o per cent increase In spring
wheat acreage with favorable growing
conditions would add another 80, OOO,-
900 bushels. The figures quoted above
are based upon a winter killing Of 9
per cent and yields per acre Of 1915
bushels for winter wheat and 1872
bushels for spring wheat, the averages
for the last ten years, and a yield per
acre in 1914 Of 10, bushels Of winter
wheat. and 1874 bushels Of spring
wheat in 1915.
Rye to Be Increased Heavily.
It is recommended that there be
sown in the United States this fall
~.6,131,000 acres of rye which, on the
basis OF ten-year averages, will yield
s8,635,000 bushels. This is an in
crease Of $4,000 acres, or 20 per cent
over that sown last year, when the
largest acreage in the history Of the
of 48 per cent owe the 1915 acreage
and of 81 per cent over the fve-year
5(1912-1916) average sown acreage.
In any consideration of the expan-
sion Of the acreage Of bread grains in
certain parts OF the country, 1t is
necessary to consider wheat and rye
together. This is because rye can be
planted safely ON many fields with less
risk han wheat. Further, rye can be
used Is a substitute for wheat as a
bread grain by those who are ac-
customed to it. Rye succeeds on poor
er soils and with less fertilizer and in
colder climates than wheat, and for
these reasons should be planted in
preference to wheat where it has been
proved a safer crop. The farmer
who, because of an attractive guaran-
Iced price for wheat, may be tempted
to plant wheat rather than rye in a
locality where rye is the certain
crop takes a speculative risk Of loss
through winter killing and destructive
wheat diseases which is u~nwarranted.
While no guaranteed price for rye has
been authorized by congress. there is
every reason to expect hat the price
of rye for the next a will bear q
satisfactory relation to that OF wheat
and, therefore, Justify the planting Of
rye where the present experience with
1t indicates its superiority.