The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-04-22
TREASURE STATE FARM AND LIVESTOCK
1920 WORLD WHEAT SHORTAGE
PREDICTED; WINTER WHEATPOOR

/ shells. due to low acreage, is but it'll
more than half the total yield of GU
big crop years.
Naturally I was interested t,
find out from as reliable sources a
possible the accuracy of these report
and see a small part of the territor.
myself for, if the estimated shortage
of winter wheat is actual, it will b.
very wise for the spring wheat sec
tions to make up as much of thu
shortage as possible.
Conditions Are Bad
DR.. W. P. Brown of the Co-opera
tive Crop Reporting bureau had JUS
returned to Minneapolis from an ex
tended trip through Nebraska, Kan
sas and Oklahoma. 1 have not YET
seen the printed report of his inyes.
LEGATIONS but he stated freely that
the condition of the crops in those
sections was very bad.
cit was very dry in the southwest
all winter and early in March the en-
tire central part of the United States
from Texas to the Great Lakes was
visited with terrific gales which were
disastrous to the growing wheat
where the ground was dry and the
soil light. 1 saw a large number OF
such fields in eastern Nebraska and
in some places it appeared that the
entire cultivated surface of the
ground had been blown away. The
estimated damage is from 25 to so
per cent. The Easter blizzard with
its heavy fall of snow came as a great
relief to this section. The fields
above referred to will be planted to
corn.
when we take into consideration
the fact that the Hessian fly has
wrought considerable damage in In
diana, Illinois and parts of Ohio, it
is not an exaggeration to say that
the prospective yield of winter wheat
in the United States is really little
more than half that of last year.
''Individuals and companies who
are interested in North Dakota as
serted that the farmers of that state
would be given every possible assist
ance in the way of securing farm la
borers and loans for seed and equip
ment to insure the largest acreage
of spring wheat ever sown in North
Dakota.
Prospects Good Here
with moisture conditions so ia
vorable in Montana at the present
time, the question of a large spring
acreage becomes a matter of
Importance to every citizen of the
Treasure state. Not one acre which
has been properly cultivated should
be allowed to stand idle this year. A
large acreage with a normal yield of
wheat would go very far to-.
ward offsetting the loss Montana
farmers have sustained during the
last two years, for it is the almost
universal opinion among men famil-
Jar with world wheat conditions that
he price of this commodity next
will be fully as high or higher
han the average price paid for this
year's crop.
''That there is a world shortage
1t the present time is unquestioned.
Che prospects for meeting this short
lge with next years crop are exceed
ngly poor. There are four large
Countries that export wheat on al
arge scale-America Canada and
he United States), Argentine, Aus
ralia and the Balkan countries
Russia and Rumania).
"Argentine will carry over a very
mall .exportable surplus as the gen
raj character of her last years crop
yas not of a nature that would per-
ait of being transported to Europe.
hould she market a large crop this
ear, she is not in a position finan-
tally to finance sales to countries
central Europe where the demand
greatest.
Needs Crop at Home