The Lamar register., 1921-01-05
PROWERS COUNTY LEADS
IN KANSAS VALLEY
In Five of the States Leading Crops
Prowers County Ranks First in
This Section of State.

The 1920 crop report for Colorado
just issued by the government con-
tains many interesting facts, and prob
ably some surprises for our people.
The eight leading crops are wheat,
sugar bects, alfalfa, corn, sorghums,
potatoes, oats, barley in the order
named. Alfalfa which has easily held
the lead for many years has been fore
ed out of that place by the tremendous
crop of wheat grown on the dry lands
of eastern Colorado; while the rapidly
dropping prices of other crops has
pushed sugar beets, which have fix
ed value, into second place. These and
the rapidly advancing Importance OF
the corn crop are the principal changes
in the agricultural situation for the
year. Wheat with a production of
over fifty per cent more did not quite
maintain its last years value, but al
falfa with a demoralized market fell
off over 40 per cent in value.
The figures show that outside of
four groups of seven counties each,
agriculture in Colorado hardly exists.
Three of the groups are in the eastern
part of the state and one in the central
section of the west.
The group in the northeast corner
is the greatest OF all as ii includes
Weld county which alone has one-third
of the irrigated land of the state. The
second most important group is the
southeast corner and here is located
Prowers county which has the second
largest irrigated area of any county
in the state. The northeast section and
the central east sections, however,
have dry land farming development
that outclasses their irrigated farms,
while the Arkansas valley section in
the southeast is still largely depend
ent or irrigation for its showing, al
though the past two years have wit
messed wonderful strides in dry farm
ing in Kiowa, Baca, Prowers, Bent and
Las Animas counties. The results to
the north of us may yet be duplicated
here.
Some crops which have made much
reputation are largely confined to mar
row limits. Colorado cantaloupes are
known the world over and yet over 80
per cent of them are raised in Otero
and Crowley counties. Colorado makes
considerable showing in the broomcorn
market but again 90 per cent is rails
ed in Baca and Prowers counties.
Speltz is also classed as a fine feed
crop in the state but Weld and Prov
ers counties are the only considerable
producers.
Some idea of the standing of Prov
ers county in the second most import
ant agricultural group of the state
the Arkansas valley-may be obtain
ed from the following facts taken from
the report. OF the eight leading state
crops named above potatoes are prac-
ticalIy not raised in this section and
therefore could hardly be listed as
crop in the valley. Of the seven re-
naming Prowers county leads all the
counties Oh the Naiicg IA Wiz
and production of wheat, alfalfa, corn
sorghums and barley; and stands sec
ond in the other two, sugar beets and
oats. 1t has the largest number OF
horses and, mules and cattle; also the
largest number of farmers owning
their own farms. They own the larg-
est farms by far of any irrigated area
in the state.
Some idea of the difference in the
kind of crops grown in different sec
tions where conditions are really SIM
liar are noticeable in the report About
tbree-fourths of the grain sorghums
are raised in the southeast group and
about the same proportion OF the
sweet sorghums in the northeast. An
immense acreage of millet is raised IN
three northeast counties and the crop
scarcely figures at all in the rest OF