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Vol. Ill - pt. 9 ch. I
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
IN THE UNITED STATES
(A COOPERATIVE REPORT)
Wheat Producers and
Wheat Production
SPECIAL REPORTS
1954
Census
of
Agriculture
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
WASHINGTON • 7956
U J
v
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Eiro Taft Benson, Secretary
Agricultural Research Service
Byron T. Show, Administrator
U. S. Department of Commerce
Sincloir Weeks, Secretary
Bureau of the Census
Robert W. Burgess, Director
United States
Census
Volume III
SPECIAL REPORTS
Part 9
Farmers and Farm Production in the United States
(A Cooperative Report)
Chapter I
Wheat Producers and
Wheat Production
CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS and FARM PRODUCTION •
PRINCIPAL TYPES OF FARMS •
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
Robert W. Burgess, Director
AGRICULTURE DIVISION
Ray Hurley. Chief
Warder B. Jenkins, Assistant Chief
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
Byron T. Shaw, Administrator
FARM AND LAND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
Sherman E. Johnson, Director
PRODUCTION ECONOMICS RESEARCH BRANCH
Carl P. Heisig, Chief
Boston Public Library
Superintendent of Documents
JUL 1 7 1957
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SUGGESTED IDENTIFICATION
U. S. Bureau of the Census. U. S. Census of Agriculture: 1954. Vol. Ill, Special Reports
Part 9, Farmers and Farm Production in the United States.
Chapter I, Wheat Producers and Wheat Production
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. , 1956.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.
or any of the Field Offices of the Department of Commerce, Price 30 cents (paper cover)
PREFACE
The purpose of this report, is to present an analysis of the characteristics of farmers and farm production
for the most important types of farms as shown by data for the 1954 Census of Agriculture. The analysis
deals with the relative importance, pattern of resource use, some measures of efficiency, and problems of
adjustment and change for the principal types of farms.
The data given in the various chapters of this report have been derived largely from the special tabula-
tion of data for each type of farm, by economic class, for the 1954 Census of Agriculture. The detailed
statistics for each type of farm for the United States and the principal subregions appear in Part 8 of Volume
III of the reports for the 1954 Census of Agriculture.
This cooperative report was prepared under the direction of Ray Hurley, Chief of the Agriculture Divi-
sion of the Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce, and Kenneth L. Bachman, Head, Produc-
tion, Income, and Costs Section, Production Economics Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Jackson V. McElveen, Agricultural Economist, Production, Income, and Costs Section, Production
Economics Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, super-
vised a large part of the detailed planning and analysis for the various chapters.
The list of chapters and the persons preparing each chapter are as follows:
Chapter I Wheat Producers and
Production
A. W. Epp,
University of Nebraska.
Wheat
and Cotton
Chapter II Cotton Producers
Production
Robert B. Glasgow,
Production Economics Research
Branch,
Agricultural Research Service,
United States Department of
Agriculture.
Chapter III Tobacco and Peanut Producers
and Production
R. E. L. Greene,
University of Florida.
Chapter IV Poultry Producers and Poultry
Production
William P. Mortenson,
University of Wisconsin.
Chapter V Dairy Producers and Dairy Pro-
duction
P. E. McNall,
University of Wisconsin.
Chapter VI . . . Western Stock Ranches and Live-
stock Farms
Mont H. Saunderson,
Western Ranching and Lands
Consultant,
Bozeman, Mont.
Chapter VII . . Cash-grain and Livestock Pro-
ducers in the Corn Belt
Edwin G. Strand,
Production Economics Research
Branch,
Agricultural Research Service,
United States Department of
Agriculture.
Chapter VIII. _ Part-time Farming
H. G. Halcrow,
University of Connecticut.
Chapter IX Agricultural Producers and Pro-
duction in the United States —
A General View
Jackson V. McElveen,
Production Economics Research
Branch,
Agricultural Research Service,
United States Department of
Agriculture.
The editorial work for this report was performed by Caroline B. Sherman, and the preparation of the
statistical tables was supervised by Margaret Wood.
December 1956
in
UNITED STATES CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE: 1954
REPORTS
Volume I. — Counties and State Economic Areas. Statistics for counties include number of farms, acreage, value, and farm operators;
farms by color and tenure of operator; facilities and equipment; use of commercial fertilizer; farm labor; farm expenditures; livestock and
livestock products; specified crops harvested; farms classified by type of farm and by economic class; and value of products sold by source.
Data for State economic areas include farms and farm characteristics by tenure of operator, by type of farm, and by economic class.
Volume I is published in 33 parts.
Volume II. — General Report. Statistics by Subjects, United States Census of Agriculture, 1954. Summary data and analyses of
the data for States, for Geographic Divisions, and for the United States by subjects.
Volume III. — Special Reports
Part 1. — Multiple-Unit Operations. This report will be similar to
Part. 2 of Volume V of the reports for the 1950 Census of Agri-
culture. It will present statistics for approximately 900
counties and State economic areas in 12 Southern States and
Missouri for the number and characteristics of multiple-unit
operations and farms in multiple units.
Part 2. — Ranking Agricultural Counties. This special report will
present statistics for selected items of inventory and agricul-
tural production for the leading counties in the United States.
Part 3. — Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, and
U. S. Possessions. These areas were not included in the 1954
Census of Agriculture. The available current data from vari-
ous Government sources will be compiled and published in
this report.
Part 4. — Agriculture, 1954, a Graphic Summary. This report will
present graphically some of the significant facts regarding
agriculture and agricultural production as revealed by the 1954
Census of Agriculture.
Part 5. — Farm-Mortgage Debt. This will be a cooperative study
by the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department
of Agriculture and the Bureau of the Census. It will present,
by States, data based on the 1954 Census of Agriculture and a
special mail survey conducted in January 1956, on the num-
ber of mortgaged farms, the amount, of mortgage debt, and the
amount of debt held by principal lending agencies.
Part 6. — Irrigation in Humid Areas. This cooperative report by
the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture and the Bureau of the Census will present data ob-
tained by a mail survey of operators of irrigated farms in 28
States on the source of water, method of applying water, num-
ber of pumps used, acres of crops irrigated in 1954 and 1955,
the number of times each crop was irrigated, and the cost of
irrigation equipment and the irrigation system.
Part 7. — Popular Report of the 1954 Census of Agriculture. This
report is planned to be a general, easy-to-read publication for
the general public on the status and broad characteristics of
United States agriculture. It will seek to delineate such as-
pects of agriculture as the geographic distribution and dif-
ferences by size of farm for such items as farm acreage, princi-
pal crops, and important kinds of livestock, farm facilities,
farm equipment, use of fertilizer, soil conservation practices,
farm tenure, and farm income.
Part 8. — Size of Operation by Type of Farm. This will be a coop-
erative special report to be prepared in cooperation with the
Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture. This report will contain data for 119 economic sub-
IV
regions (essentially general type-of-farming areas) showing the
general characteristics for each type of farm by economic class.
It will provide data for a current analysis of the differences
that exist among groups of farms of the same type. It will
furnish statistical basis for a realistic examination of produc-
tion of such commodities as wheat, cotton, and dairy products
in connection with actual or proposed governmental policies
and programs.
Part 9. — Farmers and Farm Production in the United States.
The purpose of this report is to present an analysis of the
characteristics of farmers and farm production for the most
important types of farms as shown by data for the 1954 Census
of Agriculture. The analysis deals with the relative importance,
pattern of resource use, some measures of efficiency, and prob-
lems of adjustment and change for the principal types of farms.
The report was prepared in cooperation with the Agricultural
Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The list of chapters (published separately only) and title
for each chapter are as follows:
Chapter I — Wheat Producers and Wheat Production
II — Cotton Producers and Cotton Production
III — Tobacco and Peanut Producers and Production
IV — Poultry Producers and Poultry Production
V — Dairy Producers and Dairy Production
VI — Western Stock Ranches and Livestock Farms
VII — Cash-Grain and Livestock Producers in the Corn
Bell
VIII— Part-Time Farming
IX — Agricultural Producers and Production in the
United States — A General View
Part 10. — Use of Fertilizer and lime. The purpose of this report
is to present in one publication most of the detailed data com-
piled for the 1954 Census of Agriculture regarding the use of
fertilizer and lime. The report presents data for counties,
State economic areas, and generalized type-of-farming areas
regarding the quantity used, acreage on which used, and
expenditures for fertilizer and lime. The Agricultural Research
Service cooperated with the Bureau of the Census in the prep-
aration of this report.
Part 11. — Farmers' Expenditures. This report presents detailed
data on expenditures for a large number of items used for farm
production in 1955, and on the living expenditures of farm
operators' families. The data were collected and compiled
cooperatively by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of the Census.
Part 12. — Methods and Procedures. This report contains an
outline and a description of the methods and procedures used
in taking and compiling the 1954 Census of Agriculture.
INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
Purpose and scope. — American agriculture ia exceedingly diverse
and is undergoing revolutionary changes. Farmers and their
families obtain their income by producing a large variety of
products under a large variety of conditions as well as from sources
other than farming. The organization of production, type of
farming, productivity, income, expenditures, size, and character-
istics of operators of the 4.8 million farms in the United States
vary greath . Agriculture has been a dynamic, moving, adjusting
part of our economy. Basic changes in farming have been occurring
and will continue to be necessary. Adjustments brought by tech-
nological change, by changing consumer wants, by growth of
population, and by changes in the income of nonfarm people, have
been significant forces in changing agriculture since World War II.
The transition from war to an approximate peacetime situation
has also made it necessary to reduce the output of some farm
products. Some of the adjustments in agriculture have not pre-
sented relatively difficult problems as they could be made by the
transfer of resources from the production of one product to another.
Others require substantial shifts in resources and production.
Moreover, a considerable number of farm families, many of whom
are employed full time in agriculture, have relatively low incomes.
Most of these families operate farms that are small when compared
with farms that produce higher incomes. The acreage of land and
the amount of capital controlled by the operators of these small
farms are too small to provide a very- high level of income. In
recent years, many farm families on these small farms have made
adjustments by leaving the farm to earn their incomes elsewhere,
by discontinuing their farm operations, and by earning more non-
farm income while remaining on the farm or on the place they
farmed formerly.
One objective of this report is to describe and analyze some of
the existing differences and recent adjustments in the major types
of farming and farm production. For important commodities and
groups of farms, the report aims to make available, largely from
the detailed data for the 1954 Census of Agriculture but in a more
concise form, facts regarding the size of farms, capital, labor, and
land resources on farms, amounts and sources of farm income and
expenditures, combinations of crop and livestock enterprises,
adjustment problems, operator characteristics, and variation in use
of resources and in size of farms by areas and for widely differing
production conditions. Those types of farms on which production
of surplus products is important have been emphasized. The
report will provide a factual basis for a better understanding of
the widespread differences among farms in regard to size, resources,
and income. It will also provide a basis for evaluating the effects
of existing and proposed farm programs on the production and
incomes of major types and classes of farms.
Income from nonfarm sources is important on a large number
of farms. About 1.4 million of the 4.8 million farm-operator
families, or about 3 in 10, obtain more income from off-farm sources
than from the sale of agricultural products. More than three-
fourths of a million farm operators live on small-scale part-time
farms and ordinarily are not dependent on farming as the main
source of family income. These part-time farmers have a quite
different relation to adjustments, changes, and farm problems
than do commercial farmers. A description of and facts regarding
these part-time farms and the importance of nonfarm income for
commercial farms are presented in Chapter 8.
Except for Chapter 8, this report deals with commercial farms
(see economic class of farm). The analysis is limited to the major
types of agricultural production and deals primarily with geo-
graphic areas in which each of the major types of agricultural
production has substantial significance.
Source of data. — Most of the data presented in this report are
from special compilations made for the 1954 Census of Agriculture,
although pertinent data from research findings and surveys of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture, State Agricultural Colleges, and
other agencies have been used to supplement Census data. The
detailed Census data used for this report are contained in Part 8 of
Volume III of the reports of the 1954 Census of Agriculture.
Reference should be made to that report for detailed explanations
and definitions and statements regarding the characteristics and
reliability of the data.
Areas for which data are presented. — Data are presented in
this report primarily for selected economic subregions and for the
United States. The boundaries of the 119 subregions used for the
compilation of data on which this report is based are indicated by
the map on page vi. These subregions represent primarily general
type-of-farming areas. Many of them extend into two or more
States. (For a more detailed description of economic subregions,
see the publication "Economic Subregions of the United States,
Series Census BAE; No. 19, published cooperatively by the Bureau
of the Census, and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, July 1953.)
DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS
Definitions and explanations are given only for some of the more
important items. For more detailed definitions and explanations,
reference can be made to Part 8 of Volume III and to Volume II of
the reports of the 1954 Census of Agriculture.
A farm. — For the 1954 Census of Agriculture, places of 3 or
more acres were counted as farms if the annual value of agricultural
products, exclusive of home-garden products, amounted to $150
or more. The agricultural products could have been either for
home use or for sale. Places of less than 3 acres were counted as
farms only if the annual value of sales of agricultural products
amounted to $150 or more. Places for which the value of agricul-
tural products for 1954 was less than these minima because of crop
failure or other unusual conditions, and places operated at the time
of the Census for the first time were counted as farms if normally
they could be expected to produce these minimum quantities of
agricultural products.
All the land under the control of one person or partnership was
included as one farm. Control may have been through ownership,
or through lease, rental, or cropping arrangement.
Farm operator. — A "farm operator" is a person who operates
a farm, either performing the labor himself or directly supervising
it. He may be an owner, a hired manager, or a tenant, renter, or
sharecropper. If he rents land to others or has land cropped for
him by others, he is listed as the operator of only that land which
he retains. In the case of a partnership, only one partner was
included as the operator. The number of farm operators is con-
sidered the same as the number of farms.
VIII
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Farms reporting or operators reporting. — Figures for farms
reporting or operators reporting, based on a tabulation of all farms,
represent the number of farms, or farm operators, for which the
specified item was reported. For example, if there were 11,922
farms in a subregion and only 11,465 had chickens over 4 months
old on hand, the number of farms reporting chickens would be
1 1 ,465. The difference between the total number of farms and the
number of farms reporting an item represents the number of farms
not having that item, provided the inquiry was answered
completely for all farms.
Farms by type. — The classification of commercial farms by
type was made on the basis of the relationship of the value of
sales from a particular source, or sources, to the total value of all
farm products sold from the farm. In some cases, the type of
farm was determined on the basis of the sale of an individual farm
product, such as cotton, or on the basis of the sales of closely re-
lated products, such as dairy products. In other cases, the type
of farm was determined on the basis of sales of a broader group of
products, such as grain crops including corn, sorghums, all small
grains, field peas, field beans, cowpeas, and soybeans. In order to
be classified as a particular type, sales or anticipated sales of a
product or group of products had to represent 50 percent or more
of the total value of products sold.
The types of commercial farms for which data are shown, to-
gether with the product or group of products on which the classi-
fication is based are:
Type of farm
Cash-grain
Cotton
Other field-crop_
Vegetable
Fruit-and-nut_
Dairv.
Poultry.
Livestock farms other than
dairy and poultry.
Product or group of products amount-
ing to 50 percent or more of the
value of all farm products sold
Corn, sorghum, small grains, field
peas, field beans, cowpeas, and
soybeans.
Cotton (lint and seed).
Peanuts, Irish potatoes, sweet-
potatoes, tobacco, sugarcane, sug-
ar beets for sugar, and other
miscellaneous crops.
Vegetables.
Berries and other small fruits, and
tree fruits, nuts, and grapes.
Milk and other dairy products.
The criterion of 50 percent of the
total sales was modified in the
case of dairy farms. A farm for
which the value of sales of dairy
products represented less than 50
percent of the total value of farm
products sold was classified as a
dairy farm if —
(a) Milk and other dairy prod-
ucts accounted for 30
percent or more of the
total value of products
sold, and
(6) Milk cows represented 50
percent or more of all
cows, and
(c) Sales of dairy products, to-
gether with the sales
of cattle and calves,
amounted to 50 percent
or more of the total
value of farm products
sold.
Chickens, eggs, turkeys, and other
poultry products.
Cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, goats,
wool, and mohair, provided the
farm did not qualify as a dairy
farm.
Product or group of products amount-
ing to 50 percent or more of the
Type of farm value of all farm products sold
General Farms were classified as general
when the value of products from
one source or group of sources
did not represent as much as 50
percent of the total value of all
farm products sold. Separate
figures are given for three kinds
of general farms:
(a) Primarily crop.
(b) Primarily livestock,
(c) Crop and livestock.
Primarily crop farms are those for
which the sale of one of the
following crops or groups of
crops — vegetables, fruits and
nuts, cotton, cash grains, or other
field crops — did not amount to
50 percent or more of the value
of all farm products sold, but
for which the value of sales for
all these groups of crops repre-
sented 70 percent or more of the
value of all farm products sold.
Primarily livestock farms are those
which could not qualify as dairy
farms, poultry farms, or livestock
farms other than dairy and
poultry, but on which the sale
of livestock and poultry and
livestock and poultry products
amounted to 70 percent or more
of the value of all farm products
sold.
General crop and livestock farms are
those which could not be classi-
fied as either crop farms or live-
stock farms, but on which the
sale of all crops amounted to at
least 30 percent but less than 70
percent of the total value of all
farm products sold.
Miscellaneous This group of farms includes those
that had 50 percent or more of
the total value of products ac-
counted for by sale of horticul-
tural products, or sale of horses,
or sale of forest products.
Farms by economic class. — A classification of farms by eco-
nomic class was made for the purpose of segregating groups of
farms that are somewhat alike in their characteristics and size of
operation. This classification was made in order to present an
accurate description of the farms in each class and in order to
provide basic data for an analysis of the organization of agriculture.
The classification of farms by economic class was made on the
basis of three factors; namely, total value of all farm products
sold, number of days the farm operator worked off the farm, and
the relationship of the income received from nonfarm sources by
the operator and members of his family to the value of all farm
products sold. Farms operated by institutions, experiment sta-
tions, grazing associations, and community projects were classified
as abnormal, regardless of any of the three factors.
For the purpose of determining the code for economic class and
type of farm, it was necessary to obtain the total value of farm
products sold as well as the value of some individual products
sold.
The total value of farm products sold was obtained by adding
the reported or estimated values for all products sold from the
farm. The value of livestock, livestock products except wool and
mohair, vegetables, nursery and greenhouse products, and forest
INTRODUCTION
IX
products was obtained by the enumerator from the farm operator
for each farm. The enumerator also obtained from the farm
operator the quantity sold for corn, sorghums, small grains, hays,
and small fruits. The value of sales for these crops was obtained
by multiplying the quantity sold by State average prices.
The quantity sold was estimated for all other farm products.
The entire quantity produced for wool, mohair, cotton, tobacco,
sugar beets for sugar, sugarcane for sugar, broomcorn, hops, and
mint for oil was estimated as sold. To obtain the value of each
product sold, the quantity sold was multiplied by State average
prices.
In making the classification of farms by economic class, farms
were grouped into two major groups, namely, commercial farms
and other farms. In general, all farms with a value of sales of
farm products amounting to $1,200 or more were classified as
commercial. Farms with a value of sales of $250 to $1,199 were
classified as commercial only if the farm operator worked off the
farm less than 100 days or if the income of the farm operator and
members of his family received from nonfarm sources was less than
the total value of all farm products sold.
Land in farms according to use. — Land in farms was classified
according to the use made of it in 1954. The classes of land
are mutually exclusive, i. e., each acre of land was included only
once even though it may have had more than one use during the
year.
The classes referred to in this report are as follows:
Cropland harvested. — This includes land from which crops
were harvested; land from which hay (including wild hay) was
cut; and land in small fruits, orchards, vineyards, nurseries, and
greenhouses. Land from which two or more crops were reported
as harvested was to be counted only once.
Cropland used only for pasture. — In the 1954 Census, the
enumerator's instructions stated that rotation pasture and all
other cropland that was used only for pasture were to be in-
cluded under this class. No further definition of cropland
pastured was given the farm operator or enumerator. Per-
manent open pasture may, therefore, have been included under
this item or under "other pasture," depending on whether the
enumerator or farm operator considered it as cropland.
Cropland not harvested and not pastured. — This item includes
idle cropland, land in soil-improvement crops only, land on
which all crops failed, land seeded to crops for harvest after
1954, and cultivated summer fallow.
In the Western States, this class was subdivided to show
separately the acres of cultivated summer fallow. In these
States, the acreage not in cultivated summer fallow represents
largely crop failure. There are very few counties in the West-
ern States in which there is a large acreage of idle cropland or
in which the growing of soil-improvement crops is an important
use of the land.
In the States other than the Western States, this general
class was subdivided to show separately the acres of idle crop-
land (not used for crops or for pasture in 1954). In these States,
the incidence of crop failure is usually low. It was expected
that the acreage figure that excluded idle land would reflect
the acreage in soil-improvement crops. However, the 1954
crop year was one of low rainfall in many Eastern and Southern
States and, therefore, in these areas the acreage of cropland not
harvested and not pastured includes more land on which all
crops failed than would usually be the case.
Cultivated summer fallow. — This item includes cropland
that was plowed and cultivated but left unseeded for several
months to control weeds and conserve moisture. No land
from which crops were harvested in 1954 was to be included
under this item.
Cropland, total. — This includes cropland harvested, cropland
used only for pasture, and cropland not harvested and not
pastured.
Land pastured, total. — This includes cropland used only for
pasture, woodland pastured, and other pasture (not cropland
and not woodland).
Woodland, total. — This includes woodland pastured and
woodland not pastured.
Value of land and buildings. — The value to be reported was
the approximate amount for which the land and the buildings on
it would sell.
Off-farm work and other income. — Many farm operators receive
a part of their income from sources other than the sale of farm
products from their farms. The 1954 Agriculture Questionnaire
included several inquiries relating to work off the farm and non-
farm income. These inquiries called for the number of days
worked off the farm by the farm operator; whether other members
of the operator's family worked off the farm; and whether the
farm operator received income from other sources, such as sale
of products from land rented out, cash rent, boarders, old age
assistance, pensions, veterans' allowances, unemployment com-
pensation, interest, dividends, profits from nonfarm business,
and help from other members of the operator's family. Another
inquiry asked whether the income of the operator and his family
from off-farm work and other sources was greater than the total
value of all agricultural products sold from the farm in 1954.
Off-farm work was to include work at nonfarm jobs, businesses,
or professions, whether performed on the farm premises or else-
where; also, work on someone else's farm for pay or wages. Ex-
change work was not to be included.
Specified facilities and equipment. — Inquiries were made in
1954 to determine the presence or absence of selected items on
each place such as (1) telephone, (2) piped running water, (3)
electricity, (4) television set, (5) home freezer, (6) electric pig
brooder, (7) milking machine, and (8) power feed grinder. Such
facilities or equipment were to be counted even though tem-
porarily out of order. Piped running water was defined as water
piped from a pressure system or by gravity flow from a natural
or artificial source. The enumerator's instructions stated that
pig brooders were to include those heated by an electric heating
element, by an infrared or heat bulb, or by ordinary electric bulbs.
They could be homemade.
The number of selected types of other farm equipment was also
obtained for a sample of farms. The selected kinds of farm
equipment to be reported were (1) grain combines (for harvesting
and threshing grains or seeds in one operation); (2) cornpickers;
(3) pickup balers (stationary ones not to be reported); (4) field
forage harvesters (for field chopping of silage and forage crops) ;
(5) motortrucks; (6) wheel tractors (other than garden); (7)
garden tractors; (8) crawler tractors (tracklaying, caterpillar);
(9) automobiles; and (10) artificial ponds, reservoirs, and earth
tanks.
Wheel tractors were to include homemade tractors but were not
to include implements having built-in power units such as self-
propelled combines, powered buck rakes, etc. Pickup and truck-
trailer combinations were to be reported as motortrucks. School
buses were not to be reported, and jeeps and station wagons were
to be included as motortrucks or automobiles, depending on
whether used for hauling farm products or supplies, or as passenger
vehicles.
Farm labor. — The farm-labor inquiries for 1954, called for the
number of persons doing farmwork or chores on the place during
a specified calendar week. Since starting dates of the 1954 enumer-
ation varied by areas or States, the calendar week to which the
farm-labor inquiries related varied also. The calendar week was
September 26-October 2 or October 24-30. States with the
September 26-October 2 calendar week were: Arizona, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
423018—57 2
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. States with the October
24-30 calendar week were: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Farmwork was to include any work, chores, or planning necessary
to the operation of the farm or ranch business. Housework,
contract construction work, and labor involved when equipment
was hired (custom work) were not to be included.
The farm-labor information was obtained in three parts:
(1) Operators working, (2) unpaid members of the operator's family
working, and (3) hired persons working. Operators were consid-
ered as working if they worked 1 or more hours; unpaid members
of the operator's family, if they worked 15 or more hours; and
hired persons, if they worked any time during the calendar week
specified. Instructions contained no specifications regarding age
of the persons working.
Regular and seasonal workers. — Hired persons working on
the farm during the specified week were classed as "regular"
workers if the period of actual or expected employment was 150
days or more during the year, and as "seasonal" workers if the
period of actual or expected employment was less than 150 days.
If the period of expected employment was not reported, the
period of employment was estimated for the individual farm
after taking into account such items as the basis of payment,
wage rate, expenditures for labor in 1954, and the type and
other characteristics of the farm.
Specified farm expenditures. — The 1954 Census obtained data
for selected farm expense items in addition to those for fertilizer
and lime. The expenditures were to include the total specified
expenditures for the place whether made by landlord, tenant, or
both.
Expenditures for machine hire were to include any labor in-
cluded in the cost of such machine hire. Machine hire refers to
custom machine work such as tractor hire, threshing, combining,
silo filling, baling, ginning, plowing, and spraying. If part of the
farm products was given as pay for machine hire, the value of the
products traded for this service was to be included in the amount
of expenditures reported. The cost of trucking, freight, and
express was not to be included.
Expenditures for hired labor were to include only cash pay-
ments. Expenditures for housework, custom work, and contract
construction work were not to be included.
Expenditures for feed were to include the expenditures for
pasture, salt, condiments, concentrates, and mineral supplements,
as well as those for grain, hay, and mill feeds. Expenditures for
grinding and mixing feeds were also to be included. Payments
made by a tenant to his landlord for feed grown on the land rented
by the tenant were not to be included.
Expenditures for gasoline and other petroleum fuel and oil were
to include only those used for the farm business. Petroleum
products used for the farmer's automobile for pleasure or used
exclusively in the farm home for heating, cooking, and lighting
were not to be included.
Crops harvested. — The information on crops harvested refers
to the acreage and quantity harvested for the 1954 crop year. An
exception was made for land in fruit orchards and planted nut
trees. In this case, the acreage represents that in both bearing
and nonbearing trees and vines as of October and November 1954.
Hay. — The data for hay includes all kinds of hay except soy-
bean, cowpea, sorghum, and peanut hay.
Livestock and poultry. — The data on the number of livestock
and poultry represent the number on hand on the day of enumera-
tion (October-November 1954). The data relating to livestock
products and the number of livestock sold relate to the sales made
during the calendar year 1954.
LABOR RESOURCES
The data for labor resources available represent estimates based
largely on Census data and developed for the purpose of making
comparisons among farms of various size of operations. The
labor resources available are stated in terms of man-equivalents.
To obtain the man-equivalents the total number of farm opera-
tors as reported by the 1954 Census were adjusted for estimated
man-years of work off the farm and for the number of farm opera-
tors 65 years old and over. The farm operator was taken to rep-
resent a full man-equivalent of labor unless he was 65 years or
older or unless he worked at an off-farm job in 1954.
The man-equivalent estimated for farm operators reporting spec-
ified amounts of off-farm work were as follows:
Estimated
Days worked off the farm in 1954 man-equivalent
1-99 davs . 0.85
100-199 days . 50
200 days and over . 15
The man-equivalent for farm operators 65 years of age and older
was estimated at 0.5.
Man-equivalents of members of the farm operator's family were
based upon Census data obtained in response to the question
"How many members of your family did 15 or more hours of farm
work on this place the week of September 26-October 2 (or, in
some areas, the week of October 24-30) without receiving cash
wages?" Each family worker was considered as 0.5 man-equiva-
lent. This estimate provides allowance for the somewhat higher
incidence of women, children, and elderly persons in the unpaid
family labor force.
In addition, the number of unpaid family workers who were
reported as working 15 or more hours in the week of September
26-October 2 was adjusted to take account of seasonal changes in
farm employment. Using published and unpublished findings of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture and State Agricultural Col-
leges, and depending largely upon knowledge and experience with
the geographic areas and type of farming, each author deter-
mined the adjustment factor needed to correct the number of
family workers reported for the week of September 26-October 2
to an annual average basis.
Man-equivalents of hired workers are based entirely upon the
expenditure for cash wages and the average wage of permanent
hired laborers as reported in the 1954 Census of Agriculture.
Value of or investment in livestock. — Numbers of specified
livestock and poultry in each subregion were multiplied by a
weighted average value per head. The average values were com-
puted from data compiled for each kind of livestock for the 1954
Census of Agriculture. The total value does not include the value
of goats. (For a description of the method of obtaining the value
of livestock, see Chapter VI of Volume II of the reports for the
1954 Census of Agriculture.)
Value of investment in machinery and equipment. — The data
on value of investment in machinery and equipment were developed
for the purpose of making broad comparisons among types and
economic classes of farms and by subregions. Numbers of specified
machines on farms, as reported by the Census, were multiplied by
estimated average value per machine. Then the total values ob-
tained were adjusted upward to provide for the inclusion of items
of equipment not included in the Census inventory of farm
machinery.
INTRODUCTION
XI
The estimates for average value of specified machines and the
proportion of total value of all machinery represented by the
value of these machines were based largely on published and un-
published data from the "Farm Costs and Returns" surveys con-
ducted currently by the Agricultural Research Service, U. S.
Department of Agriculture.1 Modifications were made as needed
in the individual chapters on the basis of State and local studies.
The total estimated value of all machinery for all types and
economic classes of farms is approximately equal to the value of
all machinery as estimated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Value of farm products sold, or gross sales. — Data on the
value of the various farm products sold were obtained for 1954 by
two methods. First, the values of livestock and livestock prod-
ucts sold, except wool and mohair; vegetables harvested for sale;
nursery and greenhouse products; and forest products were
obtained by asking each farm operator the value of sales. Second,
the values of all other farm products sold were computed. For the
most important crops, the quantity sold or to be sold was obtained
for each farm. The entire quantity harvested for cotton and
cottonseed, tobacco, sugar beets for sugar, hops, mint for oil, and
sugarcane for sugar was considered sold. The quantity of minor
crops sold was estimated. The value of sales for each crop was
computed by multiplying the quantity sold by State average
prices. In the case of wool and mohair, the value of sales was
computed by multiplying the quantity shorn or clipped by the
State average prices.
Gross sales include the value of all kinds of farm products sold.
The total does not include rental and benefit, soil conservation,
price adjustment, Sugar Act, and similar payments. The total
does include the value of the landlord's share of a crop removed
from a farm operated by a share tenant. In most of the tables,
detailed data are presented for only the more important sources
of gross sales and the total for the individual farm products
or sources will not equal the total as the values for the less impor-
tant sources or farm products have been omitted. (For a detailed
statement regarding the reliability and method of obtaining the
value of farm products sold, reference should be made to Chapter
IX of Volume II of the reports for the 1954 Census of Agriculture.)
Livestock and livestock products sold. — The value of sales for
livestock and livestock products includes the value of live animals
sold, dairy products sold, poultry and poultry products sold, and
the calculated value of wool and mohair. The value of bees,
honey, fur animals, goats, and goat milk is not included.
The value of dairy products includes the value of whole milk and
cream sold, but does not include the value of butter and cheese,
made on the farm, and sold. The value of poultry and products
includes the value of chickens, broilers, chicken eggs, turkeys,
turkey eggs, ducks, geese, and other miscellaneous poultry and
poultry products sold. The value does not include the value
of baby chicks sold.
Crops sold. — Vegetables sold includes the value of all vegetables
harvested for sale, but does not include the value of Irish potatoes
and sweet potatoes.
The value of all crops sold includes the value of all crops sold
except forest products. The value of field crops sold includes the
value of sales of all crops sold except vegetables, small fruits and
berries, fruits, and nuts.
i Farm Costs and Returns, 19.i5 (with comparisons), Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 168, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, June 1956.
CHAPTER I
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 5
Classes of wheat 7
Wheat -production regions 8
Importance of major wheat regions 9
The hard red winter wheat region 10
Size of business 11
Crop and livestock organization 12
Labor used 13
Farm mechanization and home conveniences 14
Gross farm income 14
Farm expenses 15
Efficiency levels of farm operation 16
Other types of farming in the hard red winter wheat region. 17
The hard red spring wheat region 17
Size of business 10
( 'rop and livestock organization 19
Labor used 21
Page
The hard red spring wheat region — Continued
Farm mechanization and home conveniences 22
Gross farm income 22
Farm expenses 23
Efficiency levels of farm operation 24
Other types of farming in the hard red spring wheat region. 25
The white wheat region (subregion 110) 25
Size of business 20
Crop and livestock organization 26
Labor used 27
Farm mechanization and home conveniences.- 27
Gross farm income 27
Farm expenses 27
Efficiency levels of farm operation 28
Recent changes by major wheat regions 28
Soft red winter wheat 29
Wheat production in other western regions 30
Smile production problems of wheat farmers 30
CHARTS AND MAPS
All wheat threshed, acreage. Idol
Acres of all wheat harvested as a percent of total cropland.
Census of 1954
Wheat: Disappearance, United States, 1935-1955
Average annual precipitation. _ .
Page
5
Cultivated summer fallow, acreage, 1954
All wheat acreage, by regions, 1954
The hard winter wheat area, subregions 93, 94, and 103,..
The hard spring wheat area, subregions 89, 90, 91, and 105-
The white wheat area, subregion 110
Pagt
7
8
10
17
25
TABLES
Table
1. — Total and per-capita consumption of wheat for food in the United States: 1910 to 1954
2. — Acreage, production, and value of wheat in the United States: 1910 to 1954
3. — Estimated supply and domestic use of wheat by classes: 1954—55
4. — Number of commercial farms, percentage growing wheat, and percentage classified as cash-grain, major producing regions: 1954 _
5. — Percentage of farms reporting wheat sold and of the quantity of wheat sold for cash-grain and other farms for major wheat
regions : 1954
6. — Percentage of resources used and value of gross sales for all commercial farms represented by cash-grain farms for major wheat
regions: 1954
7. — Number of farms and resources used on cash-grain farms in the major wheat regions: 1954
8. — Number of commercial farms and specified characteristics per farm, for major wheat regions and the United States: 1954
9. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 93, by economic class of farm: 1954
10. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 94, by economic class of farm: 1954
11. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 103, by economic class of farm: 1954
12. — Percentage distribution of cash-grain farms and of wheat production in the hard winter wheat region, by economic class of
farm: 1954
13. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 91!, by economic class of farm: 1954
14. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 94, by economic class of farm: 1954
15. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 103, by economic class of farm: 1954
16. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 93, by economic class of farm: 1954
17. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 94, by economic class of farm: 1954
18. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 103, by economic class of farm: 1954
19. — Labor force on cash-grain farms in the hard red winter wheat region, and for subregion 93 by economic class of farm: 1954. _
20. — Farm mechanization and home conveniences on cash-grain farms in the hard red winter wheat region, and for subregion 94 by
economic class of farm: 1954
21. — Sources of farm income on cash-grain farms in the hard red winter wheat region, and for subregion 94 by economic class of
f arm : 1 954
22. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 93, by economic class of farm: 1954
23. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 94, by economic class of farm: 1954
24. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 103, by economic class of farm: 1954
Page
6
i
8
8
9
•I
9
11
1 1
11
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
14
14
15
15
15
15
4 CONTENTS
TABLES— Continued
Table Pw
25. — Use of commercial fertilizer on cash-grain farms in the hard red winter wheat region, by economic class of farm: 1954 16
26. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 93, by economic class of farm: 1954 16
27. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 94, by economic class of farm: 1954 16
2g. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 103, by economic class of farm: 1954 16
29. — Acreage and production of grain sorghum, by States, in the major producing States: 1954 17
30. — A comparison of the cash-grain farms in the hard winter and hard spring wheat subregions: 1954 18
31 — Sjze of cash-grain farms in subregion 89, by economic class of farm: 1954 19
32. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 90, by economic class of farm: 1954 19
33. — SiZe of cash-grain farms in subregion 91, by economic class of farm: 1954 19
34. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 105, by economic class of farm: 1954 19
35. — Percent distribution of cash-grain farms and wheat produced, by economic class for the hard spring wheat region: 1954 19
36. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 89, bv economic class of farm: 1954 20
37. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 90, by economic class of farm: 1954___ 20
38. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 91, by economic class of farm: 1954 20
39. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 105, by economic class of farm: 1954 20
40. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 89, by economic class of farm : 1 954 20
41. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 90, by economic class of farm: 1954 21
42. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 91, by economic class of faim: 1954 21
43. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 105, by economic class of farm: 1954 21
44. — Labor force on cash-grain farms in the hard spring wheat region, and for subregion 90 by economic class of farm: 1954 21
45. — Farm mechanization and home conveniences on cash-grain farms in the hard spring wheat region, and for subregion 91 by
economic class of farm: 1954 22
46. — Sources of farm income on cash-grain farms in the hard spring wheat region, and for subregion 105 by economic class of farm:
1954 22
4". — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 89, by economic class of farm: 1954 23
48. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 90, by economic class of farm: 1954 23
49. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 91, by economic class of farm: 1954 23
50. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms m subregion 105, by economic class of farm: 1954 23
51. — Use of commercial fertilizer on cash-grain farms in the hard spring wheat region, by economic class of farm: 1954 24
52. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 89, by economic class of farm: 1954 24
53. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 90, by economic class of farm: 1954 24
54. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-gram farms in subregion 91, by economic class of farm: 1954 24
55. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 105, by economic class of farm: 1954 24
56. — Acreage and production of flax in the three leading producing States: 1954 25
57. — Size of cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 26
58. — Land use on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 26
59. — Livestock on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 26
60. — Labor force on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 27
61. — Farm mechanization and home conveniences on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 27
62. — Sources of farm income on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954. 27
63. — Specified farm expenditures on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 27
64. — Use of commercial fertilizer on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 28
65. — Selected measures of income and efficiency levels on cash-grain farms in subregion 110, by economic class of farm: 1954 28
66. — A comparison of some items for organization, expenses, and home facilities for cash-grain farms in the hard winter wheat region :
1954 and 1949 2S
67. — A comparison of some items for organization, expenses, and home facilities for cash-grain farms in the hard spring wheat region:
1954 and 1949 28
68.- — A comparison of some items for organization, expenses, and home facilities for cash-grain farms in the white wheat region:
1954 and 1949 29
69. — Wheat production in selected States in the soft red winter wheat area: 1954 30
70. — Changes in size of farm in counties which are typical of the various wheat regions: 1910-1954 — 30
71. — Annual precipitation (inches of rainfall) at representative weather stations in the (ireat Plains wheat area: 1931-52 31
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
A. W. Epp
INTRODUCTION
American wheat producers represent an important and distinct
segment of ortr agricultural economy. Nearly a million of the 4.8
million farmers in the United States produce some wheat. Some
wheat is grown in all States (see fig. 1), and in 1954, it occupied
51.4 million acres or 15.4 percent of the cropland harvested. It-
relative importance in various areas is shown by the proportion of
cropland occupied by wheat (see fig. 2). Total wheat production
has approximated 1 billion bushels or more in each of the last 15
years with a peak production of 1,359 million bushels in 1947.
The 1954 crop of 909 million bushels had a farm value of $1,940
million. This was approximately 8 percent of gross farm sales in
the United States.
Two-thirds of the wheat is grown on relatively specialized farms
on which wheat is the major product. These farms are particu-
larly affected by changes in weather conditions and in economic
programs that affect wheat. Operators of cash-grain farms har-
vesting wheat used 34 million acres of cropland or 10.7 percent of
the United States total, in the production of wheat in 1954. They
had invested $25.7 billion in land, buildings, livestock, and ma-
chinery, or about 23 percent of the total capital investment in
agriculture. These wheat farmers used 13 percent of the total
agricultural labor force.
In addition, many other farmers with diversified types of
farming use a part of their resources to produce some wheat.
;r
ALL WHEAT THRESHED
ACREAGE. 1954
•
\ m i^'(y*
UNITED
5
STATES TOTAL 1 -'"""-.-
.361.664 ;• •••'- V
S 7 1 DOT. 10.000 ACRES 1 1
5 """"'T'. ...... l
Figure 1.
Public interest in wheat producers is stimulated by the demand-
supply situation in wheat and the difficulties of making necessary
adjustments. The major concern in agricultural programs and
price policy for wheat growers for more than 30 years has been the
problem of adjusting the quantity produced to the quantity con-
sumed (see fig. 3).
ACRES OF ALL WHEAT HARVESTED AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL CROPLAND
CENSUS OF 1954
(COUNTY UNIT BASIS)
, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
UAP NO A54 44
6UREAU OF THE CENSUS
Figure 2 .
423018 — 57 3
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
WHEAT: DISAPPEARANCE, UNITED STATES, 1935-1955
1945
year beginning july
Figure 3.
Food habits have changed over the years. The American people
have reduced their consumption of the starchy foods such as bread
and potatoes. The annual consumption of wheat has declined
from 310 pounds per capita in 1910 to 173 pounds in 1954, but the
increase in population has offset this decrease so that total con-
sumption has remained rather constant. (See table 1.)
Wheat is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. Ideal
conditions for wheat production are a deep, fertile, fine-textured
soil, cool temperatures and ample rainfall during the growing
season, with warm dry weather during the final period of maturing
and harvest. Wheat plants respond readily to favorable moisture
conditions but will survive and produce grain with as little as 10
inches of rainfall. Most wheat is grown in areas of less than 50
inches annual rainfall. When wheat is grown in areas of less than
20 inches of yearly precipitation, it is a common practice to
summer-fallow at least a part of the wheatland. The purpose of
fallowing is to kill weeds, to keep the surface in as permeable
condition as possible for the absorption of water, and help to con-
trol wind erosion. Many wheat growers in the low-rainfall areas
have half of their cropland in wheat and the other half in fallow.
A comparison of figures 1, 4, and 5 will show the relation of annual
precipitation and summer-fallowing to the areas of wheat pro-
duction.
Table 1. — Total and Per-Capita Consumption of Wheat
for Food in the United States: ' 1910 to 1954
Year
Total
Per capita
Year
Total
Per capita
Million
bushels
478
466
506
Pounds
310
259
243
1940 .
Millions
bushels
484
481
474
Pounds
217
1920
1930
1950
1954
186
173
Source: Agricultural Marketing Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
100*
I
t\
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION
,/,
ZZ&X
c'
A~l
7*"*%-^.
A.
Under 10 inchct
10 to 20 ntehet
20 to 30 tnchci
30 to 40 mcha
40 to SO inehta
50 lo 60
<0 to 80 inchM
80 to 100
Oer 100 inches
EXPLANATION
■~<£ n fr
jTV^' Vj I 'J/? ]~ ~J Under 10 .nchn
]Tj 10 to 15 'ncnei
[ ] 15 13 20 'nchn
^ TO to 30 >nct*t
I ' /" ] 30 lo 80 inches
gg£2 SO inclm and ove'
eoCAKCD It 0URF.AU OF RCCLAHATtOM
reoM «a» metiveo ■» tmc u » •mhh»
•U»[AU, OCeAKTMCNT 0' AfiRlCULTUKI
Ace r*> 3S-9 eta.
Figure 4.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
CULTIVATED SUMMER FALLOW
I, 1954
Figure 5.
The adaptation of wheat to a wide range of climatic conditions
also contributes to the difficulty of limiting the supply. Acreage
reductions in recognized commercial wheat areas may be offset by
increases in wheat acreage in other areas where it can be grown
fairly successfully.
The lack of production alternatives in the major wheat regions
intensifies the difficulty of adjusting supply to demand. There are
few good alternative uses for the land. It is difficult to get grasses
established, and if a shift to livestock production is undertaken,
the income is often reduced and any increase in the total farm
income may be delayed for several years.
There is great variation in the acreage planted to wheat. It has
varied from 50 million to S4 million acres during the last 45 years.
The harvested acreage is somewhat less because of abandonment.
Each year some seeded wheat acreage is abandoned because con-
ditions are unfavorable for its growth. Winterkill because of
drought conditions is the most frequent cause.
The production fluctuates as well as the acreage seeded. The
average yield in the United States has varied from 12 to IV) bushels
per acre harvested. On a seeded-acre basis, yields dropped as low
as 8 bushels during several years of the drought of the 1930's. The
acreage harvested, yield, production, and value of the wheat crop
during nearly 50 years are shown in table 4. Production has
varied from as low as 526 million to a high of 1,359 million bushels.
Obviously, the fluctuation in acreage planted and in yield per acre
results in considerable variation in annual production.
In recent years wheat supplies have been increasing. The supply
of wheat in the United States by source is as follows, for the 5
years, 1950-54:
Item
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
Production
Mil. bu.
1,019
12
425
Mil. bu.
981
32
396
Mil. bu.
1,299
21
256
Mil. bu.
1,170
6
562
MU. bu.
970
4
902
1,456
1,409
1,576
1,738
1,876
Stocks of wheat have accumulated so that we now have practi-
cally 2 years' total requirements on hand at the beginning of
each harvest. A part of the problem of oversupply rises out of the
extent of the acreage seeded to wheat in response to wartime
demand. During both World War I and World War II adequate
supplies of food were essential. Prices of wheat and other foods
increased rapidly. Farmers responded by plowing up grassland
and increasing the wheat acreage by thousands of acres. The re-
adjustment of this acreage to normal demands for wheat is more
difficult than the expansion. In the Great Plains area it is difficult
and costly to establish grass on cropland. A few years of good
grain crops and high prices raise the hopes of farmers for high
profits from wheat, and make them reluctant to seed the land to
grass.
In 1954 farmers voted in favor of marketing quotas. Carryover
stocks of wheat had mounted from a quarter of a billion bushels in
1952 to nearly a billion bushels in July 1954. Continued produc-
tion at existing levels was not consistent with market demand
conditions and price supports of more than $2 per bushel for wheat.
Largely, as a result of acreage controls and marketing quotas, wheat
acreage harvested was reduced from (i8 million in 1953 to less than
55 million in 1954. Farmers again voted in favor of marketing
quotas in 1955 and 1956.
Table 2. — Acreage, Production, and Value of Wheat in
the United States: 1910 to 1954 '
Year
Harvested
acreage
Yield per
acre
Production
Average
price
Farm value
1954
1953
1952
1951.--
1950
Thousands
53, 712
67, 661
Til, 926
i.l. 192
61,610
75, 910
65, 167
53, 273
62,637
62, 358
45, 793
Bushels
18.1
17.3
18.3
16.0
16.5
14.5
17.0
15.3
14.2
13.5
13.7
Million
busheh
970
1,169
1, 299
981
1,019
1.098
1,108
815
887
843
625
Per bushel
$2.13
2.04
2.09
2.11
2.00
1.S8
1.50
.68
.67
1.83
.91
Million
dollars
$2, 063
2,385
2,714
2.074
2,042
2,062
1949..-
1945
1940
1930
1920
1910
556
595
1,541
568
i Agricultural Statistics, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
CLASSES OF WHEAT
Wheat is not the homogeneous product implied in some of
the discussion of the problems of wheat farmers and farm pro-
grams. Several distinct classes of wheat are produced in this
country. Each class is grown for a specific use, and is used in a
limited number of products. The classes vary in their charac-
teristics. Although there is a considerable overlapping in pro-
duction areas, the classes of wheat are grown in fairly distinct
areas. To a large extent the class produced in an area is greatly
influenced by the climatic conditions.
Hard red winter and hard red spring wheats differ mainly in
their habits of growth. In the areas where either kind can be
grown, winter wheat usually produces a higher yield. These
hard wheats are commonly used for the kind of bread flour that
requires a high-protein grain. Flour from soft red wheat is
especially suited for baking biscuits, pastry, and cakes, as these
products require flour with a relatively low protein content.
White wheat, grown in the western and northeastern parts of
the United States, is a soft wheat; it is used for pastries and cereals.
Durum wheat is a very hard wheat that is grown in the spring
wheat regions. It makes a very tough dough used in making
macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, and noodles. Red durum wheat
is grown mainly for livestock feed. The supply and distribution
of wheat by classes is shown in table 3.
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
WHEAT PRODUCTION REGIONS
Wheat production in the United States can be separated into
two general production situations. In the western half of the
country there are extensive areas of specialized cash-grain farm-
ing where wheat is the dominant crop (see fig. 6). While some
wheat is grown in all of the Western States, production is concen-
trated in three major regions. These three major regions, char-
acterized by specialization and large acreages of wheat, account
for about half of the total production of wheat. Nearly all of
this production occurs on commercial farms. In addition, some
wheat is grown in other scattered areas of the West.
In the eastern half of the United States wheat is generally a
minor farm enterprise. Here wheat usually is grown in a diversi-
fied type of farming where wheat typically is a minor source of
income.
ALL WHEAT ACREAGE, BY REGIONS, 1954
HtTE WHEAT
£ HARD RED SPRING
3 HARD RED WINTER
4 SOFT RED WINTER
Figure 6.
Table 3.- — Estimated Supply and Domestic Use of Wheat
by Classes: 1954-55 >
Class
Supply
Domestic
use
Million
bushels
1,018
271
338
10
254
Million
bushels
225
Soft rod winter
159
140
8
White
55
• 12 months beginning July 1, 1954.
Source: Agricultural Marketing Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
In this report, soft winter wheat production in the eastern
half of the United States is covered in less detail. Very few of
the producers there would be classified as wheat farmers and data
are not available to show how much of the capital and labor is
used on these wheat-producing farms. But these areas taken
together produce almost a fourth of the wheat in the United
States.
Wheat production in the three major wheat areas in the western
half of the United Slates can be described as an extensive, highly
mechanized type of agriculture.
Areas of production for the major classes of wheat are shown in
figure 6. Along the boundaries between two of the areas, there is
considerable overlapping in the classes grown. Winter wheat
has been pushing farther north as more winter-hardy varieties
have been developed. The boundary between hard and soft
winter wheat is not a distinct line but rather a belt- in which both
classes are found.
The hard winter wheat area lies in the southern Great Plains
extending from Texas to southern Nebraska and from the Corn
Belt to the Rocky Mountains. Subregions 93, 94, and 103 com-
prise nearly all the hard winter wheat area and the data for these
three subregions are used to represent the total for this area.
Practically all of the wheat produced in these three subregions
is hard winter wheat.
The hard spring wheat area extends from northern Nebraska
to the Canadian border and from the Red River Valley in Minne-
sota to western Montana. It includes subregions 89, 90, 91,
and 105. The total for these 4 subregions is used to represent
the total for this area. This area produces both winter and
spring wheat, although the latter is far more extensive. This terri-
tory lies too far north for winter wheat except on the southern
border and in protected areas in Montana.
The white wheat area is found in southwestern Washington and
northern Oregon, extending slightly into Idaho. The data for
this subregion are used as the total for this area. Here both
spring and winter wheat are grown, but winter wheat predomi-
nates.
Table 4. — Number of Commercial Farms, Percentage
Growing Wheat, and Percentage Classified as Cash-
Grain, Major Producing Regions: 1954
Cash-grain farms
Number
Percent
of com-
of com-
mercial
Average
Item
mercial
farms
Percent
Percent
wheat
farms
growing
Number
of com-
growing
acreage
wheat
mercial
wheat
per cash-
for sale
farms
for sale
grain
farm
Major wheat regions:
Hard winter wheat .
127. 971
79.9
75, 544
59.0
93.7
168.7
Hard spring wheat..
104, 378
90.8
61,427
58.9
100.0
150.4
White wheat
14, 551
83.8
9,109
62.6
100.0
244.0
Other regions:
West of 98th parallel-
403, 703
23.2
48, 524
12.0
72.1
140.8
East of9Slh parallel.
2, 677, 286
18.3
343, 370
12.8
46.7
27.8
Table 5. — Percentage of Farms Reporting Wheat Sold and
of the Quantity of Wheat Sold for Cash-Grain and
Other Farms for Major Wheat Regions: 1954
Region and type of farm
Major Wheat Regions
Hard winter wheat:
Cash-grain farms
Other commercial farms
Other farms
Hard spring wheat:
C ash -grain farms
Other commercial farms
Other farms
White wheat:
Cash-grain farms
Other commercial farms
Other farms
Other Regions
West of the 98th parallel:
Cash-grain farms
Other commercial farms
Other farms
East of the 98th parallel:
Cash-grain farms
Other commercial farms
Other farms
Percentage
of farms pro-
ducing wheat
for sale
93.7
60.0
15.3
100.0
69.6
19.0
72.1
16.6
2.4
46.7
14.1
2.5
Percentage of
total wheat
sold in the
United States
21.0
4.6
0.1
(z)
13.2
2.4
m
10.1
0.3
5.3
0.1
14.9
17.3
0.6
z 0.05 percent or less.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
IMPORTANCE OF MAJOR WHEAT REGIONS
The proportion of the agricultural resources of farmers on
commercial farms used by cash-grain farmers in three western
\\ heat-producing regions is shown in table 6. Cash-grain farmers
are those who receive at least 50 percent of their income from the
sale of grain. Other commercial farmers get more of their income
from sources other than grain. Cash-grain farmers in the three
major wheat regions have 54 percent of all land and 70 percent of
all cropland. They use 62 percent of all capital employed in
agriculture, 55 percent of all the farm labor force, and produce
59 percent of all farm products sold in the three major wheat
regions.
The adaptation of the wheat plant to a wide range of soil and
climatic conditions helps to explain why wheat is grown extensively
in the three major wheat regions. In the more productive areas
of the Corn Belt, farmers find corn more profitable as a major crop
and give it first consideration, even though the yields of wheat in
the Corn Belt are higher than the yields in the Great Plains. In
the Corn Belt, wheat is grown only because it combines well with
other farm enterprises. In earlier years, wheat was grown ex-
tensively in the Eastern States and in the Corn Belt, but in recent
decades corn and other feed grains have pushed wheat production
into areas less favorable for corn production.
Table 6. — Percentage of Resources Used and Value of
Gross Sales for all Commercial Farms Represented by
Cash-Grain Farms for Major Wheat Regions: 1954
Region
All land
Crop-
land
Capital
invest-
ment
Labor
force
(man-
equiva-
lent)
dross
sales
Total, 3 major regions
54
50
55
72
70
67
68
92
62
60
60
82
55
55
55
62
59
53
Hard spring wheat
62
78
When examined in terms of total units and value, the resources
used by the wheat farmers in these specialized wheat-producing
regions loom large. The hard winter wheat region ranks high in
number of wheat farms, acres of wheat, wheat production, and
total investment. It leads all other regions in total production of
wheat. The 146,000 cash-grain farmers in the three regions
produced approximately 45 percent of all wheat raised in the
United States in 1954. They used nearly $9 billion in capital
investment and the equivalent of 190,000 men. (See table 7.)
Table 7- — Number of Farms and Resources Used on Cash-
, Grain Farms in the Major Wheat Regions: 1954
Item
Unit
Hard
winter
wheat
Hard
spring
wheat
White
wheat
Total, 3
regions
Total farms
Number ..
Thousands .
do
75, 544
30, 962
12, 029
183, 690
371
654
3,768
208
696
4,672
91,041
61, 427
33. 493
10, 132
121,816
231
480
1,900
182
717
2,799
82, 833
9,109
7,219
2,586
84, 065
175
238
1,033
27
166
1,226
14, 755
146. 080
71.1.71
24, 747
Thousands of
bushels.
do
389, 571
777
1,372
Investment in—
. do
6.701
Livestock
do
.... do
417
1,579
Total
do
8,697
Number. .. . .
188, 629
A comparison of wheat farmers among regions and with the
average of all commercial farmers in the United States is shown
on a per-farm basis in table 8.1 Compared with the United
States average, wheat farmers are large operators. They use
2 to 4 times as much land and V,i to 5 times as much capital as the
average farmer in the United States, but need only slightly more
than the average of man-labor because of the high degree of
mechanization.
Marked differences among regions are found in the acreage
and amount of investment in commercial cash-grain farms. The
producers of white wheat have the largest farms and the largest
investment per farm. The producers of hard winter wheat exceed
those in the hard spring wheat area in amount of resources other
than land.
Table 8. — Number of Commercial Farms and Specified Characteristics per Farm,
the United States: 1954
for Major Wheat Regions and
Number of
farms
All land
in farms
(acres)
Total crop-
land
(acres)
Labor foree
(man-
equivalent)
Total in-
vestment
(dollars)
Investment in
Region and type of farm
Land and
buildings
(dollars)
Machinery
(dollars)
Livestock
(dollars)
Gross sales
(dollars)
3, 327. 889
127, 971
75, 544
62,427
104. 378
61,427
42, 951
14, 551
9, 109
5,442
310
656
558
797
821
771
892
1,034
1.188
776
138
359
410
285
471
545
365
540
793
118
1.5
1.3
1.2
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.6
32, 874
53, 904
54, 956
52,388
41,426
42. 281
40. 203
92, 428
120. 910
45,514
25, 429
48, 593
50, 038
46, 422
28, 646
30, 979
25, 262
85, 481
99. 206
32, 523
4.291
8.818
9,210
8, 252
11,212
11,619
10,632
14,307
18, 244
7,718
3,154
4,046
2,749
5,914
4,749
2,964
7,302
3,853
3,005
5,272
7,302
9,600
8,656
10, 961
7,469
7,815
6,974
20,982
Cash-grain farms .
26. 088
12, 435
1 Comparison based on cash-grain farms in major wheat regions. Wheat is the principal cash grain produced on most of these farms.
10
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
The wheat regions previously outlined are discussed separately
on the following pages. When reference is made to other than the
cash-grain farmers in the wheat regions the fact is indicated.
The number of cash-grain farmers and the percentage of total
wheat production of each major region are as follows:
Percentage
A rea
Hard winter wheat
Hard spring wheat
White wheat
THE HARD RED WINTER WHEAT REGION
Wheat production is most highly concentrated in subregions 93,
94, and 103 (see fig. 7). A similar area extends into southwestern
Nebraska and northeastern Colorado where wheat production is
specialized. The relative importance of wheat production in this
region is indicated by the following data:
of total
Number of
U. S. wheat
cash-grain
produced
farmers
in area
75, 544
20
61, 427
13
9, 109
9
Item
Subregion
Total (3
93
94
103
subregions)
Total wheat produced on commercial farms
(1,000 bu.). .
39, 200
4
74
20
78, 586
9
84
16
108, 129
12
82
18
225, 975
Percent of U. S. total wheat produced on
25
Percent of region total wheat produced on
SI
Percent of region total wheat produced on
19
THE HARD WINTER WHEAT AREA,
SUBREGIONS 93, 94, AND 103
Wheat production in this region is largely the result of physical
conditions. The soils and temperature are favorable for such
production, and the precipitation very definitely limits the alter-
natives to wheat.
Most of the soils in this region belong to the Chernozem group;
these are dark, deep, heavy prairie soils, which are excellent for
wheat production. But obviously, there are variations in the
soils and amount of rainfall in so large a territory. Not much
of the occasional coarse-textured soil is used for wheat except on
the fringes of the good wheat land where, stimulated by the high
prices of the war periods, farmers have broken grassland not well
suited to wheat production.
Some of the most serious problems here have come from extend-
ing wheat production to land unsuited for it. Severe wind erosion
is not limited to the less favorable areas but occurs most often and
is most severe in such areas. If winter wheat makes little growth
in the fall the soil surface is exposed and wind erosion is likely to
take place. Damage consists of the destruction of the wheat
seedling and the loss of the topsoil.
The topography varies from level plains to undulating and roll-
ing land. The slopes are seldom so steep as to make the use of
large machinery difficult. The limiting factor is rainfall which
varies from 15 to 25 inches annually. About three-fourths of this
falls during the growing season.
Because of the limited rainfall and high rate of evaporation,
much of the wheat is grown on summer-fallow land. In 1954,
the wheat and summer-fallow acreages were:
Subregion
93
94
103
Total
1,418
3,362
7, 249
12, 029
} acres).
609
280
4,608
5,497
Figure 7.
Wheat (1,000 acres)
Summer fallow (1,000 acres)
The extent of summer-fallowing varies considerably in the hard
winter wheat region and depends on the annual precipitation.
Nearly all of the fallow land is used for wheat. Most of it is
found in areas of less than 20 inches of rainfall. In dry periods
the practice of summer-fallowing shifts considerably to the east.
In years of above-normal precipitation the summer-fallow acreage
may be reduced throughout the entire region.
Transportation facilities and markets are generally adequate
for these wheat growers. Local elevators are found in practically
every town along the railroads. Considerable quantities of grain
are transported by truck to the central markets. Farm-to-
market roads have been improved but relatively few are hard-
surfaced and many are not even graveled. This is not a serious
drawback in marketing wheat since it need not be delivered at
any set time.
When yields of wheat are high, a very large quantity is harvested
within a short period, approximately 2 months. Local areas usually
complete their harvest in 10 to 20 days. Railroads frequently
are unable to provide sufficient boxcars to ship the grain to the
terminal markets as rapidly as harvested. It is usual to store some
of the wheat on the ground in the fields until transportation and
storage are available. This may seem a wasteful practice but in
the western part of the region, where July and August rainfall is
very low, it provides a very cheap temporary method and the
risk of spoilage is not high. Storage capacity on farms and
in local elevators is far from adequate for the quantity of grain,
but it has been increasing very rapidly during the last decade.
Tall elevators dot the landscape. Semiterminal elevators with
capacities in the millions of bushels have been built at some
of the larger shipping centers such as Oklahoma City, Okla. ;
Wichita and Hutchinson, Kans. ; and Lincoln. Nebr., in the hard
winter wheat territory.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
11
The hard winter wheat production is extending northward.
Mure hardy varieties make this possible. Generally, farmers
prefer to grow winter wheat if it is well adapted as it is likely to
produce higher yields because of its longer growing season. Seed-
ing wheat in the fall reduces the fieldwork in the spring. Then
too, fall seeding provides some cover for the soil through the
winter and helps to prevent the soil from blowing.
Hard winter wheat is also expanding into the soft winter wheat
region. The Pawnee variety, developed in the early l'.MO's, is
very well adapted to conditions in the western Corn Belt. In
some years more than half of the wheat acreage in southern Iowa,
northern Missouri, and west-central Illinois, is in Pawnee wheat.
In this humid area Pawnee produces an intermediate-type wheat —
it is lower in protein and has a weaker gluten than when grown
in a drier area. This wheat can be used in blending flour for
bread.
In the hard red winter wheat region there is considerable varia-
tion in size and organization of farms and production, and in
efficiency levels. Analysis of the characteristics of commercial
wheat farms by economic class in the three subregions will help
to explain some of the more important differences. (In this
discussion the term "wheat farms" in this region is used as synon-
ymous with "cash-grain farms."
Size of Business
The size of business is important in wheat farming, as it is in
all phases of agriculture and in business outside the field of agri-
culture. A first, requirement of high returns in mechanized agri-
culture is a volume of business large enough for effective use of
machinery and labor resources.
The size of business can be measured in several ways. In the
1954 Census, farms were sorted by size on the basis of gross sales,
and divided into six economic classes. (See Introduction for
description of economic classes.) The size of farm business can
also be measured in other ways. For example, by the area of
land operated, or the capital invested, or the man-equivalent
per farm. These measures of size are given for the three sub-
regions in tables 9, 10, and 11.
Classification of farms by the amount of gross sales was neces-
sarily based on 1-year's data, 1954. In areas of specialized crop
production gross sales in any one year are determined largely by
the yields and prices of the major crop produced. Obviously,
higher or lower wheat yields would have changed the classifi-
cation of some individual farms. For example, an area may have
a high percentage of farms in the low-income groups because
yields were abnormally low in 1954, or if yields were much above
average, the number of farms in the high-income brackets may be
abnormally high. A comparison of yields in 1954 with average
yields will give some indication of the effect of the 1954 growing
conditions on the 1954 classification of the farms.
S u bregio n
93 94 103
1954 wheat vields (bushels per acre) 20.5 19.7 12.2
5-year average (1949-53) yields 17.0 13.8 12.1
■\Yheat farming in this area is characterized by large acreages
per farm, a high capital investment, and a family type of farm.
The average cash-grain farmer has a total investment of $45,000
to $70,000 in comparison with a national average of $26,000.
Onh' a little more than the equivalent of one man is employed on
the typical wheat farm here.
Substantial variation in size of farms is found in the winter
wheat region. Subregions 93 and 94 lie in the eastern part, in
southern Nebraska, and in central Kansas, where production per
acre is relatively high. Here the land can be farmed more in-
tensively, compared with the western part, because of the high
annual rainfall. Consequently, the farms are smaller in acreage
farmed. The larger farms in subregion 103 (western Texas, Okla-
homa, Kansas, and eastern Colorado) require a larger investment
in land and in machinery than the smaller farms in subregions 93
and 94. The livestock investment is rather uniform in all three
subregions. Likewise, the labor required per farm is approxi-
mately the same.
Table 9. — Size op Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 93, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms. -
Total acres per farm
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm :
Land and buildings
dollars- -
Livestock do
Machinery do
19, 859
358
258
33. 745
2,817
8,023
283
1,073
801
97, 567
7,509
15, 820
3, 868
554
403
54. 577
4, 385
10, 665
7, 768
362
264
34, 659
2,948
8,218
5,603
257
180
22, 356
2,003
6,874
1,910
184
125
13, 827
1,257
5,143
427
132
75
10, 265
778
3,313
Total do— -
Man-equivalent per
44, 585
1.2
120, 896
2.1
69, 627
1.4
45, 825
1.2
31,233
1.1
20, 227
0.9
14, 356
0.8
Table 10. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 94, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Total
I
11
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Total acres per farm ....
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm:
Land and buildings
dollars- -
Livestock do ...
Machinery do
23,140
362
264
44, 520
2.283
7,949
413
1,163
861
147, 439
6,486
15,948
5, 179
580
435
75. 019
3.544
10.627
8, 630
353
260
43, 546
2,290
7,956
6,294
226
157
25, 563
1,503
6,496
2,233
166
106
17.290
1.042
5,086
391
122
67
11, 897
617
3,606
Total.-. do
Man-equivalent per
54,752
1.1
169, 873
2.1
89, 190
1.4
53,792
1.1
33, 562
1.0
23. lis
0.8
16.120
i) 8
Table 11. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 103, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Total
1
1,928
2, 163
1,534
158, 204
7,933
18, 943
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Total acres per farm
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm:
Land and buildings
dollars- -
Livestock do
Machinery do
32, 545
820
607
55. 367
3,040
10, 832
8,644
1,076
810
77, 024
4, 275
13, 102
10, 692
713
526
47, 592
2,794
10, 389
7,086
519
384
31, 245
1.805
8,669
3.353
445
331
24. 516
1, 033
7,282
842
500
395
22, 145
665
6. 90(1
Total do---
Man-equivalent per
69,239
1.3
185, 080
2.5
94, 401
1.8
60, 775
1.2
41,719
1.0
32, 831
1.0
29, 710
1.0
12
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Farms in Classes IV, V, and VI have a small amount of land
and capital for economic family farm operation. The man-equiv-
alent per farm indicates that many of the smaller farms either are
operated by older persons or that the operator performs only
part-time farmwork, for the man-equivalent of labor on Classes
V and VI averaged less than one. The average Class I farms in
subregion 103 required 2.5 man-equivalent as compared with 2
for subregions 93 and 94. In other respects, the labor require-
ments of the average farm in the various size groups are similar
for the three subregions.
The size of farms as measured by gross sales is consistent with
size determined by other measures. Size of business declines
from Class I farms to Class VI farms regardless of the measure
used.
One-half to two-thirds of the cash-grain farms in these sub-
regions were in Economic Classes I, II, and III. Farms in these
classes had a volume of sales of $5,000 or more, each. Only a small
percentage of the farms in subregions 93 and 94 were Class I
farms. Less than 2 percent of the cash-grain farms in subregions
93 and 94, and about 6 percent of the cash-grain farms in subregion
103, had total sales of $25,000 or more. Even in subregion 103,
however, many of these Class I farms would not be considered as
large-scale farms. Labor used on Class I farms in subregion 103
averaged only 2.5 man-equivalent per farm, in 1954.
The larger wheat farms, Class I to Class III, have investments
of $50,000 to $185,000 each. Differences in size were greatest
in terms of capital investment. The number of workers averaged
from 1.1 to 2.5 man-equivalent while the acreage of farmland per
farm ranged from 350 acres for Class III farms to more than 2,000
acres for the large Class I farms. Class I farms averaged more
than 2,000 acres per farm in subregion 103. In the region as a
whole, nearly three-fifths of the farms are in Classes II and III.
The percentage distribution of farms by economic classes is shown
in table 12.
Table 12. — Percentage Distribution of Cash-Grain Farms
and of Wheat Production in the Hard Winter Wheat
Region, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item and subregion
Number of farms:
Subregion 93
Subregion 94
Subregion 103...
Wheat production
Subregion 93
Subregion 94
Subregion 103...
Economic class of farm
III
IV
Percent of the total in the subregion
1.4
19.5
39.1
28.2
9.6
l.S
22.4
37.3
27.2
9.6
5.9
26.6
32.9
21.8
10. 3
6.8
36.0
38.3
15.9
2.7
7.5
41.2
35.3
13.3
2.5
17.3
41.8
28.4
9.7
2.5
2. 2
2.6
Crop and Livestock Organization
Land use and crops grown. — There are differences among the
subregions in organization of the cash-grain farms. Farms in
subregions 93 and 94 are more diversified than those in subregion
103. A higher percentage of the cropland is summer-fallowed in
the western part than in the eastern part of the region. The
northern part of subregion 93 produces more corn than wheat
while the reverse is true in the southern part. Much of the corn
throughout the area is sold as cash grain. The variations in yield
from year to year are so large that farmers hesitate to keep enough
livestock to consume the average crop of feed produced. In the
southern part of subregion 103 (Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas)
grain sorghum is the strongest competitor with wheat for the use of
cropland. The acreage of grain sorghum has been increasing in
the northern part of the subregion since earlier maturing varieties
have become available.
The most highly specialized wheat area is found in subregion
94 where 59 percent of the cropland is in wheat. (See tables 13,
14, and 15.) The very low summer-fallow acreage partly accounts
for this but this subregion also has a small acreage in other crops.
Subregion 93 emphasizes corn as an alternative to wheat because
of fairly favorable annual rainfall, although here the corn crop
frequently fails. The acreages of grain sorghum are increasing
in this subregion. In subregion 103 the acreage of grain sorghum
is large as grain sorghum is the best alternative for many of these
farmers. The proportion of the farms that is in pastureland is
quite uniform.
Table 13. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 93,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
19. 859
358
258
71
73
21
92
64
2S3
1,073
801
286
201
76
249
122
3,868
554
403
122
109
31
138
56
7,768
362
264
71
77
21
91
29
5,603
257
180
46
53
15
69
18
1,910
184
125
26
38
11
53
13
427
Acres per farm:
All land
100
100
93
92
54
92
50
132
75
Wheat
13
Corn
Grain sorghum
27
6
52
Summer fallow
8
Table 14.-
-Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 94,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
tag
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
23,140
362
264
145
15
11
95
12
413
1.163
861
497
46
51
295
36
5,179
580
435
254
22
18
142
21
8,630
353
260
142
15
10
90
12
6.294
226
157
80
11
7
66
6
2,233
166
106
47
7
6
56
5
391
Acres per farm:
All land .
100
100
100
55
24
90
28
122
67
Wheat
27
Oats
5
Grain sorghum __ _
4
54
2
Table 15. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion
103, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
32, 545
820
607
223
115
212
142
1,928
2,163
1,534
569
394
639
327
8,644
1,076
810
317
158
263
186
10,692
713
526
199
90
185
119
7,086
519
384
129
66
132
93
3,353
445
331
94
51
114
96
842
Acres per farm:
All land
100
100
(NA)
68
82
71
500
395
Wheat
55
37
106
143
NA Not availahle.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
13
Within each of the subregions, the land-use pattern tends to be
similar for all economic classes, with a few significant differences.
The smaller farms (Class V and VI) have a higher proportion of
land in permanent pasture. They also have a smaller proportion
of the cropland in wheat. The relatively low acreage in wheat
on Class VI farms in 1954 in subregion 103 was probably the result
of a complete failure of the wheat crop in some localities. Failure
of the major crop resulted in many farms being classified as Class
VI i less than SI, 200 gross sales). Crop failure also accounts for
the larger acreage for Class VI farms than for Class V farms, in
subregion 103. Some oats were grown in all parts of the hard
winter wheat region but the oat crop was less important in sub-
regions 93 and 103 than in subregion 94.
Livestock. — Average livestock numbers per farm in the winter
wheat region are more uniform among the subregions than is the
land-use pattern. (See tables 17, 18, and 19.) Livestock is an
additional source of income on many wheat farms. The typical
livestock organization is to have enough cattle to utilize the native
pasture and consume the available roughage. The cattle are
mostly beef cattle but a few milk cows are kept to supply milk
for the farm family. A small flock of chickens is usual. The
:i\ erage number of hogs and sheep per farm is very low. However,
because a small percentage of farms have hogs or sheep, the num-
ber of animals per farm reporting is considerably larger than shown
by the data in tables 16, 17, and 18.
The pattern of livestock numbers by economic class of farm is
similar for all subregions. The large farms have more cattle
but about the same number of milk cows per farm. In subregion
93, the large farms have more hogs than the smaller farms, reflect-
ing the higher corn production compared with that in subregions
94 and 103. In general, sheep are found on the larger farms,
usually on farms that can carry at least 100 ewes. Many flocks
are much larger.
Table 16. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 93,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Percent
Economic class of farm
report-
ing
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
19. 859
26
3
10
1
113
1,725
2,817
283
71
2
22
8
102
6,867
7,509
3,868
40
4
17
3
123
3,272
4,385
7,768
27
4
10
123
1,736
2.948
5,603
19
3
6
111
946
2,003
1.910
12
2
3
(z)
420
1,257
427
Livestock, number per
farm:
87
68
43
3
79
XXX
XXX
1
2
(z)
47
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm .dollars..
Investment in livestock per
farm... ._ __ _. .dollars..
156
778
z Less than 0.5.
Table 17- — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 94,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
413
77
5
6
13
77
6,470
6,486
II
III
IV
V
VI
23.140
26
3
3
5
90
1,551
2,282
5,179
41
4
5
10
103
2,832
3,544
8,630
26
3
3
4
100
1,469
2.290
6,294
17
3
2
2
81
782
1.503
2,233
12
2
2
2
59
404
1,042
391
Livestock, number per
farm:
All cattle
85
59
24
10
75
XXX
XXX
1
1
48
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm dollars..
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars. .
144
617
Table 18. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion
103, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Number of farms.
Livestock, number per
farm:
All cattle..
Milk cows
Hogs
Sheep
Chickens
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm dollars. .
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars..
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
XXX
XXX
Economic class of farm
1.682
3,040
6.147
7.933
II
8, 644
2.579
1. 275
III
10,692
1.340
2, 794
IV
711
1,SI 15
3. 353
329
1,033
VI
842
(z)
(z>
110
665
z Less than 0.5.
Obviously, some of the operators of the smaller farms have not
increased their volume of business by producing more livestock.
Probably the lack of capital and the uncertainty of feed production
are major reasons. Some of the farmers have intensive livestock
enterprises. A few farmers are able to take advantage of the lim-
ited outlets for fluid milk and high-quality eggs in the area.
Pasturing wheat is a common practice in the hard red winter
wheat region. The wheat, seeded early in the fall, frequently
makes rapid growth especially on summer-fallow land. Moderate
pasturing is not harmful and some growers feel it increases the
yields in years of very rank growth. Grazing is done in both the
fall and spring; in years of little snowfall it may continue through
the winter. Some wheat growers buy feeders for grazing, others
take in feeders for grazing on a rental or contract basis. The
cattle and lambs make good gains on the lush growth of wheat
when weather conditions are favorable and many are brought in
for the purpose. Most of these feeder cattle and sheep were not
included in the Census data because they usually are brought in
after October 15, the approximate date of the 1954 Census.
Labor Used
In spite of their relatively large size when measured in acres,
gross sales, or capital investment, the wheat farms in the winter
wheat regions are typically family farms. On many, the family
provides nearly all of the labor; only the very largest hire a large
amount of labor.
For the purpose of showing the amounts of labor used on cash-
grain farms, all labor was converted to an average man-equivalent
basis. This was done in order that more meaningful comparisons
might be made between the different sizes of cash-grain farms and
between cash-grain farms in different subregions. In the discus-
sion and tables that follow, an adjustment is made for operators
over 65 years old and for those who reported they worked at an
off-farm job during the year. Operators under 65 years with no
off-farm work were considered as one man-equivalent, even though
wheat production is a seasonal job. The expenditure for hired
labor was divided by an annual average wage for the locality in
order to provide man-equivalents for the number of hired workers.
The number of unpaid family workers was adjusted to take account
of women and children and elderly persons included in the total.
The procedure for estimating labor on man-equivalents is explained
in detail in the Introduction.
Farm operators comprised slightly less than one man-equivalent
per farm in each of the subregions, but made up the bulk of the
labor force. (See table 19.) Hired labor was relatively unim-
portant when cash-grain farms were taken as a group. Sources
of labor were quite similar for the three subregions as a whole.
14
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
When classified by gross sales, the Class I farmers depended on
hired help equaling about as much as the operator's labor. Farm-
ers'in the other size groups hired very little help, depending largely
on the members of the operator's family. The sources of farm labor
and the age of operators for the three subregions, and by economic
class for subregion 93, are shown in table 19. Because of the simi-
larity of distribution by economic class of farm among the sub-
regions this detail is not shown for subregions 94 and 103.
Table 19. — Labor Force on Cash-Grain Farms in the Hard
Red Winter Wheat Region, and for Subregion 93 by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Subregion
Economic class of farm for subregion 93
93
94
103
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Total man-equivalent
1.2
1.2
1.3
2.1
1.4
1.2
1.1
0.9
0.8
Operator .
Unpaid family help
Hired.
.9
.2
.1
100
.8
.2
.1
100
.8
.3
.2
100
.9
.3
.9
100
.9
.3
2
100
.9
.2
.1
100
.8
.2
(z)
100
.2
(z)
100
.1
(z)
Operators by age:
All operators.. percent- .
100
Under 25years_do
25-34 years do
35-64 years do
65 years & over do
3
19
69
9
2
16
70
12
3
18
69
10
2
19
73
6
1
22
74
3
3
22
69
6
4
16
68
12
4
13
63
20
5
6
61
28
z Less than 0.05.
Figures on the age of operators show that more of the beginning
farmers and more of the farmers over 65 years were in Class VI
than in any other income size group in 1954. If this is a typical
situation, some of the young men in the lowest income group have
been able to improve their situation, for in the 25-to-34-year group,
the percentage in Class VI is the smallest.
Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
The degree of mechanization on the farm and the number of
home conveniences reflect the financial situation of the farm family
and the progressiveness of the farm operator. In a few localities
it is impossible to obtain such modern conveniences as television
or electricity, although electric lines are now available to most
farmers in the wheat country.
The degree of mechanization and use of home conveniences are
indicated in table 20. Class I and II farms are more highly
mechanized than the smaller groups of lower income. As their
operators have a large acreage, they can use modern machinery
efficiently. They also have enough income to allow the purchase of
modern equipment which most Class I and II farmers now have.
Many of the operators of smaller farms have neither the capital to
buy modern machinery nor the acreage to use it efficiently. It is
characteristic that many of the operators of Class V and VI farms
hire the use of highly specialized, expensive machinery. For
example, the number of farms reporting combines varies consider-
ably by size of farm in the three subregions:
Item
Economic class of farm
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Percent of farmers reporting combines:
Subregion 93 .... . .
91
89
80
1.2
1.4
1.4
S5
86
84
.9
1.0
1. 1
76
80
79
.8
.8
.9
64
65
67
.7
.7
.8
45
48
55
.5
.5
.6
25
33
Subregion 103 _ .
47
Number of combines per farm:
.2
Subregion 94. _.
.3
Subregion 103
.6
Table 20. — Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
on Cash-Grain Farms in the Hard Red Winter Wheat
Region, and for Subregion 94 by Economic Class of
Farm: 1954
Item
Number of farms
Number per farm:
Automobiles
Motortrucks
Tractors
Combines
Percent of farms report
ing —
Automobiles
Motortrucks
Tractors
Combines.-.
Corn pickers _.
Field forage harvesters
Telephones
Electricity
Television sets
Piped water in home_.
Home freezer
Subregion
93 94 103
19. 859
1.6
.7
23, 140
1. 1
1.2
1.7
1.2
1.5
1.
Economic class of farm for subregion 94
1 ii
2.3
3.3
1.4
1.2
1.6
2.3
1.0
86
. 1311
1 1
1.2
1.7
6,294
1.0
.9
1.4
2, 233
1 ii
.7
1.2
.5
VI
0.8
.5
73
44
76
33
1
1
54
74
17
37
12
In subregions 93 and 94 the number of combines decreases with
the size of farm. In subregion 103 the same general relationship is
found, although a higher percentage of operators for Class II farms
owned combines than for Class I farms, and Class III farmers
averaged more combines per farm than the Class I farmers. In
this area a number of the large farm operators depend entirely on
custom combining. Notwithstanding their large acreages some
believe that they can hire the work done more economically than
they can do it with their own equipment. This hiring helps to solve
their labor problem at harvest time for usually the custom operator
furnishes operators for the machines.
Most farmers own at least one automobile. The exceptions are
usually farmers who use their trucks for family transportation.
Not all farmers in any economic class own tractors as a few depend
on having all of their work performed on a custom basis. Custom
work is more common among those in the lowest income group than
among those in the higher income groups. Cornpickers are more
common in subregion 93 because much more corn is produced here
than in the other subregions.
Differences in farm income are reflected more in the conven-
iences in the home than in the degree of farm mechanization. Farm
families on the lowest income farms usually do not have enough
capital to buy such items as home freezers, television sets, and a
water system for the house.
Gross Farm Income
Average gross income per farm was considerably higher in sub-
region 103, in 1954, where the farms are larger than in subregions
93 and 94.
The important sources of income vary among the three sub-
regions. Subregion 94 specializes in wheat to a higher degree than
the other areas as indicated in the following data:
Item
Economic class of farm
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Percent of gross sales from wheat:
44
74
38
39
75
57
40
75
63
41
74
61
37
73
61
41
SuMvL'iun 94--_. -- ---. -- .
74
55
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
15
In subregion 93 farmers had considerable income from corn but
the relative importance of wheat as a source of income varied little
among the economic classes of farms. (Table 21 gives the sources
of farm income in the winter wheat region.) In subregion 103
where grain sorghum is an important source of income, Class I
farmers ranked lowest in percentage of gross sales from wheat and
received more income from grain sorghum than from wheat.
Farmers in the other five economic classes received more than half
their income from wheat. Gross sales per crop acre are higher in
the eastern part of subregion 103 because of the higher yields.
Gross sales per crop acre (see table 21) indicate that the problem of
the operators of the smaller farms involves not only the area of
land farmed but also the level of production.
Table 21. — Sources of Farm Income on Cash-Grain Farms
in the Hard Red Winter Wheat Region, and for Sub-
region 94 by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Subregion
Economic class of farm for subregion 94
93
94
103
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
19. 859
2.947
1.913
88
505
178
23, 140
5,818
19
87
73
236
32,545
5,457
51
12
2,421
446
413
24,889
69
409
538
1.207
5,179
10, 808
30
138
131
513
8,630
5. 465
20
78
54
188
6,294
2,826
8
57
39
90
2,233
1,422
9
34
36
48
391
Sales per farm:
Wheat _. .dollars. .
Corn... __ do
Oats do
Grain sorghum. __do
Other crops do
584
22
24
3
16
All crops do
Livestock and live-
stock products
dollars..
5,631
1,725
6.233
1,551
8,387
1,682
-'7, 112
6,470
11,620
2.832
5,805
1,469
3,020
782
1,549
404
649
144
Gross sales.. .do
Percentage of gross sales
from wheat
Gross sales per crop acre
dollars. .
7.356
40
28.57
7.784
75
29.51
10,069
54
16.60
33,582
74
39.01
14,452
75
33.23
7,274
75
27.93
3.802
74
24.28
1,953
73
18.43
793
74
11.83
Farm Expenses
Not all costs of operating farms were included on the 1954 Census
Questionnaire, but the Census does provide data for some of the
major cost items. These serve to indicate differences in cost of
production by areas and by the size of business (see tables 22, 23,
and 24).
Table 22. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 93, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Cropland
..acres..
258
801
403
264
180
125
75
Machine hire
dollars..
223
593
335
227
163
131
63
Gas and oil... ... ._
...do....
575
1.664
905
585
412
279
171
Hired labor ..
...do....
161
1,523
354
119
69
46
11
Commercial fertilizer
...do....
228
1.267
527
206
80
36
25
Feed bought
do....
...do....
440
1,240
743
449
298
170
76
Total
1,627
6,287
2,864
1,586
1,022
662
346
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire
(lull.iis
0.86
0.74
0.83
0.86
0.91
1.05
0.84
Gas and oil
...do....
2.23
2.08
2.25
2.22
2.29
2.23
2.28
Hired labor
...do....
.62
1.90
.88
.45
.38
.37
.15
Commercial fertilizer
...do....
...do....
.88
1.58
1.31
.78
.44
.29
.33
Total
4.59
6.30
5.27
4.31
4.02
3.94
3.60
Subregion 103 has the highest specified expenditures per farm
because the acreage farmed per operator is larger than in other
subregions. However, costs per acre are considerably lower be-
cause the land is farmed less intensively in this more arid of the
subregions.
Table 23. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 94, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Totil
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Cropland __.
..acres..
264
861
435
260
157
106
67
Machine hire
dollars. .
263
996
404
252
167
148
79
Gas and oil
...do....
525
1,526
827
521
345
226
123
Hired labor
...do....
241
1,682
489
181
103
55
26
Commercial fertilizer
...do...
171
761
339
149
79
49
16
Feed bought
do....
...do...
580
1,690
948
570
359
256
132
Total
1.780
6.655
3,007
1.673
1,053
734
376
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire
dollars..
1.00
1.16
0.93
0.97
1.07
1.39
1.17
Gas and oil... _.
...do...
1.99
1.77
1.90
2.00
2.21
2.13
1.83
Hired labor.
...do....
.91
1.95
1.13
.70
.66
.52
.39
Commercial fertilizer
...do....
...do....
.65
.88
.78
.57
.51
.46
.24
Total....
4.55
5.76
4.74
4.24
4.45
4.50
3.63
Table 24. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 103, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Cropland acres..
Machine hire dollars
Gas and oil do
Hired labor ..do
Commercial fertilizer... do
Feed bought do
607
473
913
504
61
400
1,534
1,867
2.795
2, 905
427
972
810
543
1. 204
713
88
552
526
341
775
272
27
373
384
246
542
176
13
246
331
225
434
107
5
169
395
121
406
125
m
86
Total ...do....
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire dollars..
Gas and oil do
Hired labor do
Commercial fertilizer . . .do
2,351
0.78
1.51
.83
.10
8,966
1.22
1.82
1.89
.28
3,200
0.79
1.49
.88
.11
1,788
0.65
1.47
.52
.05
1,223
0.64
1.41
.46
.03
940
0.68
1.31
.32
.02
738
0.31
1.03
.32
Total do
3.22
5.21
3.27
2.69
2.54
2.33
1.66
2 Less than 50 cents or less than 0.5 cent.
In subregions 93 and 94, the cost per acre for machine hire was
about the same for all economic classes of farms. In subregion
103 the smaller farms spent considerably less for this item; even
for the smallest farms the average per acre of cropland is less than
any other groups. In subregion 103 many of the Class VI farmers
own a combine and spend little for machine hire.
The smaller expenditures for gas and oil per crop acre for the
smaller farms in subregion 103 may reflect less intensive operation.
It is possible that the operators of Class V and VI farms did not
summer-till the soil as often as the operators of other classes of
farms. Since the Class VI farms were also lowest in machine
hire per crop acre, it is not likely that the saving in gas and oil
was due to more custom work hired. It may be that the lower
fuel consumption per acre reflects less tillage of the soil.
The amount of hired labor decreases with the decrease in acreage
farmed. The smallest size groups hired only a little labor. The
amount of feed bought is closely related to the number of livestock
on ths farm.
Use of commercial fertilizer in wheat production is a recent
practice in the winter wheat region. Farmers in the eastern part
have received a good response in higher yields. In the western
part of the area the use of commercial fertilizer is not a common
practice. In all three subregions commercial fertilizer is used
more commonly on the large farms than on those with low gross
sales. The figures for rate of application are not fully significant
because the composition of the fertilizer was not known. The
rate of application is rather uniform regardless of economic class
of the farm. This may indicate that those farmers who use fer-
tilizer are using the recommended quantities. (See table 25.)
16
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Table 25. — Use of Commercial Fertilizer on Cash-Grain
Farms in the Hard Red Winter Wheat Region, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Subregion 93
Percent of farms using fertilizer. .
Tons used per farm .. _ ._
Rate of application, pounds per
44.0
2.3
128
73.0
11.7
108
65.0
5.1
132
48.0
2.1
200
33.0
.8
122
20.0
.3
113
14.0
.3
162
Subregion 94
Percent of farms using fertilizer..
43.0
2.1
81
62.0
8.6
78
56.0
4.1
79
45.0
1.9
82
37.0
1.0
84
28.0
99
17.0
.2
Rate of application, pounds per
78
Subregion 103
Percent of farms using fertilizer..
11.0
.7
103
31.0
4.7
125
17.0
1.0
94
9.0
.3
87
6.0
.2
106
3.0
.1
68
1.0
(z)
Rate of application, pounds per
22
z Less than 0.05 ton.
Efficiency Levels of Farm Operation
Efficiency in the use of resources is an important consideration
in any business. It is important to the individual farm operator
because efficiency is reflected in farm earnings.
Census data do not provide all the information needed to make
a complete analysis of the differences among economic classes or
among subregions in efficiency of farm operation, but can be used
to make comparisons which indicate general levels, even though
the specific figures may not always reflect the precise relationships.
The comparisons made in tables 26, 27, and 28 indicate wide
differences among economic classes of farms in levels of efficiency
in the hard red winter wheat region.
Gross sales minus the specified expenditures do not include any
fixed costs nor all operating costs. Net income would be much
less than indicated by gross sales minus specified expenditures.
Obviously, Classes V and VI farms with less than $2,500 gross sales
each, cannot have a high net income.
Measures such as gross sales per man-equivalent and crop acres
per man-equivalent, indicate accomplishment per worker. In all
subregions gross sales and crop acres per man decline rapidly from
Class I to Class VI farms. Less than 150 crop acres per man do
not provide full-time employment for a wheat farmer and gross
sales of $1,000 per man cannot provide a high level of living for
a farm family.
The total investment per dollar of sales and per-man indicates
that the farmers on the smaller farms do not have sufficient
capital resources. Sales per dollar of investment on Class II
farms are double those on Class V farms. Capital investment
per man on Class V farms is about half that on Class II farms.
Most of the difference in investment arises from differences in
investment in land and buildings. Estimated machinery invest-
ment per worker is about the same for the various classes of farms.
The Class VI farmers in subregion 103 have a much higher total
investment per man-equivalent and more crop acres per man than
the Class VI farmers in the other subregions. In this subregion,
it is probable that some large farms had a complete crop failure
and abnormally low yields in 1954, and for these reasons fell into
a low gross-income group.
Table 26. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 93, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Gross sales per farm dollars.
Specified expenses per farm
dollars. _
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars--
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars..
Total investment per $100 gross
sales dollars..
Total investment per man-
equivalent . dollars,.
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent . . ...dollars..
Machinery investment per crop
acre ... . dollars .
Winter wheat yield per acre
bushels. .
Crop acres per man-equivalent. .
7,356
1,642
5,714
6,229
610
37, 083
6,799
31
21
218
32, 815
6,374
26, 441
15,740
369
57, 570
7,606
20
24
384
14, 000
2,891
11, 109
9,876
497
49, 734
7,511
26
22
284
7,261
1. 601
5,660
6,051
636
38, 187
6,848
31
20
220
3,931
1,027
2,904
3,707
801
28,394
6,485
38
18
170
2,017
667
1,350
2,179
1,011
22, 474
5,530
41
16
135
857
346
511
1,054
1,794
17, 945
4,090
44
16
92
Table 27- — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 94, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Gross sales per farm dollars..
Specified expenses per farm
dollars..
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars..
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars..
Total investment per $100 gross
sales ... dollars..
Total investment per man-
equivalent.. dollars. .
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent .dollars..
Machinery investment per crop
acre ... _ . dollars..
Winter wheat yield per acre
bushels..
Crop acres per man-equivalent..
7,784
1.787
5,997
7,058
701
49, 775
7,208
30
19.7
239
33,583
6,665
26, 918
15, 997
506
80. 892
7,597
19
24.2
410
14, 454
3,024
11,429
10, 574
619
63,707
7,774
24
20.8
318
7,275
1,680
5,595
6,502
747
48, 902
7,111
31
19.1
233
3,802
1,056
2,747
4,084
883
33, 562
6,977
41
17.6
168
1,953
738
1,215
2,506
1,232
29, 272
6,527
48
15.4
140
793
376
417
985
2,303
20,150
4,476
54
12.6
83
Table 28. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 103, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Gross sales per farm dollars..
10, 068
42, 614
15, 219
7,404
3,846
2,044
825
Specified expenses per farm
dollars. .
2,351
8,966
3,201
1,788
1,224
941
739
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars..
7,717
33,648
12,018
5,616
2,622
1, 103
86
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars-
7,789
16,846
10, 130
6,013
3.704
2,384
857
Total investment per $100 gross
sales dollars..
692
434
621
821
1,098
1,642
3,714
Total investment per man-
equivalent ..dollars..
53, 261
74, 032
62, 933
50,646
41,719
32, 831
29, 710
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent dollars..
8,379
7,489
8,721
8,436
8,348
8,495
7,163
Machinery investment per crop
18
12
16
20
23
22
17
Winter wheat yield per acre
bushels. .
12
14
13
12
9
7
5
Crop acres per man-equivalent..
469
606
539
427
370
386
410
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
17
OTHER TYPES OF FARMING IN THE HARD RED
WINTER WHEAT REGION
Rarely do all the farmers of an area follow the same line of
production. Differences in production conditions, available
resources, and personal preferences lead to diversity of production
within an area. Throughout the wheat regions are farms that
have been classified as other types because cash grain did not
provide the major source of income in 1954. Only the most
common types of farming other than cash-grain will be described.
A little more than one-fifth of the wheat produced in the hard red
winter wheat region is grown on Uiese other types of farms.
General farms are those which diversify their production to the
extent that no one enterprise provides one-half of the gross income.
General farms usually produce the same commodities as the more
specialized farms in the same area but they are less dependent
on a single farm product. The difference in farm organization is
more in emphasis on particular enterprises than in types of enter-
prises. Although cash grain is an important source of income for
these general farms, it did not furnish one-half of gross sales in
1954.
In the northern part of the hard winter wheat region general
farming is common. Here, general farms are organized much like
the cash-grain farms in subregion 93 but more emphasis is given
to feed grain and livestock production.
Also, in this subregion are more than 25,000 livestock farms that
emphasize production of livestock oilier than dairy or poultry.
Here again, the land-use pattern is much like that of the cash-
grain farms with less emphasis on wheat and usually a larger
acreage of pasture. In subregions 93 and 94 the livestock farms
are similar to those of the Corn Belt. Here, the emphasis is on
roughage-consuming livestock, especially beef cattle. A few-
farmers fatten cattle, some feed out only the cattle they raise,
and many market their cattle as feeders. Farmers in subregion
93 raise many more hogs than slice]) but the opposite is true in
subregion 94.
The livestock farms m subregion 103 are much like the smaller
livestock ranches described in Chapter VI. These farms have a
much larger acreage in pasture than cash-grain farms, and a much
larger number of cattle per farm. The cropland is used largely
for a rotation of wheat and fallow and forage crops for winter feed.
Grain sorghum represents the other important cash-grain enter-
prise in the hard red winter wheat region. Its production in the
United States is limited largely to this region. Grain-sorghum
production is closely associated with winter wheat production, as
many farmers grow both crops. Some farmers use the sorghum
as another cash crop whereas others feed the grain to livestock.
The acreage of grain sorghum in the United States has
fluctuated between C and 1 1 million acres per year. Grain
sorghum is a drought-resistant crop and can be harvested with a
grain combine which is common equipment in the wheat country.
In earlier years, grain sorghum was mainly restricted to feeding on
farms where grown, and as a basic ingredient in mixed poultry
feeds but gradually it has become more widely accepted as a feed
for fattening livestock. Grain sorghum is generally considered to
have 90 to 95 percent of the feed value of corn by weight.
The leading States in grain-sorghum production are Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico. (See
table 29.) In 1954, in these 6 States, more than 135,000 farmers
raised grain sorghum on 10.9 million acres and produced 108
million bushels for sale. Additional quantities were fed on the
farms where raised. Few farms would be classed as grain-sorghum
fat ins for usually the crop is grown on farms where wheat is a more
important crop. Grain sorghum is well adapted to the conditions
in the Great Plains and offers one of the more promising alter-
natives to individual wheat producers.
Tabic 29. — Acreage and Production of Grain Sorghum, by
States, in the Major Producing States: 1954
(Dat:i are est
mates based on reports for only
a sample of farms]
Item
Texas
Okla-
homa
Kansas
Nebraska
Colo-
rado
New
Mexico
Number of farms in the
State
293. 152
55, 950
5, 610, 766
IS. 495
8.784
11.118
13. 603
2,606
1,344
132, 342. 834
117,546,674
119,270
11.867
606, 407
6. 196
2,669
1,584
1,062
230
126
6. 068. 530
3. 667. 790
120, 291
46, 817
3,551.408
17,962
10,777
8,689
7. 043
1,315
1.031
49, 912, 097
32, 375, 634
100, 733
16. 829
514.706
9,353
4,497
2,369
577
19
14
13, 998, 621
8, 947, 772
40, 672
3,411
387, 153
872
601
799
S16
194
129
3,941,131
2, 724. 378
20,977
1,953
274, 949
429
Number of farms pro-
ducing grain sorghum .
.\ creage in grain sor-
ghum
Number reporting by
acres harvested:
Under 25 acres
50-99 acres .
100-299 acres
300-499 acres...
610
500 acres and over. . . .
Quantity produced
bushels..
Quantity sold do
96
4, 491, OSS
3, 539, 871
THE HARD RED SPRING WHEAT REGION
This region lies in the northern Great Plains. Its major wheat-
producing areas are subregions 89, 90, 91, and 105 (see fig. 8).
Although less wheat is produced in this region than in the hard
winter wheat region, it is the major source of income to 61,000
farmers and many other farmers here grow some wheat. The im-
portance of wheat production in this region and the percentage of
wheat produced on cash-grain farms are indicated in the following
data:
Item
Total wheat produced on commercial
farms (1.000 bu.)
Percent of U. S. total wheat produced
on commercial farms
Percent of total wheat for subregion
produced on cash-grain farms
Percent of total wheat for subregion
produced on farms other than cash-
grain farms
Subregion
89
90
91
105
21,142
36, 325
16.002
73, 936
2
4
o
8
73
S6
60
89
27
14
40
11
Total (4
subregions)
147, 405
16
S3
17
THE HARD SPRING WHEAT AREA
SUBREGIONS 89, 90, 91 , AND 1 05
Figure 8.
18
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
More than four-fifths of the wheat grown in this area is pro-
duced on cash-grain farms.
This is largely a spring wheat area because, in most parts, the
winters are generally too severe for winter wheat to survive. The
severity of the winters is the main distinguishing feature between
the hard spring and hard winter wheat area. (In central Montana
the Triangle Area in subregion 105, is mainly a winter wheat area.
This includes the following counties: Teton, Chouteau, Cascade,
Judith Basin, and Fergus. The counties directly north of this
group also produce some winter wheat, but the spring wheat
acreage predominates. The mountainous topography gives the
Triangle Area enough protection to permit winter wheat to
succeed.)
The spring wheat area produces both the hard red spring wheat
and durum wheat although the former predominates. For the
10-year period, 1941-50, an average of 16 million acres of hard red
spring wheat and 2.6 million acres of durum wheat were produced
in the United States.2 More than 80 percent of all durum wheat
was produced in North Dakota, with South Dakota and Minne-
sota contributing significant quantities.
The soils of the hard spring wheat area are fertile and deep. The
Red River Valley soils (subregion 89), are deep, fine-textured,
alluvial soils. Most of the soils in subregions 90 and 91 belong to
the Northern Chernozem group. These are dark, deep, fine-
textured soils, well adapted for wheat. The soils in subregion
105 belong in the Chestnut soil group which are not quite so heavy
or so deep as the Chernozem soils but are, nevertheless, good for
wheat production. As in the hard winter wheat region, wheat is
produced mainly on the silt and silty clay loams that are fairly deep.
In the World War periods, under the influences of high prices for
wheat, the farmers extended wheat production into areas of
coarser textured soils and shallower soils where yields fluctuate
greatly. In periods of relatively low prices or in years of unfavor-
able moisture, farmers in these marginal areas often find their
costs exceeding their income.
The topography in the spring wheat region is typical of the
Great Plains — fairly level to undulating. The rainfall in the hard
spring wheat area is slightly less but evaporation rates are lower
than in the hard winter wheat area. Rainfall averages from 10
to 25 inches annually. In subregions 89 and 91 the annual rain-
fall varies between 20 and 25 inches. Subregion 90 is slightly
drier, the average precipitation varying from 15 to 20 inches. The
driest part of this region is subregion 105 where the annual pre-
cipitation averages from 10 to 20 inches. In all of the hard wheat
region, the rainfall and humidity are sufficiently low, especially in
the maturing period, to produce a hard kernel. About three-
fourths of the rainfall occurs during the growing season; the rain-
fall is much heavier in the spring and early summer than during
the harvest period in late summer.
The low annual rainfall usually necessitates summer-fallowing.
Considering evaporation and run-off, 10 to 15 inches of rainfall is
not enough to produce satisfactory yields. In many instances,
farmers can double the yields by summer-fallowing. But it is not
necessary to double the yield to make fallowing profitable. Under
this practice wheat harvesting is required only once in 2 years.
The fallowing practices serve as seedbed preparation. Operating
costs for the 2 years, 1 year of fallow and 1 year of wheat, will
exceed the operating costs for 1 year of continuous cropping, but
will usually be considerably less than the operating costs for 2
years of continuous wheat. This is important to the wheat-
farmer in the low-rainfall area. He increases the chance of pro-
ducing a crop and at the same time reduces the cost of operation.
= Source: Agricultural Statistics - 1953, U. S. D. A.
The wheat and summer-fallow acreages on cash-grain farms by
subregions for 1954 were as follows:
Subregion
89 90
Wheat (1,000 acres) 1,063 3,875
Summer fallow (1,000
acres) 645 2,459
91
964
206
105
4,229
Total
10, 131
4, 462 7, 772
Not all the summer-fallow land is used to grow wheat; some is
used for other small grains.
Marketing and transportation facilities are adequate here. As
in the hard winter wheat area, mainline railroads and hard-
surfaced highways transect the country and farm-to-market roads
are adequate for hauling the grain to market. Storage and han-
dling facilities are short of the needs during the peak harvest seasons,
but storage space has increased sharply in the period following
World War II.
Many characteristics of the wheat farms in the hard spring
wheat region are similar to those of the hard winter wheat regions.
The farms in this region can be described as large family-type
units with a high average investment per farm.
But there are significant differences. A comparison of the hard
winter wheat farms with the hard spring wheat farms shows that
the spring wheat farms have a slightly lower average total invest-
ment due largely to higher land values per acre. A considerably
larger proportion of the farms had gross sales of less than $5,000
in most of the spring wheat subregions.
Farms in the spring wheat region have higher machinery in-
vestment, more land, more available labor (see table 31), more
tractors, trucks, and combines. The cash-grain farmers in the
winter wheat area specialized in wheat, in 1954, to a higher de-
gree than spring wheat farmers with the exception of those in
subregion 105. Flax, barley, and corn are among the other im-
portant cash and feed grains produced in this region.
Table 30.- — A Comparison of the Cash-Grain Farms in the
Hard Winter and Hard Spring Wheat Subregions:
1954
Hard winter wheat
subregions
Hard
spring wheat subregions
93
94
103
89
90
91
105
Total acres per farm
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm (dollars):
Land and buildings
358
258
33, 745
2.817
8.023
362
264
44, 520
2. 283
7.949
S20
607
55, 367
3, 040
10, 832
435
378
31, 144
1,710
11,748
696
535
23. 926
2,856
11,663
569
442
25, 503
3. 513
10, 624
1,304
769
45. 177
3.927
12. 220
Total
Man- Mjuivalent per farm
Percent of gross sales
44, 585
1.2
40
54.752
1. 1
75
69, 239
1.3
54
44, 602
1.4
29
38, 445
1.4
38
39.640
1.3
31
61, 324
1.3
74
In comparing the subregions within the spring wheat region,
and the farmers in subregion by economic class, it is again neces-
sary to consider the influence of yields. The 5-year average
yields of wheat were as follows: Subreqion
5-year average vield (1949-1953) s^ 90 91 105
(bushels per acre) 16.5 11.2 9.8 18.0
1954 yield (bushels per acre) 14.6 8.0 9.9 15.5
The lower than average yields in 1954 for all but one subregion
had some effect on the distribution of farmers by economic class
of farm.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
19
Size of Business
Then- is a wide range in the size of cash-grain farms among parts
of the spring wheat region. (See tables 31, 32, 33, and 34.) In
the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota, the farms
average one-third the acreage in the wheat farms in subregion 105
in Montana and are considerably smaller than those in the Dakotas
(subregions 00 and 01). When measured by total investment,
the Red River Valley farms rank lower than those in subregion 105,
but higher than those in subregions 90 and 91. In terms of man-
equivalent, the farms in subregion 89 rank highest , because of more
intensive farming and greater diversification.
The relationship of the size of farm business in subregion 89 to
the economic class is fairly typical of the pattern in other sub-
regions. The smaller farmers as a group are seriously handicapped
by lack of resources. It is doubtful that the farm operator can
use his time efficiently on the small-size units.
Table 31.
-Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 89, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number ol farms
Total acrrs per farm. ._ .
Crop acres per farm .. ..
Capital investment per
farm :
Land and buildings
dollars
Livestock dollars..
Machinery . . dollars. .
13,280
13.5
378
31.144
1.710
11,748
363
1.433
1,324
111,695
3, 052
30, 104
2. 552
678
614
52. 429
2, 563
16, 724
4, 679
131
376
30, 562
1,893
11,785
3. .540
300
247
19. 731
1.288
9,377
1.678
224
171
12. 965
873
7,002
488
167
105
6, S76
3S3
4,954
Total .. ...dollars .
Man-equivalent per farm.
44. 602
14
144,851
3 o
71,716
1 7
44, 240
1.4
30.306
1.2
20, 840
1.0
12,213
0.9
Table 32. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 90, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
24. 389
101
3. 151
8,154
8,617
3, 3.58
918
Total acres per farm
f>96
2
446
1, 180
785
560
382
313
Crop acres per farm.
535
1
976
944
604
410
284
220
Capital investment pet-
farm ;
Land and buildincs
dollars..
23, 926
88
321)
43, 480
26, 619
IS, 384
12, 366
1(1. 202
Livestock dollars. .
2, 856
K
4114
4.912
3. 520
2, 251
1. 16.5
CIS
Machinery. _ .dollars . .
11,663
_,,,
415
17. 957
12, 957
10, 430
7. 819
6,364
Total dollars..
38, +45
126
139
66. 349
43, 096
31,065
21,350
17,274
Man-equivalent per farm-
1.4
3,0
1.8
1.5
1.2
1.0
1 6
Table 33. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 91, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Total acres per farm .
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm :
Land and buildings
dollars
Livestock dollars
Machinery dollars
8,687
.569
412
2.5. .503
3, 513
10,624
130
2.097
1.646
S7. 190
10. 253
24. 323
1,372
930
757
44, 989
6, 023
15, 457
2,922
607
469
26, 995
4,067
11,197
2,906
426
321
17,930
2, .54.5
9,326
1,086
293
218
11,340
1.338
6, 343
271
234
185
8,915
688
4,474
Total dollars. .
Man-e'iuivalentpcr farm.
.lo,.,ln
1.3
121. 766
2.6
66, 469
1,6
42, 259
1, 1
29, 801
1,2
10. 021
III
14.077
10
Table 34. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 105, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Total acres per farm
Crop acres per farm
Capital investment per
farm :
Land and buildings
dollars
Livestock dollars. .
Machinery... .dollars .
15.071
1.304
769
45. 177
3, '.127
12, 220
1.317
3.281
2, 077
137, 276
7,281
23, 472
3,609
1,786
1,0.54
65, 182
5.172
15, 125
4,173
1,179
668
35, 546
4.314
11.515
3,775
761
440
22. 253
2, 675
9,476
1,709
.524
291
14,096
1,410
7,079
488
408
202
11, 335
871
5,636
Total dollars
Man-equivalent per farm
61, 324
1.3
ins. iijo
2.2
8.5, 170
1,5
51, 375
1.3
34, 404
1 1
22, ,5s:,
0.9
17.842
0.8
The distribution of cash-grain farmers by economic class is
shown by subregions in table 35. Also, the percentage of total
wheat produced by cash-grain farms in each economic class is
shown. The percentage of farmers in Classes IV, V, and VI is
considerably higher than in the hard winter wheat region (see
table 12). More than half of the fanes are in Classes III and IV
while more than half the farms are in Classes II and III in tin-
hard winter wheat region. In subregion 105, the percentage of
lanes in Classes I and II is materially higher than in the other
subregions in the hard spring wheat region. The Classes V and
VI farms produce a small percentage of the wheat in the sub-
regions because of relatively small wheal acreages and low yields.
Table 35. — Percent Distribution of Cash-Grain Farms and
Wheat Produced, by Economic Class for the Hard Spring
Wheat Region: 1954
Item and subregion
Number of farms:
Subregion:
so
90
91
105
Wheat production
Subregion:
89
90
91
105.
Economic class of farnt
Percell
of total
in the su
bregion
2.7
19.2
35.3
26.7
12.6
.8
12.9
33.4
35.3
13.8
1.5
15.8
33.6
33.5
12.5
8.7
23.9
27.9
25.0
11 3
12.2
36, 8
33.4
13.9
3.4
4.5
28.3
38.3
22.8
5.3
9.2
33.8
33.6
18.8
4.0
35.6
35 5
18.0
8.5
2 1
3.5
3.8
3 1
3.2
Crop and Livestock Organization
land use and crops grown. — Although the Red River Valley
and the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and .Montana
are generally recognized as comprising the spring wheat region,
other crops are grown here. Cash-grain farms in subregions Si).
90, and 91 are diversified. The fact that acreage allotments for
wheat were in effect in 195-1 may have had a greater effect, on
land use in this than in the hard winter wheat region. Notwith-
standing an increase during the last 5 years in acreage of crop-
land per farm in each subregion, the acreage of wheat in 1954 in
each was less than in 1949.
Suhregion
Crop acres per farm :
1954
1949
Acres in wheat per farm:
1954
1949
S9
:!7S
358
SO
110
90
535
504
159
212
91
442
425
111
150
10b
To: i
721
281
329
20
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
This region is also the leading flax-producing area in the United
States. Considerable acreages of barley and oats are produced
also. At one time the Red River Valley was well known for its
potatoes but the relative importance of this crop has declined.
Land use by subregions and economic class of farm is shown in
tables 36, 37, 38, and 39.
In subregion 89, wheat was not the major crop in 1954; the
acreage in wheat was exceeded by the acreage in barley. Wheat
was relatively more important in 1954 in subregions 90, 91, and
105, as these areas have fewer alternative opportunities for land
use. Flax and oats or barley were dominant crops in subregions
90 and 91. Some corn was produced, especially in subregion 91.
Barley was the main competitor of wheat in subregion 105 bvit
was less important than wheat in the other subregions.
The relative importance of summer-fallowing declines from west
to east in the hard spring wheat region. The acreage of pasture
per farm and the percentage of the total farm area that is in
pasture vary significantly among subregions within the region.
The Red River Valley cropland comprises almost the entire farm
acreage. In subregions 90 and 91 approximately one-sixth of the
land is in pasture and in subregion 105 about two-fifths of the
laud in cash-grain farms is in permanent pasture.
Farmers in the various economic classes have approximately
the same type-of-cropping system. In each subregion there are
differences which may have affected gross sales. In subregion 89
the Class VI farms were lower than the Class I farms in propor-
tion of cropland in wheat and barley but much higher in the
proportion of cropland in oats. In subregion 90 the Class VI farms
were lower than farms in other classes in proportion of cropland
in flax and higher in the proportion in oats. Class VI farms in
subregion 91 were relatively lower in the percentage of the crop
acreage in wheat and much higher in the percentage in oats than
Class I farms. In subregion 105 the Class VI farms were rela-
tively lower than other farms in the proportion of cropland in
barley. These differences in the relative importance of various
small grain crops may explain some differences in gross income.
Table 36. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 89,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
13, 280
435
378
80
46
83
40
32
33
363
1,433
1.324
307
165
328
74
101
58
2,552
678
614
136
81
143
52
52
40
4,679
431
376
80
43
82
42
32
33
3,540
300
247
4S
28
51
33
21
29
1,678
224
171
32
20
31
26
13
23
468
Acres per farm:
All land
100
100
(NA>
70
88
71
42
67
167
105
Wheat
13
Flax..
10
17
21
6
24
NA Not available.
Table 37- — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 90,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
24, 389
696
535
159
70
64
34
11
101
125
191
2. 446
1,976
570
330
276
75
58
433
359
3,151
1,180
944
275
142
121
49
22
186
185
8,154
784
604
180
81
71
38
14
111
143
8,617
560
419
127
47
49
31
7
76
108
3,358
382
284
83
33
30
20
3
54
73
918
Acres per farm:
All land
100
100
(NA)
78
74
71
32
84
82
314
220
Wheat
67
Flax
16
23
Oats .
16
1
46
67
Table 38. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 91
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
8,687
569
442
111
71
55
49
24
105
130
2,097
1,646
572
168
224
li.li
114
341
1,372
930
757
208
100
110
75
44
150
2,922
607
469
111
77
60
53
24
116
2,906
426
321
74
61
35
37
15
85
1.086
293
218
48
44
20
27
11
60
271
Acres per farm:
All land
100
100
(NA)
91
77
64
40
82
234
185
Wheat
44
Oats
Corn
34
14
Flax
23
13
36
NA Not available.
Table 39. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 105,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Acres per farm:
All land...
15, 071
1,304
769
65
215
65
296
512
1,317
3,281
2,077
381
366
225
939
1,169
3,609
1,785
1.054
101
282
97
443
696
4, 173
1.179
668
21
228
45
228
487
3,775
761
440
7
155
28
132
307
1,709
524
291
3
103
17
86
221
488
408
Cropland
Wheat:
202
1
Spring...
69
13
Summer fallow
Land pastured
61
195
Livestock. — The kinds of livestock kept on farms is fairly
uniform throughout the spring wheat region. (See tables 40, 41,
42, and 43.) The number of cattle on individual farms varies
with the amount of pasture available. The typical poultry flock
is small, kept mainly for production for home use. Average hog
and sheep numbers per farm are small because many farmers do
not keep them. However, the average number on farms report-
ing sheep and hogs is much larger than that shown as the average
for all farms. This is especially true for sheep. Even milk-cow
numbers are larger on many farms that have cows for the pro-
duction of marketable quantities of dairy products. Many wheat
farmers in the more arid parts do not keep cows for family use.
The percentage of farmers reporting each class of livestock and
the number per farm reporting are shown in tables 40 to 43.
Table 40. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 89,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Percent
Economic class of farm
report-
ing
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
13, 280
363
2,552
4.679
3,540
1,678
468
Livestock, number per farm:
All cattle.
67
56
37
9
54
13
4
6
6
79
24
3
12
11
68
20
4
10
11
93
15
4
6
91
11
3
3
3
77
2
4
44
3
1
1
1
Chickens
20
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm ...dollars..
XXX
1, 156
2,852
1,964
1,304
718
367
105
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars..
XXX
1,710
3, 052
2,563
1,893
1,288
873
383
NA Not available.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
21
Table 41. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 90,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Percent
of farms
report-
ins
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
24, 389
25
5
5
54
1, 215
2,856
191
74
3
15
32
47
4,434
8,404
3,151
43
6
9
15
66
2,381
4,912
8,154
31
6
6
8
64
1,526
3,520
8,617
20
5
4
4
53
869
2,251
3, 358
10
3
1
1
35
363
1,165
918
Livestock, number per farm:
All cattle
74
64
41
9
62
XXX
XXX
5
1
1
1
18
Gross sales of livestock ami
livestock products per
farm- dollars..
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars.-
155
618
Tabic 42. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 91,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
8,687
30
4
14
9
101
1.698
3, 513
130
78
2
50
71
94
8,591
10. 253
1,372
50
3
27
18
127
3,326
6,023
2,922
35
4
16
10
121
1,935
4,067
2,906
22
4
9
5
94
1,001
2,545
1,086
12
3
4
1
54
439
1,338
271
Livestock, number per farm:
All cattle -
Milk cows..
76
56
45
Hi
67
X X X
XXX
6
1
1
4
37
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm dollars..
Investment in livestock per
farm. - dollars..
126
688
Table 43. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 105,
by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Percent
of farms
report'
ing
Number of farms
Livestock, number per
farm:
All cattle
Milk cows...
Hops
Sheep
Chickens
I Iross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm . - dollars .
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars-
Economic class of farm
XXX
X X X
Total
15.071
1,329
3,196
2, 749
7.260
1,840
5,171
III
1,458
4.316
TV
3.775
805
2, 665
23
341
1.407
488
(z)
131
697
z Less than 0.5.
It is significant that in each subregion the number of milk cows
and chickens per farm is highest, in the middle economic groups,
Classes II to IV. It is probable that some of the operators of
these farms keep milk cows and chickens to provide some food
for the family and to help reduce cash expenses for family living.
Products not needed by the family are sold. Class I farmers
probably feel less need for limiting cash expenditures for family
living: but Class V and VI farmers who may have the greatest
need for additional income and for limiting living costs, also have
fewer milk cows and chickens. The large percentage of fanners
in the youngest and oldest age groups may explain partly the
small number of cows and chickens on the small farms. The
beginning operators may be handicapped by a shortage of capital
while the operators over 65 years may not wish to be burdened
with livestock chores.
Labor Used
Most of the labor used on cash-grain farms in this region is
supplied by the farm families (see table 44). With the exception
of the relatively small number of Class I farms, the organization
of most farms is planned around the farm family. (Many of the
Class I farms would be classified as family farms.) Hired labor
constitutes only a small part of the labor force on all except the
Class I farms.
Table 44. — Labor Force on Cash-Grain Farms in the Hard
Spring Wheat Region, and for Subregion 90 by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Subregion
Economic class of farm for
subregion 90
89
90
91
105
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Total man-equivalent-..
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.3
3.0
1.8
1.5
1.2
1.0
1.0
Operator
Unpaid familv help...
Hired
Operators by age:
All operators. percent..
.9
.3
.2
100
.9
.3
.2
100
.8
.3
2
100
.8
.2
.3
100
.9
.4
1.7
100
.9
. 5
.4
100
.9
.4
_ o
100
.8
.3
.1
100
.8
.2
m
100
.8
.2
(z)
100
Under 25 years, do
25-34 years do
35-64 years do
65 years and over-do. .
2
17
69
12
3
20
68
9
4
24
62
10
4
20
64
12
2
20
73
5
2
19
74
5
3
23
69
5
3
20
68
9
5
15
61
19
4
10
59
27
z Less than 0.05.
On most farms all the operators' labor is allocated to the farm
business as opportunities for off-farm work are very limited.
There was considerable difference in the amount of labor hired on
Class I farms in the four subregions. The man-equivalent of hired
labor for Class I farms was by subregion as follows: subregion
89, 2.3: subregion 90, 1.7; subregion 91, 1.5; and subregion 105,
1.1. Labor requirements per acre are higher in the Red River
Valley than in Montana, for Montana farmers use larger machinery
than is generally used on more diversified farms. Subregion 89,
with the smallest farms when measured in acres of land, had the
largest number of workers per farm. The amount of family help
used was about the same for subregions 89, 90, and 91, but was
smaller for all economic classes in subregion 105. Less diversifi-
cation and greater seasonality of the work may be the reason- for
less unpaid family help per farm in subregion 105.
The percentage of farm operators that are under 35 years of age
is low relative to the percentage in other age groups in all sub-
regions and is lower in subregion 89 than in the other subregions.
This is true for all economic classes of farms. It indicates that in
the coming years either the rate of decrease in number of farms
will be abnormally high or that an unusually high percentage of
the farms will be operated by older men. The percentage of
operators of Class VI farms who are 65 is high especially in sub-
region 105 where 37 percent of Class VI operators an' more than
(15 years >>f age.
22
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
The cash-grain farms in the spring wheat region are highly
mechanized. This has been true for several decades. Wheat
farmers were one of the first groups to shift to motive power, for
the large fields of fairly level land are excellent for the use of large-
size modern machinery. The degree of mechanization and use of
modern home conveniences is shown by data in table 45.
Table 45. — Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
on Cash-Grain Farms in the Hard Spring Wheat Region,
and for Sub-region 91 by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
it™
Number of farms
Number per farm:
Automobiles
Motortrucks
Tractors
Combines
Percent of farms report-
ing:
Automobiles
Motortrucks
Tractors
Combines
Corn pickers
Field forage harvesters
Telephones
Electricity
Television sets
Piped water in home-
Home freezer
Subregion
13,280
1.2
1.2
2. 1
24. 389
1.2
1.1
1.9
.9
S. GS7
1.2
1.6
1.9
Economic class of farm for
subregion 91
105
I
II
III
IV
V
15.071
130
1,372
2,922
2.906
1, 0S6
1.2
2. 1
1.4
1.2
1.1
1.0
1.7
2.4
1.8
1.0
0.8
0.5
1.9
3.9
2.7
2.0
1.7
1.2
1.0
1.6
1.0
.9
.7
.5
HO
97
96
92
91
85
92
94
92
83
73
48
9fi
98
98
97
96
84
80
95
88
SI
69
46
4
70
60
41
29
15
7
28
19
10
4
1
30
68
67
55
50
36
85
95
96
94
89
76
10
19
25
18
15
8
51
88
82
65
46
36
52
61
55
40
28
16
271
.7
.4
1.0
.3
63
35
82
26
23
56
7
32
8
In subregion 105 a relatively high percentage of farmers own
trucks and there is a higher than average number of trucks per
farm than in the other subregions. Tractor numbers also varied
by subregion and by economic class of farm. The percentage
of farms in each class reporting tractors was fairly uniform but
the number of tractors per farm varied by economic class of farm
as shown by the following data:
Subregion
Number of tractors per farm by
economic class
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
89
4.4
4.0
3.9
3.1
2.8
2.7
2.7
2.3
2.1
2.0
2.0
1.9
1.6
1.6
1.7
1.6
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.1
90
1.1
91 .
1.0
105
1.1
The more diversified areas (subregions 89 and 91) had the
largest number of tractors per farm. On diversified farms more
than one operation requiring power must frequently be performed
on the same day, thus the operators of these farms need more
power units. Typically the power units on diversified farms are
smaller than on farms in subregion 105.
The use of home conveniences is much more related to the
economic class of farm than the particular part of the wheat
region in which the farm is located. Almost without exception
the lower a group of farmers ranks in gross sales, the lower is the
percentage of the farmers having modern home conveniences.
The small percentage of the lower income groups reporting tele-
phones, electricity, home freezers, and piped water in the home,
is a good indicator of the differences in levels of living among
farmers in the economic classes. However, it may be expected
that telephones and electricity would be less common in the
sparsely settled parts of Montana and the western part of the
Dakotas than in the Red River Valley. Home conveniences
were more common in the hard winter wheat region than in the
hard spring wheat region.
Gross Farm Income
The sources and amount of farm income indicate the farm
organization and the relative importance of different enterprises
(see table 46). In the Red River Valley where wheat was not the
dominant crop, farmers had several important sources of income.
In the central part of the Dakotas, wheat was the major source
of income but livestock and livestock products were important.
In subregion 105, in western North Dakota and Montana, wheat
provided three-fourths of the gross sales.
Table 46. — Sources of Farm Income on Cash-Grain Farms
in the Hard Spring Wheat Region, and for Subregion
105 by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Subregion
Economic class of farm for
subregion 105
89
90
91
105
I
II
III
IV
3,775
2. 650
162
342
V
VI
13.280
2.262
1. 080
3,260
24, 389
2,341
1.165
1,417
8,687
2,111
739
2,289
15, 071
8,251
166
1,395
1,317
34, 172
108
6,553
3,609
12, 393
159
2,157
4,173
5,261
240
699
1,709
1,388
91
203
488
Sales per farm:
Wheat dollars. .
Flax. ...do
Other crops do
590
46
122
All crops do
Livestock and live-
stock products
dollars..
6,602
1.156
4,923
1,215
5. 139
1.698
9,812
1,329
40,833
2,749
14. 709
1:840
6, 200
1,458
3.154
805
1,682
341
758
131
Gross sales
dollars..
Percentage of gross sales
7,759
29
20.54
6.138
38
11.48
6,838
31
15.46
11,142
74
14. 49
43,587
78
20.98
16, 549
75
20.70
7,658
69
11.46
3,958
67
8.99
2,023
69
6.96
889
66
Gross sales per crop acre
dollars..
4.39
Gross sales per crop acre were highest in the more diversified
area (subregion 89) ; here the yields are the highest in the area.
The differences in sales per crop acre in the other subregions are
the result of differences in crop yields, in 1954. In subregion 105,
the Class I farmers (about 10 percent of all cash-grain farmers in
the subregion) had gross sales exceeding $40,000. These were
the large wheat farmers.
The percentage of gross sales on cash-grain farms that came from
wheat varied by subregions and by economic class as follows:
Subregion
Wheat sales as a percentage of gross
sales by economic class
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
89
29
42
40
78
30
39
34
75
29
37
30
69
29
37
31
67
26
39
30
69
15
90
42
91
33
105
66
The importance of wheat as a source of income differs little
by the economic class in subregion 90, but declines from Class I
to Class VI in the other subregions. This was especially true in
subregion 91 where Class VI farmers obtain a relatively small
income from wheat
Livestock sales are relatively important for farms in Economic
Classes II, III, and IV but are less important for farms in Classes
V and VI. The pattern of the source of income by economic
class of farm was similar for all subregions in the hard spring wheat
region and in the winter wheat region
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
23
Farm Expenses
As in other wheat regions machine hire was the highest in the
subregions having the largest acreages per farm. (See tables 47,
4S, 49, and 50.) Frequently operators of the larger farms own
one or two combines but hire additional machines to speed up
harvest. In the localities of high hail risk, the harvesting of
wheat is completed as rapidly as possible. Some of the larger
operators have found that they can hire the combining for less
cost than if they operated their own machines.
Expenditures per crop acre for gas and oil may be expected to
decline with a decrease in intensity of operation. However, only
in subregion 105 is there a correlation between size of farm and the
cost of fuel and oil per acre. Here the larger farms had consider-
ably lower costs per crop acre than the smaller farms.
Ths amount spent per crop acre for hired labor was approxi-
mately twice as large in subregion SO as in the other subregions.
The amount spent per acre for hired labor was highest on the
largest farms. This is to be expected for the operators of small
farms do not have enough work to employ hired help.
Tabic 47- — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 89, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
11
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Cropland
..acres..
378
1,324
614
376
247
171
105
Machine hire
dollars
198
622
287
193
144
128
86
Gas and oil
...do.—
833
2. 781
1,302
844
575
380
236
Hired labor - ...
...do. ..
49a
4. 608
1.021
337
144
82
14
Commercial fertilizer
...do...
273
1. 656
537
235
122
62
34
Feed bought
.do....
.do.-..
286
2. 080
698
542
281
186
104
37
Total
10. 365
3. 689
1,890
1,171
756
407
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire
dollars- .
0.52
0.47
0.47
0.51
0.58
0.75
0.82
Gas and oil
-do. ..
2.21
2.10
2.12
2.24
2.33
2.22
2.25
Hired labor-
.-do....
1.30
3.4S
1.66
.90
.58
.48
.13
Commercial fertilizer
...do. .
...do-..
.72
1.25
.87
.62
.50
.36
.32
Total...
4.75
7.30
5. 12
4.27
:; vi
3.81
3.52
Table 48. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain
Farms in Subregion 90, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Machine hire dollars.-
Gas and oil do
Hired labor -do
Commercial fertilizer., .do
Feed bought - do
168
857
322
48
172
578
2.702
3.248
593
772
259
1,425
872
147
314
167
963
322
47
197
150
711
174
22
135
120
473
V,
6
79
126
342
81
5
35
Total do.-
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire dollars..
Gas and oil --do
Hired labor..- ..do
Commercial fertilizer. ..do
1,567
0. 31
1.60
.60
.09
7,893
0.29
1.37
1.64
.30
3,017
0.27
1.51
.92
.16
1,696
0.28
1.60
.53
.08
1,192
0.36
1.70
.42
.05
764
0.42
1.67
.30
.02
589
0.57
1.55
.37
.02
Total do.-.
2.60
3.60
2.86
2.49
2.53
2.41
2.51
Table 49. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain
Farms in Subregion 91, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Cropland
. .acres- -
442
1,646
757
469
321
218
185
Machine hire
dollars .
244
971
388
250
184
158
97
1 las :md oil
...do...
812
2, 558
1. 337
862
640
388
306
Hired labor
..do...
293
2,660
735
260
113
80
66
Commercial fertilizer
...do .
35
289
86
33
15
4
4
Feed bought
do ...
..do .
299
1.019
497
353
198
152
50
Total
1.683
7.497
3. 043
1,758
1,150
782
523
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire
dollars
0.55
0.59
0.51
0.53
0.57
0.72
0.52
Gas and oil
..do...
1.83
1.55
1.76
1.83
1.99
1.78
1.65
Bired labor
..do...
.66
1.61
.97
.55
.35
.36
.35
Commercial fertilizer
...do...
..do ....
.07
.17
. 11
.07
.04
.01
.02
Total
3.11
3.92
3.35
2.98
2.95
2.87
2.54
Table 50. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain
Farms in Subregion 105, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
A vci age per farm:
Machine hire dollars. .
Gas and oil do
Hin-d labor do
Commercial fertilizer do
Feed bought— do
386
1,004
579
43
142
1,156
2,129
2,506
181
313
472
1,298
862
67
195
333
974
373
27
141
213
698
156
12
86
194
459
84
4
54
144
330
48
1
28
Total do....
A\ erage per crop acre:
Machine hire do —
Gas and oil ...do
Hired labor do
Commercial fertilizer. . .do
2,154
0.50
1.31
.75
.06
6,285
0.56
1.02
1.21
.09
2,894
0.45
1.23
.82
.(16
1,848
0.50
1.46
.56
.04
1,165
0.48
1.59
.35
.03
795
it 67
1.58
.29
.01
551
0.71
1.63
.24
(z)
Total... do....
2. 62
2.88
2.56
2. 66
2.45
2.55
2.58
z Less than 0.05 cent.
Because of the decline in the importance of expenditures for
hired labor, the total cost per crop acre for specified expenses
decreases as the size of farm decreases in subregions 89, 90, and 91.
However, the total cost per crop acre does not decline with the
change in size of farm in subregion 105 where the lower hired labor
per acre on the smaller farms is offset by higher costs for gas and oil.
The use of commercial fertilizer is not common except in the
Red River Valley where about half the farmers reported its use
(see table 51). In the other areas, less than 15 percent of fanners
reported the use of fertilizer. The percentage of farmers in the
lower-income groups who use fertilizer is very low. Probably
many do not have the capital to buy fertilizer and others probably
lack information on which to make a decision to adopt a rela-
tively new practice. The higher percentage of older farmers in
these groups may be related to the small percentage of farmers
reporting the use of fertilizer. The rate of application reported
is rather uniform among the economic classes in subregions 89
and 90. The use of commercial fertilizer in the other two sub-
regions is not a common practice.
24
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Table 51. — Use of Commercial Fertilizer on Cash-Grain
Farms in the Hard Spring Wheat Region, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Percent of farms using fertilizer. .
Tons used per farm
Rate of application, pounds per
acre
Percent of farms using fertilizer . .
Tons used per farm
Rate of application, pounds per
acre
Percent of farms using fertilizer. .
Tons used per farm
Rate of application, pounds per
acre
Percent of farms using fertilizer . .
Tons used per farm
Rate of application, pounds per
acre
Economic class of farm
Total I
III IV
VI
Subregion 89
52
85
70
56
45
33
21
3.3
19.2
6.4
2.8
1.5
0.8
.4
71
74
70
69
74
79
88
Subregion 90
14
54
31
16
9
4
0.5
6.7
1.6
0.5
0.2
0.1
45
44
45
46
44
44
3
0.1
Subregion 91
11
29
22
13
8
(z)
.4
3.4
1.0
.4
_ 9
(z)
80
112
81
77
72
53
6
0.1
Subregion 105
11
27
18
11
5
3
(z>
0.5
2.0
0.8
0.3
0.1
0.1
(z)
40
36
37
50
54
66
22
z Less thanO. 5 percent or less than 0.05 ton.
Efficiency Levels of Farm Operation
Gross sales minus the specified expenses per farm varied greatly
from an average of $4,570 to $8,989 among four subregions. (See
tables 52 to 55.) This measure does not represent net income
because only some of the operating expenses have been considered.
Other large items of cost to be considered in arriving at a net
income include taxes, repairs and depreciation on buildings and
machinery, supplies, and livestock purchases. Additional costs of
production would include also the value of the operator's and un-
paid family labor and interest on the investment. Also these
data indicate returns for only 1 year and therefore may reflect
abnormal differences in weather conditions in 1954. Although
the importance ot specific expense items varies somewhat from
one part of this area to another, these data do provide useful
measures for comparing economic classes of farms and subregions.
Table 52. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 89, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Gross sales per farm dollars. .
Specified expenses per farm
do....
Gross sales less specified expenses
per farm do
Gross sales per man-equivalent
do...
Total investment per $100 gross
sales do
Total investment per man-
equivalent do
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent do
Machinery investment per crop
acre do...
Wheat yield per acre. . . bushels.
Crop acres per man-equivalent.
Economic class of farm
I II III IV V VI
7,759
2,080
5,679
5,581
579
31, 859
8,450
31
15
272
36, 897
10, 365
26, 532
10, 350
394
40,236
8,445
23
17
371
14,610
3,689
10, 927
8,508
491
42, 186
9,735
16
357
7,400
1,889
5,511
5,430
31,600
8,647
31
14
276
3.929
1,171
2,758
3,245
779
25, 330
7,745
38
13
204
2, 037
756
1,281
2.017
1,042
20,840
,297
41
10
170
852
407
445
932
1,527
13, 570
6,018
47
8
115
Table 53. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 90, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Gross sales per farm dollars . .
Specified expenses per farm
dollars..
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars..
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars. .
Total investment per $100 gross
sales ..dollars. .
Total investment per man-
equivalent dollars. .
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent dollars..
Machinery investment per crop
acre dollars. .
Wheat yield per acre... bushels. .
Crop acres per man-equivalent. .
6,138
1,568
4,570
4,493
530
27, 461
8,538
8
392
34, 976
7,893
27,083
11.478
360
42,046
9,653
15
13
648
13,813
3,017
10,796
7,561
401
36,861
8,891
17
10
517
7,104
1,697
5,407
4,898
607
28, 731
8,933
21
S
416
3,908
1,193
2,715
3,129
797
25,888
8,351
25
7
336
2,081
764
1,317
2,006
1,017
21,350
7,539
28
6
274
989
589
400
1,001
1,727
17, 274
6,441
29
4
223
Table 54. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 91, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Gross sales per farm dollars..
Specified expenses per farm
dollars..
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars. .
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars..
Total investment per $100 gross
sales.. dollars..
Total Investment per man-
equivalent dollars. .
Machinery Investment per man-
equivalent dollars..
Machinery investment per crop
acre dollars..
Wheat yield per acre, .bushels..
Crop acres per man-equivalent..
Economic class of farm
Total
6,838
1,683
5,155
5,225
583
30, 492
8,110
24
10
333
34,966
7.498
27,468
13,609
349
46,833
9,464
15
12
640
II III IV
14,251
3,044
11,207
8,823
468
41, 543
9, 541
20
11
469
7,297
1,758
5,539
5,364
587
30, 185
8,233
24
10
345
3,953
1,151
2,802
3,261
764
24, 834
6,707
29
8
265
2,058
783
1,275
2,015
951
19, 021
6,219
29
7
213
VI
954
523
441
14, 077
4,612
24
5
190
Table 55. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 105, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Item
Gross sales per farm dollars-
Specified expenses per farm
dollars..
Gross sales less specified ex-
penses per farm dollars. .
Gross sales per man-equivalent
dollars. .
Total investment per $100 gross
sales dollars..
Total investment per man-
equivalent dollars . .
Machinery investment per man-
equivalent dollars. .
Machinery investment per crop
acre dollars..
Wheat yield per acre:
Winter bushels..
Spring bushels..
Crop acres per man-equivalent..
Economic class of farm
Total I
11.142
2,153
552
47, 172
9,356
16
27
12
589
587
285
302
632
385
377
572
11
29
18
936
II III IV
16,549
2,895
13, 654
11,212
518
56, 986
10, 247
14
25
14
714
7, 658
1.848
5,810
6,025
667
39, 519
9,060
17
10
526
3,958
1,164
2, 794
3,608
860
31,276
639
22
20
9
401
2,023
795
1,228
2,192
1,129
25,094
7,671
24
12
7
315
VI
549
340
1,053
1,982
22,302
6,676
28
5
6
240
Some of the more meaningful measures of levels of efficiency are
not affected significantly by growing conditions in a single year.
These include total investment per man, machinery investment
per man, machinery investment per crop acre, and crop acres
per num.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
25
Farms in subregion 105 had the highest total investment per
man, the highest investment in machinery per man, the largest
number of crop acres per man. but the lowest investment in
machinery per crop acre. These measures of level of efficiency
do not vary greatly among the other three subregions, although
for farms in subregion 89 the investment per man and crop acres
per man are somewhat lower than for farms in the other two
subregions.
Comparisons of measures of level of efficiency by economic class
indicate a decrease in total investment and crop acres per man from
Class I to Class VI farms, whereas, machinery investment per acre
Increased from the large to small farms. There was some decline
in investment in machinery per man from Class I to Class VI
farms but the decline was not nearly as sharp as that for total
investment per farm or crop acres per man. This explains perhaps
one of the more significant reasons for low net income (gross sales
less specified expenditures) on these farms as a minimum amount
of machinery is required even for a small acreage. A second
significant reason for low incomes on the Class VI farms is the
low yields per acre in 1954. In all four subregions, the farms
with larger gross income had significantly higher yields per acre.
OTHER TYPES OF FARMING IN THE HARD RED
SPRING WHEAT REGION
Other types of farming in the hard spring wheat region are of
interest. In the Red River Valley (subregion 89), there were
3,001 dairy farms and 3,21.3 general farms. On these farms, feed
crops were emphasized more than wheat and more livestock were
kept than on cash-grain farms.
In subregions 90 and 91, there were 8,942 general farms. These
were similar to the cash-grain farms in the same area. Wheat
was the major crop on tilled land but the general farms had more
pastureland and livestock than the cash-grain farms. No doubt
some of these general farms would have been classified as cash-
grain farms if wheat yields had been normal.
In subregion 105 in southwestern North Dakota and Montana
there is much land not suitable for cultivation. Farmers who
have a large acreage of grassland keep more cattle or sheep than
wheat farmers. In this subregion there were 6,336 livestock
farms. Among these are many that are very similar to wheat
farms but with enough income from livestock in 1954 to be classi-
fied as livestock farms. Among the farm units classified as
livestock are many ranches that have the same characteristics as
those in the nearby range livestock areas. These units usually
are characterized by large acreages in grass and little cropland.
Although flax was once grown more widely, it is now produced
mainly in three States — North Dakota, South Dakota, and
Minnesota. In 1954, nearly 80,000 farmers reported a total of
5 million acres with a production of 34 million bushels of flax
in these three States (see table 56) . North Dakota is by far the
leading flax-producing State. Acreage allotments for wheat un-
doubtedly influenced the acreage of flax. As grain sorghum pro-
vides a cash-grain alternative to winter wheat in the southern
part of the Great Plains, so flax offers alternative opportunities in
the northern Great Plains and Minnesota.
Flax production is closely associated with wheat production,
for many farmers grow both crops. Most flax is grown by
farmers who raise only small quantities. In 1954, 92 percent of
the producers harvested less than 1,000 bushels each; 20 percent
harvested less than 100 bushels each.
Table 56. — Acreage and Production of Flax in the Three
Leading Producing States: 1954
[Data arc estimates based on reports for only a sample of farmsl
Item
North South
Dakota 1 Dakota
Minnesota
61,808
42.171
3, 126, 185
8. 117
11. 166
12.437
in, 451
21), 032, 677
7,239
21, 155
8,724
5,053
62, 350
16.238
944. 306
4,444
4.828
4. 501
2. 465
5, 167, 435
3,163
9. 795
2,443
837
165, 324
29, 491
978,315
Number of farms reporting by acres harvested:
15,368
8,410
4, 362
1,351
.V 1-99 awes _
Production —bushels. -
Farms report Ing by number of bushels harveste 1:
8, 228, 230
7 317
100-499 bushels
500-999 bushels .
17.922
3, 362
890
THE WHITE WHEAT REGION (SUBREGION 110)
This area, located in northwestern United States (see fig. 9),
has long been known for its specialized, large-scale farming.
Even before modern tractor power was available, it was known
for its large farms and big machines pulled by large teams of
horses. It has continued to have large farms and a labor-extensive
type of farming. Although some hard winter wheat and some
hard spring wheat are grown in the western, more arid part of
subregion 110, the soft white wheat predominates. Small quan-
tities of white wheat are also grown in Michigan and New York.
THE WHITE WHEAT AREA
SUBREGION 110
Figure 9.
26
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
The soils here include several types — the Northern Chernozem,
Northern Dark Brown, and Northern Gray Desert. These are
deep silt loams developed from loessal material; they have good
moisture-retaining properties and are fertile and well suited to
wheat. The topography varies from nearly level valley to hilly
land. In much of subregion 110, rolling to hilly land predomi-
nates. Many of the slopes are so steep that special machines
have been designed to harvest the wheat. One is the self-leveling
grain combine. Crawler-type tractors are commonly used for
field work.
The variation in precipitation influences the intensity of farm-
ing. The rainfall varies from 25 inches annually to less than 10
inches. In the eastern part where the rainfall varies from 18 to
25 inches, the land is cropped each year and wheat is commonly
grown in rotation with peas or with other small grains. The line
of 18-inch rainfall is the approximate boundary of annual cropping.
To the west, in the Big Bend part of Washington and the wheat
areas of northern Oregon, where the annual rainfall is 10 to 18
inches, wheat alternates with summer fallow. Summer-fallowing
is necessary to accumulate the moisture necessary for a wheat crop.
Some fallowing is done in the area of higher rainfall (18 to 25
inches) but here the reason for fallowing is to control weeds or to
turn under heavy stubble and give it time to decompose. The
driest season occurs during the summer, and provides for ideal
harvesting. Transportation and marketing facilities are ade-
quate; both railroads and highways offer ample opportunity for
transporting the wheat to market.
The white wheat region ranks below the hard winter and hard
spring wheat regions in total wheat production as it is the smallest
of the three. In 1954, it produced 87 million bushels of wheat,
or 10 percent of all wheat in the United States. Nearly all of the
wheat is grown on commercial cash-grain farms. Only 3 percent
of the wheat was grown on other than commercial cash-grain
farms in 1954.
Size of Business
This region is characterized by a highly mechanized system of
farming. Subregion 110 exceeds any other wheat area in crop
acres per farm, gross income per farm, total investment, and
investment in machinery. Yields in 1954 were approximately
20 percent above the 5-year average. This affected the gross
income and the classification of farms by economic class in 1954,
but should not affect appreciably the relationships between
economic classes in the acreage per farm or the investment in
machinery and land and buildings.
In 1954, more than 70 percent of all cash-grain farms fell into
Economic Classes I and II while less than 2 percent were in Class
VI. The range in size of farms is exceptionally large; Class I
farms are 20 times as large in total acres as Class VI farms. Only
the Class I and Class II groups average more than one man-equiv-
alent per farm. Measures of size of farm by economic class are
shown in table 57.
Table 57. — Size of Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 110, by
Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
1
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
9,109
1,188
793
113. 412
3.005
18. 244
3.346
2.103
1,462
201, 798
4.767
25, 949
3.303
874
566
83,613
2,476
16,213
1,233
454
243
40, 576
1,626
11,994
775
325
154
27, 436
1,173
9,763
325
213
100
18, 593
793
8,176
127
110
41
Capital investment per farm:
Land and buildings, dollars. .
Livestock .-do
Machinery do
11, 747
569
6,306
Total
134, 661
1.6
232, 514
2.4
102, 304
1.4
54, 196
1. 1
38,372
1.0
27, 562
0.7
18, 622
Man-equivalent per farm.
0.7
Crop and Livestock Organization
Wheat, and summer fallow together use nearly three-fourths of
the cropland in this area (see table 58). As indicated earlier there
are important differences in the use of cropland within the area
associated with the amount of precipitation. The farms in the
eastern part of Washington and western Idaho receive more rain-
fall and are more diversified. The production of dry field peas
is an important enterprise on many of these farms. Other farmers
rotate wheat with feed grains and green manure crops. In the
remainder of the subregion, the cropping system is mainly wheat
and summer fallow with varying acreages of oats or barley. In
the more arid parts a straight wheat-summer fallow rotation is
followed.
Table 58. — Land Use on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion
110, by Economic Class of Farm; 1954
Percent
Economic class of farm
report-
ing
Total
1
11
III
IV
V
VI
9,109
1,188
793
253
31
87
18
328
368
3,346
2,103
1,462
496
43
163
34
616
615
3,303
874
566
166
31
61
12
235
286
1,233
454
243
57
18
27
8
84
175
775
325
154
30
12
16
3
47
136
325
213
100
12
10
9
2
17
71
127
Acres per farm:
All land..
100
100
87
30
77
16
84
71
110
41
Wheat:
9
3
3
1
9
53
For subregion 110 as a whole, other crops occupy a little over
one-fourth of the land. Barley is more important than oats.
The acreage of pastureland varies from farm to farm, and con-
sists largely of land not suited for cultivation. The smaller farms
have relatively less wheat and fallow and they are located mostly
in the diversified area.
The livestock system here is typical of the western wheat areas.
Many of the large wheat-fallow farms with little pasture have no
livestock. Some farmers keep a small flock of chickens, and
enough cattle to utilize the pasture and roughage. Hogs are
found on approximately 26 percent of the farms. Sheep are kept
on a relatively few farms and the average size of flock for farms
keeping sheep is much larger than indicated by data in table 59.
The low-income farmers, as a group, have very few livestock, but
this group is relatively much smaller in number in the white
wheat region than in the other wheat regions. Many of the op-
erators of the low income farms have other occupations or other
sources of income.
Table 59. — Livestock on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion
110, by Economic Class of Farm; 1954
Percent
of farms
report-
ing
Economic class of farm
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
9,109
28
1
4
4
39
1,449
3,005
3,346
46
1
5
7
37
2,344
4,767
3,303
23
1
5
2
42
1,196
2.476
1,233
15
1
3
3
48
794
1,626
775
10
2
3
2
33
447
1,173
325
7
1
1
127
Livestock, number per farm:
All cattle
72
52
26
6
64
XXX
X X X
5
1
2
27
209
793
19
Gross sales of livestock and
livestock products per
farm. dollars. .
Investment in livestock per
farm dollars. .
98
569
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
27
Labor Used
For subregion 110 as a whole, the farm operators and their
families comprise approximately GO percent, and hired workers,
40 percent of the total labor force. Unpaid family labor is less
important in this subregion than in the other major wheat regions.
(See table 60.)
Table 60. — Labor Force on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion
110, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class ot farm
Item
Tula!
1
11
III
IV
V
VI
T"t:il nuin-eiiuivalent-
1.7
.9
.2
.6
100.0
2.4
1.3
1. 1
0.9
0.7
ii 6
Operator...
Unpaid family help...
Hired
.9
.2
1.3
100. 0
.9
.1
.3
100.0
.8
.2
.1
100.0
. 7
2
100.0
.5
.2
C)
100.0
.6
C)
(■)
Operators by
All operators percent.
100.0
Under 25 years.-do.
25-34 years .do
3.5-64 years do..
66 years and over do.
1.0
17.(1
71.0
11.0
1.0
19.0
74.0
6.0
1.0
18.0
7:;.n
S II
1.0
15.0
69 o
15.0
1 0
70. 0
20.0
3.0
1.' il
61.0
24 0
" 4.0
37. 0
59.0
■ Less than " 05.
The Class I farms average 1,462 crop acres per farm, and have
a man-equivalent of 2.4 per farm. Actually several hired men
are used during the period when field operations are performed.
Many operators of farms in other economic classes have part-
time work off the farms; one-third of the operators work more
than 100 days off the farm and another 15 percent work 1 to 09
days off the farm. Approximately half of the farmers on the
smaller farms perform off-farm work.
A very small percentage of the farm operators are under 25
years of age. Compared with the other wheat regions, the per-
centage of operators under 25 years old is small and the percentage
in the 25-to-34-year group is relatively large. The percentage of
operators 05 years of age for Class VI farms is the largest for any
region. Many of the operators of these small farms may be semi-
retired.
Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
Farms here are highly mechanized. Nearly all have automo-
biles, motortrucks, and tractors. Most farmers have only one
combine, yet relatively little is spent for machine hire. Many
operators of small farms hire their combining performed. (See
table 61.)
Table 61. — Farm Mechanization and Home Conveniences
on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 110, by Economic Class
of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Number per farm:
9. 109
1.4
2.2
2.0
1. 1
93
94
96
82
4
82
96
45
92
64
3,346
1.8
3.3
2.7
1.5
98
99
99
96
5
91
98
54
97
80
3,303
1.2
1.9
1.9
1.0
95
96
97
84
4
85
96
46
94
66
1,233
1.0
1.3
1.6
. 7
S8
91
95
67
1
74
95
36
86
46
775
1.0
1.1
1.2
.6
81
88
89
62
2
64
93
22
83
38
325
1.0
1.0
1.2
.4
86
72
89
42
59
86
24
75
26
127
0 7
1 0
Percent of farms reporting:
72
Tractors
69
Field forage haryesters.
4
Piped water in home. .
75
Modern home facilities are more prevalent in the white wheal
subregion than in the other wheat subregion. This may be re-
lated to the small percentage of farmers in the low-income groups;
however, this area had power lines in rural areas at an earlier date
than most other wheat regions and this fact has probably in-
fluenced the proportion of farms with electricity. The Class VI
farms rank much higher in percentage of farmers reporting modern
home facilities than Class VI farms in other wheat regions.
Gross Farm Income
The average gross income for all cash-grain farms in the white
wheal legion was the highest for any wheat subregion, in 1954.
This would probably be true for most years, for the farms are large
and the yields are relatively high. Livestock is a very minor
source of income. More than half of the income is derived from
wheat even on farms Inning the lowest gross income (see table 62).
Table 62. — Sources of Farm Income on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 110, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
11
III
IV
V
VI
Number of farms
Sales per farm:
Wheat .dollars
Other crops do
9,109
19, 161
5.433
3, 346
37, 986
10, 174
3. 303
12. 176
3,575
1,233
4,264
1,979
775
2,028
1,250
325
1,038
604
127
411
274
All crops. do
Livestock and
livestock
products do
24.594
1,449
48, 160
2,344
15,751
1.196
6,243
795
3,278
447
1,642
209
685
98
Gross sales. -do
Percentage of gross sales
26. ill::
74
32.92
50, 504
75
34. 58
16, 947
72
30.02
7, 038
61
29. 10
3,725
54
24.33
1,851
56
18.54
783
52
Gross sales per crop
acre dollars..
20.97
Farm Expenses
Specified farm expenditures merely indicate the level of some
cost items; total cost of operation would be much higher. The total
cost of operation for these large farms is high, but the cost per acre
compares favorably with that of most other areas. Machine hire,
and gas and oil costs per acre, go up as the size of farm decreases,
but hired labor costs per acre decline with the decrease in acreage.
Total costs per acre for the specified expenses are approximately
the same for all economic classes of farms except Class VI (see
table 63).
Table 63. — Specified Farm Expenditures on Cash-Grain Farms
in Subregion 110, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Average per farm:
Machine hire. ..dollars
369
451
393
280
171
INS
132
Gas and oil do
1,199
2,039
906
549
398
285
16,9
Hired labor do
1,638
3,480
862
206
190
62
66
Commercial
fertilizer do
953
1,878
545
311
221
87
72
Feed bought... do
455
687
393
275
170
1S1
113
Total do...
4,614
8,535
3,099
1,621
1,150
803
5S2
Average per crop acre:
Machine hire, dollars
0.47
0.31
0.69
1. 15
1. 11
1.87
3 22
Gas and oil do
1.51
1.39
1.60
2.26
2.59
2.83
4. 12
Hired labor do
2.07
2.38
1.52
.85
1.24
.62
1.61
Commercial
fertilizer do
1.20
1.28
.96
1.28
1.43
.87
1.77
Total do....
5.25
5.36
4.77
5.54
6.37
6.19
in 72
28
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
Gas and oil expenditures per acre increase with the deciease in
size of farm. In other areas, gas and oil costs per acre do not vary
with size of farm. Many of the operators of large farms have un-
doubtedly invested in tractors that burn low-cost fuel, thus reduc-
ing the fuel cost per acre. Machine hire costs per acre also are
lower on the large farms than small farms. This is the opposite
of this relationship for large and small farms in other areas. For
example, in subregions 103 and 105, for Class I farms, expenditures
per acre for hired labor were higher on large than on the small farms.
Commercial fertilizer is used more extensively here than in most
other wheat subregions (see table 64). Its use was reported on
more than 74 percent of the Class I farms in 1954. Of the impor-
tant wheat-producing regions, only the Red River Valley ap-
proaches the white wheat region in percentage of farmers reporting
the use of fertilizer.
Table 64. — Use of Commercial Fertilizer on Cash-Grain
Farms in Subregion 110, by Economic Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Percent of farms using
fertilizer .
Tons used per farm
Rate of application,
pounds per acre
64.0
8.3
96
74.0
15.9
89
61.0
4.9
104
59.0
3. S
152
54. 0
2.3
146
45.0
1.3
204
28.0
1.1
326
Efficiency Levels of Farm Operation
For the year 1954, the cash-grain farmers of the white wheat
region ranked high among cash-grain farmers in all wheat sub-
regions in levels of efficiency. Gross sales per worker of $10,000
were very high and the investment per $100 gross sales was low
(see table 65). The number of crop acres per man and the invest-
ment in machinery per man-equivalent was very high. One man
can operate many acres with the large machinery used in the sub-
region. In 1954, wheat yields were 20 percent above average.
A high level of production accompanied by high prices accounts in
part for the high gross returns per farm and per worker. For
each measure of level of efficiency, there was a decline from Class
I through Class VI farms
Tabic 65. — Selected Measures of Income and Efficiency
Levels on Cash-Grain Farms in Subregion 110, by Economic
Class of Farm: 1954
Economic class of farm
Item
Total
1
II
III
IV
V
VI
Gross sales per farm
dollars..
26, OSS
50,558
16, 994
7, 071
3,742
1,862
858
Specified expenses per
farm dollars. .
4,613
8, 537
3,098
1,620
1. 150
803
581
Gross sales less specified
expenses per farm
dollars..
21, 475
42,021
13, 896
5. 451
2,592
1, 059
270
Gross sales per man-
equivalent dollars. .
16,105
21,408
12,518
6,702
3,941
2,512
1,210
Total investment per
$100 gross sales
dollars
517
460
605
774
1.037
1,531
2,327
Total investment per
man-equivalent
dollars..
84,163
96, 881
73, 074
49, 209
38, 372
39, 374
26, 603
Machlnerv investment
per man-equivalent
dollars
11,263
10, 988
11,943
11,367
10, 2S0
11,026
8,899
Machinery investment
per crop acre, .dollars . .
23
18
29
49
63
82
154
W inter wheat yield pei-
acre bushels
33
34
31
29
25
28
17
Crop acres per man-
4S9
619
417
230
162
135
RECENT CHANGES BY MAJOR WHEAT REGIONS
Some comparisons between 1954 and 1949 for hard winter,
hard spring, and white wheat regions are given in tables 66 to 68.
These are not comparisons of an identical group of farms in the
two periods as the data for each year are for those farms classified
as cash-grain farms in that particular year. The same farms may
not have been classified as cash-grain in both years.
From 1949 to 1954, the size of farm increased, the acres in
pasture increased, but the acreage in wheat decreased. The
magnitude of these changes varied between subregions and be-
tween major wheat regions. The most drastic reduction in wheat
acreage occurred in subregion 89, where the 1954 acreage was only
one-third that of 1949. In several subregions the decrease in
wheat acreage was as much as 25 percent.
Table 66. — A Comparison of Some Items for Organization,
Expenses, and Home Facilities for Cash-Grain Farms in
the Hard Winter Wheat Region: 1954 and 1949
Item
Total farms
Acres per farm:
All land
C ropland. . -
Wheat -. -.-.
Land pastured
Livestock- number per farm:
All cattle.
Milk cows
Hogs
Chickens
Expenditures per farm (dollars)
Machine hire-.. __.
Hired labor
Gas and oil.. _
Total —
Facilities—percent of farms r
porting:
Telephone.
Electricity..
Home freezer
Subregion 93
1949 1954
337
250
84
90
197
181
454
19, 859
358
25S
71
92
26
3
10
113
223
161
575
Subregion 94
1949 1954
18. 002
349
263
205
343
298
493
362
264
145
95
263
241
525
Subregion 103
1949 1954
34, 453
812
593
340
216
655
716
813
820
607
223
212
3
60
473
504
913
64
89
42
Table 67- — A Comparison of Some Items for Organization,
Expenses, and Home Facilities for Cash-Grain Farms in
the Hard Spring Wheat Region: 1954 and 1949
Item
Total farms
Acres per farm:
All land...
Cropland
Wheat
Land pastured
Livestock— number per
farm:
All cattle
Milk cows.
Hogs . . .
Chickens
Expenditures per farm
(dollars):
Machine hire
Hired labor
Gas and oil
Total
Facilities — percent of
farms reporting:
Telephone
Electricity
Home freezer
Subregion 89
1949 1954
13.033
414
358
110
34
190
580
744
13, 280
435
378
80
33
198
490
833
1,521
Subregion 90
1949 1954
052
504
212
117
192
423
764
1,379
696
535
159
125
108
322
857
1, 347
Subregion 91
1949 1954
7. 054
526
425
150
81
251
416
666
569
442
111
105
30
4
14
101
244
293
812
Subregion 105
1949
1,147
721
329
400
219
574
900
1954
1,304
769
281
512
36
4
46
386
579
1,004
1,969
30
85
52
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
29
Tabic 68. — A Comparison of Some Items for Organization,
Expenses, and Home Facilities for Cash-Grain Farms in
the White Wheat Region: 1954 and 1949
Total farms __
Acres per farm:
All land
Cropland
Wheat --
Land pastured
Livestock— number per farm:
All cattle..
Milk cows
H ops - -
Chickens
Expenditures per farm (dollars):
Machine hire
Hired labor —
Gas and oil
Total
Home facilities— percent of farms reporting
Telephone
Electricity
Home freezer
SubreRlon 110
1949
1954
8,165
9,109
1, 147
835
3H4
340
1,188
793
2S4
368
22
4
39
28
1
4
39
312
1,577
991
369
1,638
1,199
2,880
3,206
76
92
37
82
96
64
The number of cattle increased in all subregions. This was
related to the increase in acres pastured, but particularly it was
the result of increased cattle production during the period of
high cattle prices prior to 1052.
Comparable items of expense for the two Census years are
machine hire, hired labor, and gasoline and oil. The total of
these expenses per farm is nearly the same for the 2 Census years
in several subregions, but there were changes in expenditures for
individual items. Machine hire and hired labor decreased in
those areas where the wheat acreage declined significantly. How-
ever, in subregion 110 both machine hire and hired labor expenses
increased from 1949 to 1954.
The proportion of farms with telephones, electricity, and home
freezers increased in all eight subregions. Many rural communi-
ties in the Great Plains did not have electricity until after World
War II, and some electric lines were constructed after 1949.
This explains much of the increase in homes having electricity
and home freezers. The use of telephones increased slightly
during the 5-year period. Undoubtedly the use of these modern
conveniences increased as the conveniences became available to
farmers and farm families. Moreover, a part of the increase
resulted from the relatively good incomes received by farmers in
some years.
SOFT RED WINTER WHEAT
In the soft winter wheat area, other enterprises are more im-
portant than wheat on most farms. Here, few farms are classified
as wheat farms, but the total wheat production is second only to
that of the hard winter wheat region. The total soft red winter
wheat production in 1954 was approximately 200 million bushels,
or one-fifth of the United States total.
The soft red winter wheat belt extends from Missouri to Penn-
sylvania. It includes most of the wheat-growing area in the
eastern half of the United States. The heaviest wheat production
in this wide reach of country occurs in the southern part of the
Corn Belt, although wheat is grown in nearly all of the States.
Tin- soft winter wheat region receives 35 to 50 inches of rainfall
and most of this falls during the growing season. The prevailing
high precipitation and humidity produce a soft kernel, relatively
low in protein. The winters are seldom so severe as to kill the
crop. High summer temperatures usually do not occur until the
wheat has matured.
The soils vary greatly, but most of the wheat is grown on deep,
fertile soils. The topography varies from level to rolling, with
rather steep slopes. Wheat is grown in rather small acreages per
farm, in rotation with other crops. The wheat machinery is
usually smaller than that used on the Great Plains. The smaller
sizes of machines are due more to the smaller acreages of wheat
per farm than to limitations imposed by the rolling topography.
Approximately 80 percent of the total soft red winter wheat is
produced in the Corn Belt States and Pennsylvania. Though a
relatively minor crop, the production of wheat has persisted here
for many decades. Farmers have found it profitable to include
wheat in their diversified type of farming. The relationships of
wheat to other enterprises and to the efficient use of resources are
the chief reasons for its continued production in this area.
Cropping conditions vary. Wheat is commonly grown on
farms that also produce corn, hay, pasture crops, and frequently
some oats, barley, or soybeans. Wheat fits into a rotation with
such crops.
Sometimes the wheat is seeded after soybeans have been
harvested on the same land or after corn has been cut for ensilage.
Wheat may follow oats or bailey as these crops mature in ample
time for the sowing of winter wheat afterwards. In some cases,
wheal is seeded as a companion or nurse crop for grass and legume
seedings as wheat brings in some income while the hay or pasture
crop is becoming established. Where wheat follows row crops,
only one or two light tillage operations are necessary in making
the seedbed as the land has been tilled during the early summer.
Here, wheat contributes to a more efficient use of the farmer's
resources. Power units, field machinery, and man-labor can be
used for wheat at a time when the other demands for machinery
and labor are relatively low. Preparing the seedbed and seeding
of winter wheat come between the last corn cultivation and corn
harvest. Wheat harvesting may conflict with hay harvesting
and with the cultivation of corn and soybeans; but with modern
machinery, a small acreage of wheat can be harvested in a very
short time. Many farmers have combines for harvesting other
small grains and soybeans or they custom-hire their combining
so no additional machinery is required for wheat.
Wheat is a desirable crop to many farmers because it brings in
some cash at a time when they have few other products to sell and
at a time when operating expenses are high. The winter wheat
may contribute to the livestock enterprise by furnishing some
pasture in the fall and early spring. Some of the wheat is fed.
especially to poultry. Wheat straw provides a common source of
bedding for livestock.
It is doubtful that wheat is more profitable on an acre basis
than other crops, especially corn. It is grown because of its com-
plementary relationship to other enterprises and because of the
relatively small increase in cash costs required for its production.
The more extensive use of labor and equipment reduces the cost
per unit of work. Through its contribution to other enterprises
and the increased efficiency in the use of resources, wheat increases
the net returns for the entire farm operation. Wheat will un-
doubtedly continue to be grown in this area more widely known
for its corn, soybeans, and livestock feeding.
30
FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCTION
More than 300,000 farmers grow some wheat in the five major
soft red winter wheat States (see table 69) . The acreage per farm
is small. More than one-fourth of the producers had less than 10
acres in wheat in 1954; and less than 1 percent had 100 acres or
more. The fact that wheat is typically a small enterprise is even
more clearly illustrated by the number of farmers reporting the
quantity of wheat sold. Seventy-six percent of the producers sold
less than 1,000 bushels while less than 1 percent sold 3,000 bushels
or more.
Table 69. — Wheat Production in Selected States in the
Soft Red Winter Wheat Area: 1954
[Data arc estimates based on reports for only a sample of farms]
Item
Number of farms reporting
Acreage (1,000 acres).
Average acreage per farm:
Production (1,000 bush-
els)
Yield per acre (bushels)
Value of crop (1 .000 dol-
lars)
Number of farms report-
ing by acres harvested :
X'nder 10 acres
10-24 acres
25-49 acres...
50-99 acres
100-199 acres
200 acres and over
Number of farms report-
ing bushels sold:
Under too bushels
100-499 bushels
500-999 bushels
1,000-1,499 bushels..
1,500-1,999 bushels
2,000-2,999 bushels
3,000-4,999 bushels
5,000-9,999 bushels
10,000 bushels and over-
Total for
selected
States
336, 894
6,342
181, 309
29
95, 928
163, 241
59, 112
15, 803
2,212
17,506
169, 819
68, 849
22, 186
8,001
5,179
1,967
533
54
Missouri
50, 309
1,156
32, 455
28
66, 532
9,074
26,917
9,801
3,695
698
124
2,101
25, 499
11,045
3,990
1,773
1,256
538
167
22
Illinois
60,137
1,532
46, 241
30
7,131
30, 337
16.516
5.324
750
79
1, 626
25. 942
17, 389
6,940
2,759
2,068
784
212
17
64,;
1,5
38, 779
30
12,923
35, 278
13, 243
2,974
329
43
2, 006
34, 127
16, 395
5,404
1,864
956
355
81
Ohi.
99, 354
1,704
45,417
27
31.177
48,501
16,046
3.217
380
33
6,155
54,911
18, 637
4,832
1,350
766
250
53
Pennsyl-
vania
62, 004
661
18.417
28
35, 913
35, 623
22, 208
3,506
593
55
19
5.558
29. 340
5,383
1,020
255
133
40
20
2
WHEAT PRODUCTION IN OTHER WESTERN
REGIONS
The heaviest concentration of wheat production is found in
those regions that have been described as the major wheat regions.
Much of the remainder of the Great Plains and the Rocky Moun-
tains area has been classed as the range livestock region where
livestock provides the major source of income. However, scat-
tered through this vast region are localities in which considerable
wheat is grown. In these subregions there were 27,000 cash-grain
farmers, in 1954, that produced more than 67 million bushels of
wheat. Data regarding these subregions are given below for 1954.
Subregion
Number of
cash -grain
farms
Acres of
wheat
Bushels
produced
101
7, 257
3,332
6,902
3,969
5,757
1,000
1,117
673
1,217
385
637
1,000
104
9,056
106
109..
8.816
13. 291
112
Total
27, 217
4,029
In addition to that produced by these wheat farmers, a large
quantity of wheat is grown by ranchers who combine stock-
ranching with wheat farming. Most of these have been classified
as livestock farms because livestock is their most important source
of sales.
Wheat is grown in these areas under a variety of production
conditions. Much of it is grown in dry-land areas where summer-
fallowing is necessary. Some is grown in high mountain valleys
and some on irrigated farms, particularly in Idaho and California,
in rotation with other crops. The average yield in 1954 was 17
bushels which compares favorably with the yields in the major
wheat regions.
SOME PRODUCTION PROBLEMS OF WHEAT
FARMERS
Some of the production problems which specialized wheat
farmers are facing merit more specific consideration in a review
of the wheat industry.
Wheat farms in the major regions are large in comparison with
other types of farms. But many wheat growers still face the
problem of acquiring control of sufficient resources to make a
satisfactory living. Continuous improvement in labor-saving
equipment enables each worker to take care of more acres of wheat-
land from year to year; therefore, more and more acres of cropland
per worker are required if modern machinery is to be used
efficiently. There has been a gradual increase in size of wheat
farms. This increase is indicated for typical counties in the
wheat areas in table 70.
Table 70. — Changes in Size of Farms in Counties Which are
Typical of the Various Wheat Regions: 1910-1954
Countv, State, and subregion
Average size of farm (acres)
1910
1920
1930
1940
1915
1950
1954
252
326
460
182
229
321
(')
566
255
387
442
196
234
500
480
715
247
434
441
202
249
594
600
906
261
454
458
231
248
866
706
1,038
276
547
503
256
251
1,148
905
1,225
302
604
525
279
305
1,175
1,048
1,335
325
Ward, N. Dak.— (subregion 90) ..
650
580
311
Saline, Kans. — (subregion 94)
Kit Carson, Colo.— (subregion 103)
374
1,267
1,092
Lincoln, Wash. — (subregion 110)
1,447
1 Not organized until 1913.
The wheat-pea farms of Washington and Idaho serve as an
example of the growing problem of acquiring sufficient capital.3
Changes in size of farm, value of real estate, and working capital
from 1935 to 1953 were as follows:
Item
Acres per farm number.
Value of real estate dollars.
Working capital dollars-
Total investment dollars.
1935
22, 173
3.934
26. 107
1940
29, 057
6,912
35, 969
1945
51, 162
13, 379
64,541
1950
89, 759
17, 847
107, 606
1953
111,616
23, 729
A part of the change in dollar investment was due to change in
price level. Changes have been somewhat more rapid in this
wheat-pea area than in some other wheat areas during the last 20
years, but somewhat similar increases can be noted in other
regions.
High capital requirements represent a serious problem to many
farmers. This is especially true of a beginning farmer. Even
though he starts as a tenant, the large amount of working capital
required to operate an efficient unit is difficult to acquire. If the
young farmer starts with little capital on a relatively small farm
his net income may not be enough to accumulate the capital needed
for the essential operation of a more efficient unit. All of his
income is likely to be needed to pay family living and operating
expenses.
' Hurd, Edgar B., "Wheat-Pea Farming in Washington and Idaho, 1935-53." Circular No. 954. U. S. D. A.. Washington, D. C.
WHEAT PRODUCERS AND WHEAT PRODUCTION
31
A related problem facing wheat and other farmers is in making
the adjustments to the rapid changes in modern technology.
Obtaining proper adjustment in mechanization and size of farms
is often difficult. As farmers attempt to increase the size of their
farm, land becomes difficult to acquire. Thus, many farmers con-
tinue to find themselves either operating their land with inefficient
equipment or having the modern machinery but being unable to
operate efficiently for a lack of sufficient land.
The continual increase in the average size of farms in the wheat
areas does not appear to indicate an end to family farms or t hat the
land is rapidly falling into corporate hands. It is an indication
that, with modern equipment, the farm family finds it can operate
a much larger acreage than was formerly possible. But the
decrease in number of families on the land does have economic and
social implications for individuals and the community and it
means much larger investments in the farm business and fewer
families to support local government, local schools, churches, roads,
recreational facilities, and community activities. But more
prosperous families, though fewer, may mean eventually a more
satisfactory community situation than is formed among a larger
number of families having very low incomes.
The seasonality of labor requirements is another problem of
specialized wheat producers in that most of the work on wheat
farms comes during a four to six months period. In many parts
of the wheat regions where annual rainfall is 20 inches or less, the
opportunities for diversification are limited. Wheat has a decided
advantage over other crops and farm operators find their highest
returns in specialized wheat production. This does not permit
full use of family labor and equipment on a yearly basis. Seasonal
labor requirements for a typical wheat farm are as follows:
Monthly Percentage Distribution of Labor Required for Wheat
Production '
>,
.c
Region
rt
3
.a
3
&
d
0
3
d
7,
0,
a
3
>-s
>.
3
>->
be
3
<
CO
O
>
a
Hard winter wheat— Okla-
4
9
is
21
?,
24
33
24
26
12
111
X
IS
Soft winter wheat— Illinois- ..
2
2
2
7
31
20
26
7
2
i
2
11
6
6
28
15
14
13
5
! Hecht, Reuben W. — Farm Labor Requirements in the United States. 1947— Spe-
cial report by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics 17. S. D. A.
Table 71- — Annual Precipitation (Inches of Rainfall) at
Representative Weather Stations in the Great Plains
Wheat Area: 1931-52
Year
Wood-
ward,
Okla.
Colby.
Kans.
Dal ton,
Xehr.
Aberdeen,
S. Dak.
Dickinson,
N. Dak.
Bank,
Mont.
Moro,
Oreg.
1931..
1932
1933
1934
1935..-
1936
1937
1938
1939..
1940
1941
1942.
1943
1944
1945 .
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951...
1952
Average
30
29
17
24
21
18
20
30
20
23
46
26
21
33
22
27
24
26
28
31
24
15
25
16
15
18
9
13
12
15
18
15
16
31
21
14
29
20
28
17
20
27
16
23
14
18
13
13
18
12
20
11
13
22
10
10
22
25
14
19
23
15
211
13
19
IS
22
17
17
19
20
13
15
24
14
25
17
22
16
21
28
22
28
19
22
21
15
20
18
19
14
2(1
16
17
12
8
15
10
17
16
17
31
20
15
20
12
14
17
16
11
15
17
12
16
9
14
9
12
5
12
11
14
8
13
11
13
10
8
12
14
13
16
10
9
17
8
11
12
11
11
10
10
15
11
8
15
13
16
13
8
13
8
14
16
16
14
10
12
Source: Climatic Summary of United States —United States Weather Bureau.
Wheat production in the Great Plains area is often regarded as a
high risk enterprise. The variability in climatic conditions together
with insects and diseases results in considerable variation from
year to year in wheat production and farm income.
The climatic hazards facing the farmer in this region are illus-
trated by the variation in annual rainfall (see table 71]. The year-
to-year variations may exceed 10(1 percent. Much of the Great
Plains is also a high hail risk area. The hazards of crop failure are
particularly serious to the farmer who is in debt and has no
financial reserves. Added to this crop uncertainty is the high cash
cost of operation.
In contrast to conditions of a few decades ago, farmers now
have much higher costs for machinery upkeep; he buys all the fuel
he needs for power; he spends much more for insect, disease, and
weed control; he faces much higher cash living costs and in some
areas, spends more for commercial fertilizer. The following data
from the Agricultural Research Service studies 4 indicates the
increase in total cash farm expenditures per farm:
Type of farm 1937-411947-49 1954
Wheat, corn, livestock farms, Northern
(ireat Plains $1,431 $4, 330 $4, 457
Wheat, small grain, livestock farms,
Northern Great Plains.. 1, 614 5, 104 5, 129
Wheat, roughage, livestock farms,
Northern Great Plains 1 , 306 4, 363 4, 829
Winter wheat farms, Oklahoma and
Kansas 1,839 4. 493 4.90.",
Wheat-pea farms, Washington and
Idaho 3,484 7,117 9,159
The lack of alternatives is a major problem to many wheat
farmers. In many areas they cannot easily shift to other crops or
increase livestock whenever conditions seem unfavorable for
wheat. Many wheat producers in the Great Plains, however, do
combine wheat and livestock production. Through much of this
wheat region there is land that is not suitable for cultivation. It
can be utilized only by grazing. Consequently, the farmers may
keep sufficient livestock to make use of the feed available. This
type of farm organization helps to improve the efficiency in use
of labor and equipment-
Many have suggested putting much of the Great Plains wheat-
land back into grass and using it for livestock production. But
farmers who are willing to seed the land back to grass and go into
livestock production have important questions to consider. The
high investment required for putting land into grass is a deterrent.
Establishing grass in the low rainfall areas is difficult, especially
since farmers are likely to consider shifts to grass only when
conditions are dry and wheat yields are low. Such conditions are
not favorable for establishing grass and obtaining a living from
livestock. Often the grass seedings fail entirely; or, when the
establishment of grass is partially successful, several years are
required to produce sufficient feed for livestock production.
Under such conditions, the waiting for income from livestock pro-
duction and the risks involved give rise to important problems to
many farmers.
These are some of the production problems wheal farmers face.
The fact that in its original state land in the Great Plains was
better suited to gra/.ing than to farming does not necessarily pro-
vide the answer to the farmer who has such land which has been
broken out in a period when wheat was very profitable. And the
fact that a man could operate a farm and get ahead financially in
the past even though he had little capital to work with, offers little
promise to the farmer who is producing wheat in this age of highly
mechanized farming.
'Farm Costs anil Returns on Commercially Operated Farms Agriculture Infor-
mation Bulletin 158. ARS U. S. D. A— 1956.
U. 5. G0VERNMFNT PRINTING OFFICE 195)
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