The average production of wheat In Iowa for the five-year period 1911 to 1915, inclusive, was 14,834,950 bushels per year. In 1916 and 1917 the yield was 6,732,000 and 5,597,000 bushels. The state is therefore more than an entire crop behind at the present time, a serious shortage for one state to be responsible for when wheat may win or lose the war.

The dry weather In the late summer and fall of 1917 made the sowing of winter wheat so difficult that little over 200,000 acres was sown, less than halt of a normal acreage. In many sections of the state severe winter conditions have made the production from this acreage decidedly doubtful. It the best of weather conditions prevail from now until· harvest we may not expect more than an average yield of 20.9 bu. per acre. This will give 4,226,068 bu. of winter wheat whereas Iowa normally produces over 10,000,000 bu.

In Iowa three destructive corn diseases attack the seed, namely, Dfplc·dfa dry rot, Baslsporlum dry rot and Gibberella dry rot. These dry rots are best known on the ear, but also may attack any part of the plant, lncluding the seed and seedling. The Injury to the seed and to the subsequent yield has been measured during the last six years in 25 counties and found to average 5 bushels per acre. These dry rot organisms llve over on the old stubble In the soil and on the seed and attack the next season's crop.

The farmer who Is short of corn may well sow a field of barley in April for hog feed in July and August. Barley, the first of all spring crops to mature, is ready to harvest early in July and will offer relief from feed shortage at least sixty days before the next corn crop is ready. This early maturity makes it available for hog feed just when the pastures are beginning to fail and the shortage of feed is most stringent.

Iowa has never grown a large acreage of barley in proportion to that of oats in spite of the somewhat higher acre value of the barley crop either for feed or for market. The acreage of oats has steadily increased thruout the last 25 years, while that of barley-originally small-has gradually decreased. But as the low acre value of oats has become relatively lower, with the replacement during the past 12 years by motor power of more than one-third of all the horses in cities and on farms, farmers in increasing numbers are becoming interested in crops which may advantageously replace a part of the present large oat acreage. Apparently barley is the most promising one available for this purpose.