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438

NEBRASKA BLUE BOOK, 1920

AGRICULTURE

     In 1858, for the first time, the supply of grain grown in the territory of Nebraska exceeded the local demand. Sixty years later Nebraska ranked second of the states of the United States in the production of wheat, third in the production of corn, and fourth in the value of cattle raised. At present nearly four-fifths of the total land area is in farms and of that 40.6 per cent in 1910, was reported to be improved farm land. Since 1910 many acres, formerly considered arid, have been reclaimed by irrigation. Besides the wheat and corn crops Nebraska ranks well in the production of alfalfa which has been grown in the state during the last twenty-five years only. There are more than one million acres in alfalfa at present, averaging over three tons to the acre. Hay forms no inconsiderable part of the agricultural output, the yield being about three million tons annually. Most of this is natural wild hay. 100,000 acres of Nebraska land are being used for the potato crop, producing in 1919, 55.1 bushels to the acre. Rye, buckwheat, and flaxseed are also raised in quite appreciable amounts. Recently the cultivation of sugar beets, especially in the irrigated section, has become a factor in agriculture in western Nebraska. In 1919 the Nebraska yield totaled $577,833.

     The adjunct of agriculture, stock raising, is scarcely less important than grain production. Not only the sale of stock for shipping, but also the dairy industry make up a large part of the wealth of the state. It is estimated that 65,000,000 pounds of butter are produced in Nebraska annually.

     The following tables show the value and number of live stock in Nebraska for the last ten years and also the production of grain for the same period.

NEBRASKA BLUE BOOK, 1920

439

NUMBER AND VALUE OF LIVE STOCK IN NEBRASKA, 1907-1919.¹

Years	Horses		Mules		Cattle		Hogs		Sheep
1907	798,705	$61,267,395	58,974	$5,760,015	2,799,573	$56,514,380	2,435,351	$18,693,195	301,974	$1,147,025
1908	844,080	59,418,910	70,493	6,297,305	2.649.617	51,293,705	2,329,947	13,805,245	316,754	1,060,655
19W	862,327	64,540,590	80,301	7,509,480	2,619,730	52,751,625	1,780,683	13,271,655	261,696	882,170
1910	906,116	74,566,175	87,429	8,578,300	2,475,639	52,696,290	1,680,460	18,084,400	257,004	1,061,795
1911	918,240	69,534,025	91,137	8,483,930	2,229,976	50,311,890	1,979,784	15,378,045	383,602	1,184,315
1912	924,756	67,593,525	91,690	8,264,960	2,000,374	45,479,570	1,918,630	15,310,135	281,970	900,725
1913	920,081	67,361,050	95,590	8,783,845	1 ,940,432	57,136,825	1,754,601	18,384,835	284,709	1,209,700
1914	918,619	93,680,941	96,574	11,014,633	2,089,610	93,464,214	1,467,936	17,908,831	267,135	1,269,145
1915	903,973	91,301,273	105,381	11,486,529	2 ,312,206	102,778,620	1,722,662	25,839,930	151,742	910,452
1916	899,696	89,996,900	113,913	11,960,865	2,443,760	106,798,200	1,542,303	30,846,060	182,429	1,277,003
1917	892,868	89,286,800	111,417	12,255,870	2,732,423	171,578,896	1,619,411	48,582,330	217,783	2,177,830
1918	910,079	81,907,110	102,192	10,219,200	2,904,875	213,943,510	2,038,236	61,147,080	278,821	3,345,852
1919	942,561	58,297,503	94,289	8,241,472	2,673,993	124,806,234	1,806,856	42,715,495	218,9582	1,223,9022

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     ¹The statistics are furnished by the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture.
     ²This figure includes goats also.

440

NEBRASKA BLUE BOOK, 1920

NUMBER OF MECHANICAL APPLIANCES ON FARMS IN NEBRASKA,

     The pronounced decrease in production in 1917 was due to a widespred crop failure.

© 2001 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller