FACTORS AFFECTING YIELDS OF WINTER WHEAT GRAIN
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. H. Finnell? During the war years of the forties, grazing of winter wheat became an importantsource of cash revenue to wheat farmers. Whether grazing reduced grain yield, and if sohow much, was of interest to farmers. Some operators tried the practices of heavierrates and/or earlier dates of seeding than were common for grain production to increasepasturage. This study of data from pastured fields surveyed in cooperative research of the(U. S.) Soil Conservation Service and the State experiment stations of Colorado, Kansas,New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas has been made through the aid of Oklahoma Agricul-tural Experiment Station's Statistical Laboratory facilities. It consists of two approachesto the question of the effect of grazing on grain yield. The extent of possible grazing wasjudged by the yield of pasturage cut in the tests. Also, an analysis was made of otherfactors that might relate to pasturage and grain yield. The area of study consists of parts of the southern Great Plains where grazing ofwinter wheat was a common practice during the period of record, 1946-51. It includesthe Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, anda few Soil Conservation Districts in the fiveStates immediately adjoining the Panhandle High Plains. This area is part of the exten-sive ranching territory of the Southwest.
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