Barley yields in Iowa are higher than those for oats, but in spite of this 15 times more acres are sown to oats than to barley. During the 10 year period, 1925-34, the farms of Iowa produced average acre yields of 1,007 pounds of oats on 6,000,000 acres and 1,238 pounds of barley on 460,000 acres. Figure 1, presenting data from the Iowa Year Book of Agriculture, shows the relative acreage and acre yields of the two crops from 1900 to 1934. In order that a direct comparison may readily be made, the yields of barley have been converted into units of 32 pounds, corresponding to a standard bushel of oats.

These data indicate that while the spread between the yields of the two crops was somewhat greater during the 10 year period, 1920-29, than during the preceding decade, the same general relation, in both yield and acreage, has existed for more than 30 years.