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drought and depression
during the early 1930s there was a drought and a depression witch took a toll on ag. -
dust bowl
During the first half of the 1930s much of the nation faced devastating drought. Numerous dust storms swept away valuable layers of topsoil across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. These dust storms were made worse by the practice of plowing fields and leaving the soil exposed before planting in the spring -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
when Roosevelt was running for president many thought that he would bring change to the farmers and people suffering from the depression. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Despite the opposition, President Roosevelt quickly signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. It brought immediate change. The Act provided for crop reduction through plow ups (paying farmers not to plant) and slaughtering millions of pigs. For example, under the first cotton contracts, growers agreed to plow up twenty-five to fifty percent of their crop before harvest, in exchange for cash payments. -
Soil Conservation Act
the Soil Conservation Act was passed right after the dust bowl to help the problem of soil erosion. -
War Clouds with a Silver Lining
In 1939 the growing clouds of war worldwide caused trouble for American farmers. United States agriculture braced for the unknown as foreign markets closed and surpluses surged higher than ever. Although some expected an economic boom, farmers were asked to produce only what was needed at home. However, the situation quickly deteriorated in Europe and elsewhere. America’s allies needed help—in massive quantities. -
inventions during the war
USDA scientists also developed better methods of food dehydration in order to supply the troops with nutritious food. They developed dehydrated or “instant” potatoes, new techniques for drying milk, “powdered” eggs, and processes for combining various dried vegetables and meats into prepackaged soups and stews. -
Conserve and Grow for War
in early 1941 the farmers were told to produce more before going in to war and were also told to conserve. -
1944 G.I. Bill and Land Grant Colleges
As the world entered the post-war recovery period, agricultural improvements continued with new research in plant and animal science, human nutrition, soil conservation, and research into new food and agricultural products. When Congress passed the G.I. Bill in 1944, providing Veterans with educational and other benefits, enrollment in land grant colleges soared. -
post war farming
As World War II ended, thoughtful preparation was required to prevent the return of agriculture to pre-war Depression conditions. Four million acres of crops were plowed up in an attempt to stablize prices, and a peacetime economy was formed. -
the marshall plan
In 1948 the United States Congress passed the Marshall Plan to meet this need, and American farmers carried on with their important work. -
early farm bills
Two agricultural acts were passed by the United States government at the end of this era. One being the Agricultural Act of 1948 and the second being the Agricultural Act of 1949. Each law set-up a framework to guide the work of agriculture in the United States.