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The first Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s "new deal." The act led to a reduction in crop surpluses and higher prices for agricultural products. The price supports paid directly to farmers and ranchers for crop reductions under the act and the extra revenue generated by higher prices caused a fifty percent increase in farm income. This eased the burden of the depression on rural America.
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During the war, the farm labor shortage became serious across the Great Plains. Farmers could not compete with defense industry wages, and the military took away many of their sons and hired hands.
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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. Americas allies needed help in massive quantities.
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In 1948 the United States Congress passed the Marshall Plan to meet this need, and American farmers carried on with their important work. Former USDA Secretary Henry A. Wallace had once said that the U.S. has a "moral responsibility to feed the hungry people of the world." The United States sent millions of tons of food abroad to prevent mass famine in the years after the war. Under the Marshall Plan livestock, seed, fertilizer and farm machinery were also sent overseas
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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.
