Agriculture
Before the Great Depression
During World War One, farmers worked to produce record amounts of crops and livestock’s to keep American troops well fed. US farmers had harvested more than 50 million acres of wheat and earned about $0.79 per bushel for the crop [4]. During the war, Food Administer Herbert Hoover strongly urged farmers to continue producing large amounts of crops in en effort to increase productivity during World War One. Many farmers had to borrow money from banks in order to keep up with Hoover’s demands, using the money to buy more acres of land and machinery. Farmer’s mortgages had at least doubled during 1910 to 1920, jumping from $3.3 billion to $6.7 billion [5]. At the end of World War One, farmers had harvested over 75.7 million acres of wheat, selling the product for $2.19 per bushel. However once the war ended, the price of the bushel dropped to $0.92 [5]. Farmers were trying to produce more crops in order to pay off their debts, taxes, and living expenses. The more heavily in debt farmers couldn't make payments because of the amount of acres and machinery that they had previously bought[5].
The Great Depression
Once the stock market crashed, banks were calling in people who haven’t paid off their loans. The major contributors of unpaid loans were of course the farmers. About over 750,000 farms were lost in 1930 to 1935 due to either bankruptcy or foreclosure due to the prices for crops dropping so low [5]. Bushels for corn had been sold for $0.08 or $0.10 [5]. Many poor families who could not afford coal had bought corn instead due to the cheapness and abundance of the crop [4]. Midwest farmers suffered the most compared to eastern farmed. The Dust Bowl, a period of severe dust storms, had greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the Midwest. The land was caught in a severe drought making it impossible to plant and crops due to the dry and eroded soil. Crops that did survive the dry soil were killed off by either poor management of the crops or because the crops brunt off in the end [5].
Farmers vs. City and Town Dwellers
During the Great Depression, despite being in deep debt, farmers were doing better off then many city and town dwellers. Farmers could grow their own vegetables and had large orchards as a food supply. They also had dairy cattle for milk, cream, butter, etc. and chickens for a supply of fresh eggs and meat. Some farms wives had come up with the idea of using flour sacks and food sacks for clothing [5]. City and town dwellers however had no way of providing a supply of food, causing many to starve. In the larger cities, soup kitchens were opened up to provide free food for the poor [4].
The New Deal
President Roosevelt’s advisors believed that the economic depression was in correlation to the economic slowdown of agriculture. Several agencies were created that were intended to help out farmers, including an impact of other New Deal programs. Some programs were the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), Resettlement Administration (RA), Rural Electrification Administration (REA), etc [6]. Each program was designed in an attempt to help farmers with their working conditions, debt, and surplus of food. One of the major programs that were created at the time was the AAA.
4. Morain, Tom. Iowa Public Television, "The Great Depression Hits Farms and Cities in the 1930s." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 18, 2013. http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000064.
5. Moore, Sam. Farm Collector, "U.S Farmers During the Great Depression." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 24, 2013. http://www.farmcollector.com/farm-life/u-s-farmers-during-great-depression.aspx
6. Ganzel, Bill. Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, "New Deal Farm Laws." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 24, 2013. http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_10.html.
5. Moore, Sam. Farm Collector, "U.S Farmers During the Great Depression." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 24, 2013. http://www.farmcollector.com/farm-life/u-s-farmers-during-great-depression.aspx
6. Ganzel, Bill. Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, "New Deal Farm Laws." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 24, 2013. http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_10.html.