1. Farming Trouble in the US’s 1920s Economic BOOM

2. During the First World War US farmers had made record profits
because they supplied Britain and France with food.

3. but afterwards countries returned to growing their own.
US agriculture had expanded during the First World War to sell food to Europe,
but afterwards countries returned to
growing their own.
The expansion led to over-production
and in peacetime there was
too much food on the market.
To sell their produce farmers
had to lower their priccs.
SURPLUS = LOWER PRICES

4. So the US’s agricultural economy of the 1920s
experienced on-going depression
rather than vigor and expansion.

5. to keep their farms going.
Debt became an increasing issue for farmers
because they had to borrow from banks
to keep their farms going.
Farmers mortgaged their farms.
Between 1920 and 1932.
1 in 4 farms was sold
to meet financial obligations.
With 1/5th of the American
population making their living
on the land, rural poverty was widespread.
More than 600,000 farmers went bankrupt.
(remember, this is before
the Great Depression!)

6. The farmers’ situation was made worse
Remember TARIFFS?
The farmers’ situation was made worse
by the government policy on tariffs.
TARIFFS made foreign imports very expensive (and so Americans didn’t buy them).
And because Americans did not buy their goods,
foreigners had less money
to spend on US exports (produce)
European countries couldn’t buy from the USA, because the USA wasn’t buying from them!

7. competition from Canada, also a new country, and one which produced
American farmers had
competition from Canada,
also a new country,
and one which produced
large amounts of wheat.
Wheat is the staple grain of
of Europe and the USA (we make breads and pasta from it). The staple grain in Mexico is corn, and in Asia it’s rice
The new Prohibition of Alcohol laws
hit the another grain crop: barley
(needed for the production of beer and spirits).

8. Dust storms began which destroyed land.
The worst conditions for farmers were in the South,
where farming was the main industry and most
were dependent upon one crop, such as cotton.
But the price of cotton crashed
as man-made fibers became available.
Dust storms began which destroyed land.
In many places farm labourers
were earning 1/3 the wage of industrial workers
(and they were making a poor wage!).

9. “a vicious cycle” So, farmers did not join the cycle of prosperity –
they could not afford the new consumer goods,
and thus they did not add
to the growth of other industries and businesses.