 Economic Cycles
|
1920-21
Sharp postwar recession
1922-29
Speculative boom |
Farm Economy
|
1920s
Agricultural surpluses become the chief agricultural issue
1920
Collapse of agricultural prices
1921-40
Long-term agricultural depression |
Farmers & the Land
|
1920
Total population: 105,710,620;
farm population: 31,614,269; farmers 27% of labor force; Number of
farms: 6,454,000; average acres: 148
1924
Immigration Act greatly reduces number of new immigrants |
Farm Machinery & Technology
|
1920-29
Commercial fertilizer use:
6,845,800 tons/year
1920-40
Farm production gradually grows from expanded use of mechanized power
1926
Cotton-stripper developed for High Plains; successful light tractors
developed
1928
Otto Rohwedder introduced his bread-slicing machine |
Crops & Livestock
|
1926
Ceres wheat distributed; first hybrid-seed corn company organized;
Targhee sheep developed |
Transportation
|
1920s
Truckers begin to capture trade in perishables and dairy products
1921
Federal Government gives more aid for farm-to-market roads
1925
Hoch-Smith Resolution requires the Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) to consider agricultural conditions in setting railroad rates |
Agricultural Trade & Development
|
1920-29
Agricultural exports: $1.94
billion/year or 42% of total exports
1921-22
Tariff acts raise rates for agricultural and other imports |
Life on the Farm
|
1920s
Movie houses become common in rural areas
1921
Radio broadcasts begin |
Farm Organizations & Movements
|
1920s
Farm organization set up strong lobbies in Washington
1920-32
Cooperative movement spreads
1922
Capper-Volstead Act gives cooperatives legal standing
1925
Beginning of the Master Farmer movement
1929
National Council of Farmers Cooperatives organized |
Agricultural Education & Extension
|
1920
31,000 students enrolled in
agricultural courses
1924
Clark-McNary Act provides for forestry extension work
1925
Purnell Act provides for economic and sociological research to be
carried out by the experiment stations
1925-45
Basic research done in land-grant colleges lays groundwork for second
agricultural revolution
1928
Future Farmers of America founded |
Government Programs & Policy
|
1914
Cotton Futures Act
1916
Federal Farm Loan Act
1917
Food Control and Production Acts |
|
