Description
Book SynopsisThe Great Depression of the 1930s nearly brought the agricultural community to a standstill. As markets went into an economic freefall, farmers who had suffered through a post–World War I economic depression in the 1920s would now struggle to produce crops, livestock, and other commodities that could return more than the cost to produce them.
In Indiana, the county agents of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service saw this desperation firsthand. As they looked into the worried faces of the people they were asked to assist, the trust they had worked to build in their communities during the previous two decades would be put to the test. Throughout the painful years of the Great Depression, the county agents would stand side by side with Hoosier farmers, relying on science-based advice and proven strategies to help them produce more bushels per acre, more pigs per litter, more gallons of milk per cow, and more eggs per chicken.
Then, as the decade drew to a close, the start of World War II in Europe soon placed farmers on the frontlines at home, producing the agricultural commodities needed in the United States and in war-torn locations abroad. The federal government quickly called on county agents to push farmers to meet historic production quotas—not an easy task with farm machinery, tires, and fuel rationed, and a severe labor shortage resulting from farm workers being drafted for military service or opting for higher-paying jobs in factories.
Using the observations and reports of county agents, Planting the Seeds of Hope offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to live through these historic events in rural Indiana. The agents' own words and numerous accompanying photographs provide a one-of-a-kind perspective that brings their stories and those of the agricultural community they served to life at a pivotal time in American history.
Table of Contents
- Part 1: Pioneering a New Field of Work (1887–1928)
- 1 Neither the Agent nor His Farmer-Constituents Knew Very Much About What to Expect of One Another
- Part 2: Outlasting the Great Depression (1929–1939)
- 2 The Shattering, Sledge Hammer Economic Blows of the Depression
- 3 Building Support Through Advisory Boards
- 4 Does the County Agent Do Anybody or Group of Farmers Any Good or Justify His Expense?
- 5 Live Out of the Garden, the Smoke House, and Cellar
- 6 Cash Is the One Article That Is Scarcest and Hardest to Get
- 7 The Man With the High-Producing Soil, Hen, Cow, and Sow That Kept Operating Expense Down Was Able to Return a Profit
- 8 Farmers Hanging On by a Mere Thread Reached Out for Benefit Payments to Save Their Farms
- Photographs
- 9 Conservation of Soil Is the Solution on Which Will Hang Future Extension Activities
- 10 Erosion Is One of the Major Problems Which Must Be Faced
- 11 Land Use Planning Not Altogether a New Idea
- 12 Extension Work Interrupted by Extreme Droughts and Flood
- 13 There Is Convenience and Satisfaction of Flipping a Switch and Getting Light
- 14 Shall I Sell One Team on a Four-Horse Farm and Buy a Tractor?
- 15 The Average Farmer Has Not Learned the Principles of Economic Uses of Wood Lots
- 16 Hybrid Corn Is With Us to Stay Until Something Is Found to Take Its Place
- 17 The Necessity of Knowing the Soil Before a Good Crop Can Be Produced
- 18 Growing Wheat Is One Thing and Growing Quality Wheat Is Another
- Photographs
- 19 Farmers on the Lookout for Some New or Different Crop That Offers More Promise for Fair Returns
- 20 Not More Cows but Fewer and Better Dairy Cows Is the Imperative Need
- 21 Sheep Have a Place on Most Every Farm
- 22 Runts and Diseased Pigs Seldom Lift the Mortgage
- 23 A Bushel Basket of Eggs Brings In as Much Money as 100 Bushels of Corn
- 24 The Life of an Extension Worker Is an Honorable Occupation and an Interesting One
- Photographs
- Part 3: Soldiers of the Soil During World War II (1940–1945)
- 25 Fitting the Extension Program to Wartime Conditions Has Required Some "Give and Take"
- 26 The County Agent Is Expected to Be a Walking Encyclopedia on Government Programs
- 27 Production Goals That Looked Impossible Were Reached
- 28 Higher Hog, Dairy, and Poultry Prices Created an Interest Like Never Before
- 29 For Patriotic Reasons as well as for Profit, Acreage Has Been Expanded
- 30 Tomatoes Have Become a Major Crop
- 31 The Total Increase in Home Production and Consumption Would Be a Staggering Amount of Food
- 32 The Armed Forces Have Taken 1,500 Men, Including Farmers. Why Wouldn't It Create Many Problems?
- 33 All Agricultural Workers Seeking Employment in Industrial Factories Must Have a Statement of Transfer From the County Agent
- 34 Farm Women and Children Will Ride the Machinery to the Desired 10 Percent Increase in Production of Meat, Milk, and Eggs
- Photographs
- 35 Explaining the Red Tape That Farmers Must Go Through to Get Electricity
- 36 Machinery Will Need to Be Replaced Before the Supply of Baling Wire Is Exhausted
- 37 Patriotic Duty to Get the Most Possible Mileage From Tires
- 38 Farmers Were Second Only to the Army in Needing Fuel
- 39 Extension Meetings Will Be Curtailed Due to Gas Rationing, Thin Tires, and Busier People
- 40 School Children of America! Help Save Your Fathers', Brothers', and Neighbors' Lives by Collecting Milkweed Pods
- 41 American Hemp Will Go On Duty Again
- 42 Draining the Woodlots of the Larger Oaks, Walnuts, Maples, and Sycamores
- 43 Think More of the Soil as a Heritage to Be Conserved and Passed On to Those Who Follow
- Photographs
- Part 4: Beyond World War II (1945–1946)
- 44 Boys Are Having a Hard Time Making "Fox Hole" Dreams Come True
- 45 Effort Must Be Directed Toward Building for the Future
- Photographs
- Epilogue Now as Never Before Farmers Have Put Into Use Many Practices Advocated by the Extension Service
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
