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the invasion of the republic of korea
"On July 21, 1950, the President asked the Secretary of Agriculture and other agency heads to undertake a detailed review of programs with a view to lessening the demand upon services, commodities, raw materials, manpower, and facilities in competition with those needed for national defense. One result of the President's request was that steps were taken in the farm housing program to curtail the use of building materials for non-defense purposes..." -
cost of farms raised
Owning a farm in the 1950s was becoming expensive. In 1940, it cost around $6,622 per year to keep a farm running; in 1952, it was $23,027. -
agricultural marketing service
In 1953 the USDA established the Agricultural Marketing Service to seek solutions to the problems of surpluses and help “bring consumers adequate supplies of wholesome farm products at reasonable prices.” This service worked to improve the packing of perishable fruits and vegetables, establish better warehousing and food storage systems, and develop new terminal facilities in large cities; all to save both growers and the public money and improve the quality of America’s foods. -
agricultural act of 1954
One issue in the Agricultural Act of 1954 that became rather contentious was loan rates during this time period. Some legislators believed that the rate should stay at 90% parity or equivalence while other legislators and the president believed that the rate should be lowed to allow farmers more flexibility. Within the 1954 farm bill there was the first step away from 90% parity. Farmers were not happy with this decision because prices within the United States economy soared in the post-war... -
fertilizer increases crop yields
"The Department of Agriculture has estimated that increased use of fertilizers accounted for 55 percent of the productivity gains per crop acre that occurred from 1940 to 1955. These triumphs of fertilizer and of other technological improvements had an ironic result...in combination with insufficient migration from the farm, impoverished large portions of rural America. Only the famine in Europe and the Korean War saved the farmer from depression in the Truman Years." -
the agricultural act of 1956
It was within the Agricultural Act of 1956 that the Soil Bank Program or Title I: Soil Bank Act was created. This act assisted in addressing the surplus of crops resulting from the end of the Korean War. The Soil Bank Act allowed farmers to remove land from production in exchange for rental payments. This program was called the Acreage Reserve Program and included wheat, corn, rice, cotton, peanuts, and several types of tobacco. Under the Conservation Reserve Program... -
national highway system
Later, when Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, he was impressed by the ease of travel on the German autobahn highway system. He saw the benefits a multilane highway system would have in building a strong national defense. As President, Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act on June 29, 1956, which created the interstate system we rely on today. -
Food and Agricultural Act of 1962
The 87th Congress passed the Food and Agricultural Act of 1962 to assist with economic development in broad multi-county areas for Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) projects overseen by the Soil Conservation Service. These projects usually included more than one county including ¼ to 3 million acres. Overseen by local leadership the projects needed to be big enough to impact the area, but small enough for speedy development. Sponsors of RC&D projects included conservation districts... -
The Food and Agricultural Act of 1965
The Food and Agricultural Act of 1965 was H.R. 9811 passed by the 89th Congress on November 3, 1965. According to govtrack, this was “An Act to maintain farm income, to stabilize prices and assure adequate supplies of agricultural commodities, to reduce surpluses, lower Government costs, and promote foreign trade…” -
women are able to join FFA
The constitution of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) was revised in 1969 to include women among its membership. At a national FFA convention in 1930, delegates voted specifically to exclude females from becoming members, and denied their contributions made in the field of agriculture for over a century. Women worked to prove themselves during World War I and World War II. When men signed up to fight, food production became a problem. -
the task of government
At the 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, President Richard Nixon said, "The task of government is not to make decisions for you or for anyone. The task of government is to enable you to make decisions for yourself. Not to see the truth of that statement is fundamentally to mistake the genius of democracy." -
the green revolution
Borlaug's research was instrumental in the creation of faster-growing wheat varieties and other grains that withstood disease and drought. He introduced these varieties to people all over the world and taught them how to implement farming practices. Norman Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work that saved over a billion people from starvation He was ahead of his time in creating varieties that caused the Green Revolution.
