science

Interwar farm crisis

Interwar farm crisis is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Interwar farm crisis rather than just read about it. In short: The interwar farm crisis was an extended period of reduced agricultural demand between the end of the First and Second World Wars. Crisis of the 1920s and 1930s A farm crisis began in the 1920s, commonly believed to be a result of high production for military needs in World War I.

Key takeaways

Interwar farm crisis belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Interwar farm crisis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Interwar farm crisis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The interwar farm crisis was an extended period of reduced agricultural demand between the end of the First and Second World Wars.

Crisis of the 1920s and 1930s

A farm crisis began in the 1920s, commonly believed to be a result of high production for military needs in World War I. At the onset of the crisis, there was high market supply, high prices, and available credit for both the producer and consumer. The U.S. government continued to instill inflationary policy following World War I. By June 1920, crop prices averaged 31% above 1919 prices and 121% above prewar prices of 1913. Also, farm land prices rose 40 percent from 1913 to 1920. Crops of 1920 cost more to produce than any other year. A price break which began in July 1920 squeezed farmers between decreasing agricultural prices and steady industrial prices. Examples of agriculture price declines include: Cotton went from 12.4 cents/lb. (average 1909-1914 prices) to 5.5 cents/lb. in 1933; corn was down over 23% per bushel, and hogs declined from $7.24 to $2.94 per hog. Furthermore, a region of the great plains was hit by an extreme drought which added to the agricultural difficulties of the time, leading to depopulation.

Reformation of the 1920s and 1930s Throughout this crisis there were many attempts to form Farmers' Unions. This was difficult considering the lack of effective communication technology, the lack of electricity on many farms, and the overall size of the country. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 intended to bring government aid to cooperatives. It allowed the Federal Farm Board to make loans and other assistance in hopes of stabilizing surplus and prices. On May 12, 1933, congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), which aimed to restore Farmers’ pre World War 1 abilities to sell farm products for the same worth they were able to buy non-farm products. The AAA involved seven different crops: corn, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, tobacco, and milk. Farmers were paid to not plant those seven crops, thus decreasing supply and returning to market equilibrium. In order to prevent noncooperative farmers from taking advantage of decreasing supply, the government payments to cooperative farmers were designed to be more beneficial than being noncooperative and flooding the market. The AAA was deemed unconstitutional on January 6, 1936. Further reformation included Farm Credit Act of 1933, which allowed farmers to re-mortgage no longer affordable property, as well as the Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Interwar farm crisis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Interwar farm crisis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Interwar farm crisis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Interwar farm crisis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Interwar farm crisis

In research: Interwar farm crisis appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Interwar farm crisis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Interwar farm crisis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agricultural recessions, Dust Bowl, History of the United States (1917–1945), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Interwar farm crisis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Interwar farm crisis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Interwar farm crisis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Interwar farm crisis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Interwar farm crisis in simple terms?

The interwar farm crisis was an extended period of reduced agricultural demand between the end of the First and Second World Wars. Crisis of the 1920s and 1930s A farm crisis began in the 1920s, commonly believed to be a result of high production for military needs in World War I.

Why does Interwar farm crisis matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Interwar farm crisis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Interwar farm crisis.