War Food Administration & Farmers
The War Food Administration was headed by Marvin Jones, who became a member in 1943 of the War Production Board. Farm production had dramatically increased during the war, due to increased machinery and longer hours. Farm income rose 250% due to the efforts of the Farm Bureau Federation that supported the 1941 Price Stabilization Act that raised parity to 110% on six basic commodities by 1943, giving farmers a guaranteed high price for their products. Conservatives in the Farm Bloc and in Congresss dismanteled the FSA and the AAA, and put cash directly into the pockets of the farmers. The Women's Land Army (WLA) was integrated into the Emergency Farm Labor Service. Women worked on a "day haul" basis, living at home and were transported to work in cars and trucks. The Service also included the Victory Farm Volunteers (VFV) of yourth ages 11-17 in platoons of 25-50 each working six hours per day on a day haul basis. The WFA and the Extension Service recruited Mexican migrant workers as needed, part of the bracero program after 1942. Japanese-Americans were also used as farm labor.
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Sources:
- Perrett, Geoffrey. Days of Sadness, Years of Triumph. The American People 1939-1945. Penguin, 1973.
- Farming in the 1940s from Wessels Living History Farm in Nebraska includes DDT and VJ podcast
- Fighters on the Farm Front is an exhibit from the Oregon State Archives includes WLA