Agriculture
During the early years of World War 2, before the United States entered the war, the American Midwest was solidly against American involvement. American farmers in particular opposed entering the war against Germany and Italy. For the first two years of the war American farm production was not impacted, despite the growing food shortages in Britain, and farmers in the United States had to rely on depression era government buy backs to prevent the prices for their products from falling. Britain and France (while France remained in the war) continued to spend what money they had on war materials rather than food imports, anticipating the restrictions imposed by neutrality laws.
When it appeared that Britain would not be able to long stand against the German onslaught alone, American farmers resisted pleas from the government to increase production. American war planners believed that the American farmer would have to feed both the United States and Great Britain throughout a protracted war; the farmers believed Britain would fall, the war would be short, and they would be stuck with surpluses leading to reduced prices for their produce. Their attitude changed in December 1941. The US military overnight became the leading buyer of meat and flour, and prices flew up by more than 40%.
Roosevelt’s Department of Agriculture worked closely with farmers to increase production through incentives and modernization, and farmers responded by placing more acreage in crops, using enhanced planting and harvesting methods. An inevitable labor shortage caused by larger harvests coinciding with men joining the military presented the need for greater mechanization, but new machinery was largely unavailable due to industrial producers shifting to military production. In the Midwest and other areas, co-operatives were established among farmers to share equipment and machinery between multiple farms, and often temporary labor was shared as well.
Some small farmers, unable to obtain the labor needed to harvest corn crops, allowed hogs to harvest it instead, for sale later as pork. The labor shortage continued throughout the war, encouraging farmers – with the support of the federal government who negotiated a treaty for the purpose – to employ Mexican laborers to husband and harvest crops. These laborers, who were known as braceros, worked across the Great Plains, helping to provide profits to American farmers and food for American and Allied troops. Braceros were particularly useful in growing sugar beets – an important commodity in an economy in which sugar was rationed – because they performed the often backbreaking work uncomplainingly and well.
American farmers produced more food with fewer workers and outdated machinery throughout the war. They produced record crops throughout the war, and despite rationing of several agricultural products, American health and nutrition intake improved over the course of the war. In addition to feeding the people at home, US farm production fed the troops of the United States and its allies, and the populations of devastated countries as they were liberated over the course of the war.