Farms of America in color 1939-1943
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Corn field
Farmers plant corn along a river in northeastern Tennessee in May 1940. Once the corn was grown, some of it was used in corn-husking competitions. In 1940, near Davenport, Iowa, the contest attracted one of the largest crowds, numbering 123,000. Winners were treated like celebrities.
Reproduction from color slide.
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Comments
could you please identify the exact location of the cornfield in Tennessee? (city or town)
It's amazing to see such vivid colors in these old photos. It's as though they could have been taken yesterday. We're so used to seeing drab blurry black and whites, that it makes the people in them seem like ancient history. As a young(ish) person, I tend to forget that everything (clothing, landscapes, homes...) back then were just as colorful as they are today.
I agree with statement of Mr. Aaron.
My daughter and I happened upon these photos (the originals) in the Grace museum in Abilene Texas back in 2008. The impact of seeing these photos in this exhibit would be difficult to express in words. We often see black and white photos of this era but the perspective seen in the Kodachrome prints is phenomenol. It is easy to compare the feeling and emotion of the day with our lives and todays time.
Now, family farms are a rarity. Industrial farming and industrial farm pollution are taking over. Pictures from today would feature mountains of manure, water contaminated with fecal matter, and neighbors sick from stinking air, all in the name of cheap meat.
Wow, have you ever placed your pretty, Leboutin-clad feet in fresh-plowed soil and confirmed what you've just spouted as gospel truth? As the 37 year-old, latest owner in a very long line of generational family farmers (my family has owned our land since the 1870's), I'm both appalled and a wee bit amused by your description. Get off the computer, come on down to my place, and I'll show you the processes needed to make your ethanol, your tofu, your New York strip, your sugar and your cotton.... More
Those of us in agriculture have a mountain of ignorance to overcome don't we! How sad.
well said...
My guess is you have never seen a farm, judging by your description of what one would look like. I live in a rural community in southeastern Illinois. If I were to drive every back-road in the county, the only place I might see a pile (not a mountain) of manure would be on the Amish farms. They will spread it on fields for fertilizer when the weather allows. The water is NOT "contaminated by fecal matter", as we drink the water from the same aquifer and take all precautions so as not to.... More
Get your facts straight, Louise, and don't believe everything the media tells you. The National Agricultural Statistics Serviceās 2007 Census of Agriculture reported that family farms account for almost 96 percent of the 2,204,792 farms in the United States. The 2007 Ag Census showed that large and very large family farms produced over 63 percent of the value of all products sold (though they accounted for less than 9 percent of all family farms,) while non-family farms produced.... More
I've read in several sources that the increases in US harvests are due almost entirely to increases in acreage planted and the average acre of farmland is only half as fertile as it was in the 40s due to over-use. Yields would plummet if not for oil-based fertilizers. On the other hand organic methods are producing per acre yields that can't be touched by petro-chemical based farming.
Are you sure of your facts on this? ALL fertilizers are chemical based? Yields on organic farms are MUCH HIGHER? Several "sources" say production increases are due to more acreage? Really! Look around, farm ground is being used to build Walmarts and your "suburban" homes and churches and roads. There is LESS ground available. Food production is increasing because plant scientists are developing better genetics. The people of this country have a very rude awakening on the way. Food prices.... More
This is a wonderful collection. I am inspired by the beauty of the land and the determination of the people.
What a different time and life for them. Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.
God Bless all the real hands on farmers and workers of the land. We actually could learn a lot from you on patience and perseverance, then and now.
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