Farms and Farmers

Economic Characteristics.

Farmers, in general, did not share in the prosperity of the 1920s. As the decade began, the agricultural sector was faced with problems, many of them related to economic characteristics unique to the farm industry. This industry was made up of thousands of producers, each generating a minuscule portion of the total output and none having any control over the total market. Agriculture was dependent on good weather and was subject to pests and natural disorders of all types. National, regional, and often international markets for such products as grain and cotton were based on worldwide demand and supply. Furthermore, the farmer produced generally homogenous products. Wheat from farm X was the same as that from farm Y, and farmers had little opportunity, as economists said, to "differentiate" their products; therefore, advertising did not have the value in the farm industry that it had, for example, in the...

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