Figure 1.--Many farmers in the American Southern Plains watched their toop soil blow away in the Dust Bowl. Large numbers of farmners had to abandon their farmss. President Roosevelt's New Deal fiocused on farm oroblems. Soil vinservation was given great attentioin as well asland management and improved crops. As a result by the time the war broke out, many farms wree working again. American farm production would rise to unoresedebted levels, olaying a n important role in the Allied victory.

The Allies in sharp contrast to the Axis had very strong agricultural sectors. France is a very fertile country. It's agriculture had made France a European power for centuries before the industrial revolution. France was the least dependent on imports of the European countries, except the Soviet Union. France agriculture was not mechanized like the Soviet Union, but its farmers were more productive. Britain like Germany was dependant on food imports, but had access to the sizeable agricultural sectors of the Dominions (especially Canada) and exporting countries like Argentina as long as the Royal Navy ould keep the sea lnes open. China had a vast agricultural sector, but almost all of its production was consumed domestically. The country with the world's mos productive sector was the United States and it played a major role in the Allied war effort. America had no only fed both itself and its Allies during World War I, but prevented starvation in Europe (including both Germay and the Soviet Union) after the War. And as the world moved toward war, not only was America's food production huge, the Roosevelt Administration's New Deal had adopted policies aimed at both modernizing American agriculture and limiting production to increase prices. This meant that the potential existed to mssively sizeably increase food production. American and Canadian agriculture would prove especially important as they were relatively close to Britain and play a critical role in feeding Britian during the War--as long as the Atlantic life lones could be kept open.

Created: 9:58 PM 10/27/2020
Last updated: 12:16 PM 10/29/2020