As the curtain started to fall on the Great Depression, many improvements had been made and were being made across our nation. Dirt roads were being graveled, farmers were starting to engage in soil conservation practices, electricity was being installed in many homes which mainly consisted of drop cords hanging from the ceilings.

By 1937, prices had improved slightly. The government’s cattle and hog buying programs had resulted in a great reduction in cattle and hogs from our nation’s farms. Still the meat prices rose very slowly due to the large stockpiles already in storage.

Other factors played a part in the gradual rising prices:

      1. Due to the previous grain shortage, many cattle weren’t ready for market.
      2. Better economic conditions made beef affordable as a dinner product.
      3. The rising price of slaughter cattle created a demand for both more feeder cattle and breeder cattle.
      4. Many farmers had left the farm and were working in the newly established quarries, on roads, etc.

President Roosevelt was making it possible for farmers to borrow money at low interest rates. Many of these people were allowed to work out their loans by dragging the roads or by cutting the brush along them.

Despite these positive signs that the end of the Depression might be in sight, historians generally agree that the thing that brought the country out of the Great Depression was World War II.

— researched and presented by Wilbur Bush, Gallatin, MO