California Agriculture in the

1930s

By: Anton Horvath

Cameron Ralske

Focuses of Presentation

-Revealing techniques and new machinery used in agriculture in the 1930s

-Noting significant events that changed or affected perspectives and ideas relating to farming in California

General Tractor Industry Crash/Plow Innovation

-Agricultural machinery industry CRASHED when
Great Depression hit, especially with tractors
-Businesses forced to close in California and around
the United States
-Larger companies were able to stay on top,
continued to innovate and push machinery in
agriculture to new heights
-The invention of the plow being mounted on tractors
proved to be beneficial, made process faster
-The invention was quickly picked up by many
agricultural states such as California
Connection to Great
Depression

Harvester Combines
-Combines made wheat harvesting easier and a lot
cheaper with a smaller required work force
-Named "combine" because it took many functions
and combined them into one single machine that
reduced amount of equipment needed
-Lowers cost
-Tractor attachment
-Only one man needed to operate the combine,
innovation
-Made harvesting extremely fast by combining
different

Strikes of the Workforce

The Cotton Strike
-Cotton strike that started in 1933 in October
-(Mostly Mexican)Workers having to harvest the
crops weren't getting enough money
-Farmers growing the cotton had to lower the amount
they paid workers because of higher prices
-Tens of thousands of workers participate
-After some time, protesters were shot by growers in
a rally in Pixley, California
-Compromise made, $.75 better than being paid $.60
per hundred pounds of crops

Strikes of the Workforce (Cont.)

Salinas Strikes of 1934-1936
-Lettuce farmers and product packagers demand
better treatment/higher pay
-Working conditions needed to be improved
-Growers owning the land and the top men of the
packagers agree to make a compromise after large
strikes
-Compromise never panned out
-Agreement forgotten
-Support of strike dwindled in final months of its
existence
-Strike discontinued in 1936

Connections with Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row

-In Of Mice and Men, Lennie and George work in the
fields, bucking wheat: Combines/Machinery
-Why Cannery Row relates to agriculture indirectly,
through types of lifestyles and local industry
-Lennie and George work in a time where automation
is slowly creeping up on the two

Works Cited
Machines in 1930s Agriculture." Machines in
1930s Agriculture. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

"Machines in Agriculture in the 1930's."

Wesset's Living History Farm. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

"The Struggle in California." The Struggle in

California. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"NoodleTools." : MLA / APA / Chicago
Bibliography Composer, Notecards, Outlining.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Harvest Wheat." Wessets Living History Farm.
N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

Sources