>>21481926When President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression.[8] "Farmers faced the most severe economic situation and lowest agricultural prices since the 1890s."[8] "Overproduction and a shrinking international market had driven down agricultural prices."[9] Soon after his inauguration, Roosevelt called the Hundred Days Congress into session to address the crumbling economy.[9] From this Congress came the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, to replace the Federal Farm Board. The Roosevelt Administration was tasked with decreasing agricultural surpluses.[9] Wheat, cotton, field corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, and milk and its products were designated as basic commodities in the original legislation. Subsequent amendments in 1934 and 1935 expanded the list of basic commodities to include rye, flax, barley, grain sorghum, cattle, peanuts, sugar beets, sugar cane, and potatoes.[1] The administration targeted these commodities for the following reasons:
Changes in the prices of these commodities had a strong effect on the prices of other important commodities.
These commodities were already running a surplus at the time.
These items each required some amount of processing before they could be consumed by humans.[4]
