282 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



governments because they couldn't pay their taxes. Thousands 

 of men who once owned their farms are now tenants who have 

 no security and a very low standard of living. It would be 

 pointless for the government to spend money explaining to 

 these people how they could again be successful farmers when 

 they have no money with which to carry out this good advice. 

 At the same time, it would be equally pointless for the govern- 

 ment to give these people money to start again if they were 

 not helped to avoid the problems of the past. Under the 

 Bankhead- Jones Farm Tenant Act the land which has been 

 eroded beyond repair is purchased by the federal government. 

 Tenants who want to own land are lent money by the same 

 act to purchase farms. Under the Agricultural Adjustment 

 Act farmers are encouraged by payments to plant crops which 

 will save the soil. Rehabilitation loans provide money for 

 farmers to get on their feet again and at the same time require 

 that the farmers use good farm practices. The Soil Conserva- 

 tion Service shows the farmers how to plow and terrace and 

 plant their hillsides so that they will not wash away. The 

 state Soil Conservation District Laws and rural zoning laws 

 give the farmers means of organising the use of the land so 

 that it will be a permanent resource. Changes in the tax system 

 can encourage farmers to use their land more wisely. 



The basis of this planning is not any one government bureau 

 like the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Instead it is the 

 farmers themselves. The federal and state government agencies 

 can make a survey and find out what has to be done, but the 

 farmers themselves have to work out methods of putting these 

 plans into practice. For that reason County Agricultural Plan 

 ning Committees have been created. These committees consist 

 of a number of representative farmers, the county agent, mem 

 bers of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration county 

 committee, representatives of the Soil Conservation Service, the 

 Farm Security Administration, and representatives of other fed- 



