PWWI - Cotton Production Obstacles (Lesson)

Cotton Production Obstacles

Introduction

Cotton Production Obstacles icon During the New South era, farmers in Georgia were encouraged to diversify their crops, rather than their continued heavy dependence on cotton. Unfortunately before farmers made changes disaster struck in the way of the boll weevil and drought. The combination of the two disasters caused Georgia to enter the Great Depression before the majority of the United States. 

Factors of economic downturn for Georgia: Boll Weevil, Drought, Farm Equipment costs, and farmer migration.

 

Boll Weevil

  • The boll weevil is a destructive beetle that lays its eggs in cotton plants. As the larvae matures, it devours the cotton bolls.
  • The insect was first swept into Georgia in 1915 in dust clouds from the west. By the early 1920s, it had destroyed over 60 % of Georgia’s cotton crops. It was first identified in Thomasville, Georgia and by 1921 it had taken over the whole state.
  • In 1914 the average farm in Georgia produced 252 pounds of cotton per acre. By 1923 it had decreased to 106 pounds per acre.
  • Photograph of a Boll Weevil The effects of the boll weevil were on the decline by 1925, but cotton production in Georgia never rebounded. Before the boll weevil, cotton crops accounted for 66% of the value of crops in Georgia. By 1929, cotton comprised 47% of the value of Georgia’s crops. The boll weevil still threatens cotton crops today.

 

1920's Drought

  • Soon after the boll weevil crisis, a severe drought struck Georgia and the entire southeast from 1924- 1927.
  • The 1920s drought was the worst drought in Georgia history on record.

 

The Cost of Farm Equipment

  • Farm machinery producers began to stop producing old equipment, and began to turn to new farm technology, such as the motorized tractor.
  • Unfortunately, the boll weevil and the drought drastically cut farm production, making it impossible for farmers to buy new equipment.

 

Farmer Migration

  • The boll weevil catastrophe, the great 1920s drought, and the rising cost of farm equipment made it difficult for many farmers to survive.
  • In the late 1920s, many farmers began to leave the farm and move to the city to find work.

Sharecroppers in 1937. Images courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs division.  

 

 

Review

Review what you've learned by completing the activity below.

 

 

Think About This

 

 

The United States would experience the full impact of the Great Depression stock market crash in the 1930s. For the citizens of Georgia, their lives were already devastated with economic failure. The boll weevil, drought, and rising cost of farm equipment caused many individuals to leave rural Georgia in search for work. The 1920s were years of prosperity for many areas of the United States, but not for Georgia and its agricultural failures. 

  IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED