| Show number of U S farms has tripled since 1860 since 1860 the number of farms in this country has more than tripled but the size of the average farm has steadily decreased as population grew farms were subdivided in 1880 according to census figures and estimates compiled by the farm security administration about 10 per cent of the coun arys farms were of less than 20 acres but today 18 per cent are of less than 20 acres in 1880 nearly 30 per cent of the farms were less than 50 acres in size today nearly 40 per cent are less than 50 acres the problem of the too small farm has been intensified in recent years it was less serious as long as the expansion of industry continued to absorb millions of people from farms but with a shortage of jobs in the cities beginning with the 1929 depression too many farm people who would ordinarily have migrated to urban areas have had to remain in rural areas meanwhile the productivity of millions of acres of farm land has been impaired by erosion and wasteful farming drouth has routed many families from their land |
