How did the end of the First World War affect agriculture in the USA? (Edexcel IGCSE)

During and immediately after the First World War, with vast areas of Europe destroyed or their supplies cut off, many countries relied on produce from the USA to survive. This was an excellent time to be in the farming industry in the US. Land was widely available, so the opportunity for farms to grow and make money from the European market was better than ever. To make the most of this, many farmers took out loans to buy new machinery and land, and thought the high price of grain would mean they could easily pay them off - however Europe recovered and rebuilt in only a few years and no longer needed food from the USA.

This had a great effect on American agriculture. Farmers lost a huge part of their market, and because alcohol had been made illegal (prohibition), barley wasn't needed their either, this meant they were producing too much grain for the demand and the value started to drop. Therefore they made less profit and paying back their loans was very hard. This meant wages for farm workers halved between 1919 and 1930, and many either lost their jobs or voluntarily left to work in the city and industries, where wages could even be doubling in that time. The end product of this was that many farms went bankrupt in 1920s USA and life in rural areas became much harder while the big cities grew.