Feeding Freedom: Agriculture’s Role in D-Day

This Week In Ag #168

On Saturday, we commemorate one of the most important dates in history: D-Day. In 1944, the fate of the world literally depended on the success of the greatest amphibious invasion in history. The bravery of our soldiers abroad and the perseverance of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers in the factories at home were paramount to victory. But so was our nation’s ability to feed them and our allies.

Ironically, while a lack of food contributed to the start of World War II, it played a bigger role in ending it. Reports indicate that massive numbers of Nazi/Empire troop casualties were due to starvation and malnutrition. During military action, soldiers require twice the food of a normal person. Food output in Europe had dropped 40% during the war years. So the food production required to sustain our allied forces rested on American farmers.

And did they ever deliver.

During this tense period, US farm output increased by 50%. Farmers were asked to sow nearly 14 million additional acres of wheat in 1944. Government loans unleashed technological advances in pesticides and herbicides. The demand for arable land led to livestock being raised in feed yards, which resulted in a boom in productivity. And freeze-drying and packaging innovations preserved food as it was shipped across the seas.

Yet one essential element of mass food production facing limitations was farm equipment. Many US factories were used to build military machines. Steel and rubber were rationed.

Enter the “Million Acre Harvest Brigade,” the vision of Joe Turner, sales director at the Massey-Harris farm equipment company. He convinced the War Production Board to increase his company’s ration of raw materials to increase production of self-propelled harvesters (combines) by 50%. In doing so, the owners of these additional 500 combines agreed to harvest 2,000 acres of wheat and were granted government fuel stamps to complete their mission. These self-propelled models were faster, more productive and used less fuel than the popular pull-behind harvesters. Plus, they could be effectively transported across greater distances. Not only was the Harvest Brigade successful in its mission of helping feed the Allied troops, but it also ushered in the concept of custom harvesting, a popular practice still used today. Often called custom cutters, these are the large outfits that own several combines and annually travel across the Great Plains to harvest wheat.

Like I’m sure many of you do, I beam with pride and hold the utmost admiration for the grit and determination of my grandparents during those most tenuous times. My grandfather helped liberate Europe, and ultimately the world, while my grandmother was a real-life Rosie the Riveter. May we never forget their unthinkable sacrifices, and always hold dear, “The Greatest Generation.”