Electricity in the Rural Areas
During the later part of the '20s and through the '30s things were really tough for everyone including the farmers. The depression hit the country as well as a period of very dry years when the yield was down.
During the '20s wheat sold locally for 26 cents per bushel, barley could not be sold at all. Many farmers went into debt. In the 1930s few farmers owned their land. Taxes and interest combined with rock bottom prices drove many of the people from the farms. At one point Foster County owned 400 quarters of land that had gone back to taxes.
A new principle emerged saying, "We don't own the soil, we're only custodians for a short time." Topsoil that piled up along the fences was a startling fact that something had to be done and right away to conserve this very important natural resource.
There were few shelterbelts at this time. It was a common practice to burn the stubble on the fields rather than enrich the fields by plowing the stubble under. These were some of the practices that were changed with the assistance of the federal government who assisted with educational programs as well as incentive payments to encourage the farmers to try some of the new farming methods and to plant shelterbelts on their farms.
In 1933 the U.S. Government passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act. In order to control farm production in the U.S. farmers were offered contracts to reduce their output of designated products, which in Foster County was wheat. It paid farmers from the processing taxes on these products and made loans to farmers who stored their crops on their farms.
To administer this plan a secretary of the Commodity Association was employed by the Association, USDA and the North Dakota Extension Division. In return for payment of his salary, the Commodity Association released the agent to do extension work. He was under the supervision of the State County Agent and Director of Extension.
The agent sent to Foster County to serve in this capacity was Mr. H.G. Lewis. Under his direction and with the assistance of the Kiwanis Club of Carrington, the 4-H program was started in earnest in the county.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 101