e fertilized. The policy
resulted in a strong soil improvement program in the county, which was
additionally aided by the cooperative buying power of the county
committee. This meant, for instance, that purchases of lime needed to
improve Fairfax County's acidic soil could be had for $3.50 a ton, the
cost at the quarry, plus handling charges.[220]

Of even greater benefit to Fairfax County farmers was the moratorium on
mortgage and even interest payments during the Depression's most severe
period. Individual banks, such as the National Bank of Leesburg, which
held many farm mortgages, also voluntarily followed the government's
policy of leniency on collection of farm debts. This relieved much of
the stress on the area's producers, allowing them to retain their land
and, in some cases, even improve their holdings.[221]

The Depression years saw the advent of a radical new policy of
government influence in farm affairs. Where laissez-faire had been the
federal rule (and the farmers' desire), a control was now exercised over
production, marketing and farm improvement. Though the farmer might
believe this mitigated his independence and tied his judgment to that of
an impersonal bureaucracy, he was forced to accept Uncle Sam's
interference. The role of the government in designing agricultural
policy proved to be a lasting one, still felt by the farmer of the
1970s.

PART IV--NOTES

_The New Deal_

[211] Barger and Lansburg, _American Agriculture, 1899-1949_, 72-112.

[212] Beard/Harrison/Pryor, March 6, 1979; Rogers/Corbat, et al., June
12, 1970.

[213] Beard/Harrison/Pryor, March 6, 1979.

[214] Bailey, _The American Pageant_, 842-43.

[215] Rogers, Corbat, et al., June 12, 1970; Ellmore/Middleton/Pryor,
March 8, 1979; Joseph Beard quoted in Beard/Harrison/Pryor, March 6,
1979.

[216] "Wheat Production Control Plan," _Herndon News-Observer_, July 27,
1933; "Wheat Allotment Based on Averages," _Ibid._, August 17, 1933;
Beard/Harrison/Pryor, March 6, 1979.

[217] Derr Report, 1936, 4. The Potato Act, which would in fact have
been disasterous for small farmers, was actually before any crop was
harvested. However, its effect was still to create some hostility to
government programs among farmers.

[218] Derr Reports, 1930, 1931, 1934.

[219] _Virginia Farm Statistics_ (Richmond, 1926, 1930, 1936).

[220] Beard/Harrison/Pryor, March 6, 1979.

[221] _Ibid._

PART V

_Community_

Beyond the fami