Farming the Desert: Agriculture in the World War II-era, Japanese-American Relocation Centers

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Geography

Publication Date

Winter 2010

Abstract

In 1942 over 110,000 Japanese Americans were evacuated from the West Coast to ten inland, barbed wire-enclosed relocation centers in the name of national security. Agriculture was a key component of the eight arid to semiarid centers located in the western United States. Each center's agricultural program included produce for human consumption, feed crops, and livestock. Some centers also grew seed, ornamental, and war crops. Evacuees raised and consumed five types of livestock and sixty-one produce varieties, including many traditional foods. Seasonal surpluses were preserved, shipped to other centers, or sold on the open market. Short growing seasons, poor soils, initially undeveloped lands, pests, equipment shortages, and labor issues hampered operations. However, imprisoned evacuee farmers proved that diverse agricultural programs could succeed in the harsh settings primarily because of labor-intensive farming methods, ingenuity, and the large markets provided by the centers. These agricultural programs played major roles in feeding, providing meaningful employment, and preparing evacuees for life outside the centers, and readied lands for post-war "homesteaders."

Comments

This article was originally published in Agricultural History. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Please note: Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download through ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Journal

Agricultural History

Rights

Copyright © 2010 the Agricultural History Society

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