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Agricultural Contributions of Jewish Farmers to American War Effort Lauded

March 23, 1944
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Jewish farmers in the United States are active on the food production front and are making a notable contribution to the war effort, it is emphasized in the annual report of the Jewish Agricultural Society issued here today. The report estimates that over 100,000 Jews in America derive a living from the land and they own more than a million acres of land.

The Jewish farmers, the report says, have become a well integrated part of American agriculture, and there is no branch of farming which Jews have not entered, or where they did not succeed as practical farmers. A number of Jewish farmers are large scale agricultural producers and the total of Jewish farm production is quite impressive, the report states, pointing out that Jewish farmers are to be found in every state, but the bulk of them are in the Eastern states.

The annual report, submitted by Gabriel Davidson, managing director, deals with the work of the Jewish Agricultural Society to strengthen and enlarge the American Jewish farm class, and it also tells of the Jewish farmers’ sons and daughters, who are serving in every branch of our combat forces. Since its founding, the Society has granted 14,371 loans, aggregating $8,907,000 to Jewish farmers in 40 states. Among the successful Jewish farmers are many refugees from Nazi Europe. Since 1939 the Society has settled 739 families on land. The first five years are usually the crucial years in the life of any new farmer, the report says, adding that “nevertheless 692 families of these are still on the land, in spite of the various war dislocations.”

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