There are 750,000 Jewish farmers throughout the world and never before has there been so keen an interest in farming by Jews as there exists today, according to the thirty-third annual report of the Jewish Agricultural Society, made public today by Gabriel Davidson, its General Manager.
There is room for more Jews on American farms, equipped with capital and other necessary requirements and this is an opportune time to place them there, the report declares.
In 1900, when the Jewish Agricultural Society began to function, there were about 200 Jewish farm families in the United States. Today over 100,000 Jews are deriving their livelihood, in whole or in part, from the farm. Jewish farmers are found in every state in the Union. A study made by Mr. Davidson early in the year placed the estimated world population of Jewish farmers at 750,000.
The report gives a comprehensive account of the work of the various departments and branch offices through which the Society operates.
The Society through its Farm Loan Department has granted up to the end of the last fiscal year 10,703 farm loans aggregating $6,901,000 to Jewish farmers in forty states. This financial service provides Jewish farmers with a source of credit not otherwise obtainable. The Society’s attitude toward borrowers at this critical stage, is reflected in the statement, “We will continue to stand by all deserving debtors. Our interests and theirs are interwoven. An enlightened policy toward our borrowers, the only proper policy to follow will, in the long run, also redound to our own benefit.”
The Society’s Farm Settlement Department gives advice, guidance an###iad to those who desire to buy farms and who intend to take up farming as a life’s work. During the past fifteen years — the post-war period — 16,198 Jewish men and women applied to this Department, and farms were found for 1,278 families. Several Jewish farm settlements throughout the country have also been established. Through the Farm Settlement Department, the Society is also carrying on fraud prevention work to protect farm buyers against dishonest or rapacious real estate agents.
The Society’s Extension Department maintains a staff of agricultural experts who bring to the Jewish farmer agricultural information on every conceivable branch of farming.
The Society’s Farm Employment Department has secured farm employment for 17,391 Jewish young men since its establishment. This service affords young Jews the opportunity of acquiring a valuable agricultural training by actual work on the farm. The records show that some bought farms of their own after a period of service.
The Society’s Sanitation Department carries on work to promote higher standards of cleanliness and to improve sanitary conditions in and about the farm home. During the past year it made 536 farm visits in the Jewish farming district of New York and Connecticut.
The Society has made loans for the erection of Synagogues and Community Houses and has helped advance the social and cultural phases of rural life. Cooperative and community undertakings were also encouraged and aided.
The report also contains a tribute to Percy S. Straus, who for thirty years served as a member of the Jewish Agricultural Society’s Board of Directors—eight years as its President. Because of pressure of exacting duties Mr. Straus recently relinquished his post on the Society’s Directorate but still remains one of its valued members.
The officers of the Society are Lewis L. Strauss, President; Eugene S. Benjamin, Vice-President; Reuben Arkush, Secretary, and Francis F. Rosenbaum, Treasurer.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
