What was the name of the 1930s U.S. program that paid farmers to reduce crop production?

The Agricultural Adjustment Act was the 1930s U.S. program that paid farmers to reduce crop production.

Enacted in 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the law sought to raise farm prices by reducing agricultural surpluses. The federal government paid participating farmers to cut acreage or destroy some crops and livestock, aiming to bring supply closer to demand.

The policy reflected the severe income crisis facing farmers during the Great Depression. Prices for many agricultural products had fallen sharply, while debts and foreclosures increased. The program was funded through a processing tax on agricultural commodities.

The Supreme Court struck down the original act in United States v. Butler in 1936. Congress later created revised agricultural programs using different legal structures, so the original law should not be confused with the broader New Deal as a whole.