perhaps another reason why the OWI chose Moses Zimmerman as the nation ’ s representative farmer . 16
The film depicts a typical day in the life of Moses Zimmerman that starts at 4:00 am . Zimmerman is shown dressing for work , then milking , feeding chickens , feeding hogs , and harvesting corn . The narration juxtaposes these intimate agrarian images with staggering national statistics : farmers produced a record quantity of milk the previous year , and were planning to produce two billion more pounds in 1943 since “ we have to send so much powered milk overseas .” Goals were set by the Department of Agriculture for 28 % more chickens to eat , 9 % more eggs “ and still not enough ,” 10 % more meat in “ 100 million hogs with 10 pounds more on every one of them . Corn fed , too .” In comparison to his neighbor , Harry Schaeffer , “ Zimmerman was fortunate ,” the narrator notes . “ He still had his son with him last harvest .” Above all , Zimmerman “ concentrated on fighting food ” by consulting his County War Board and shifting some land to soybean production , a new crop for him , but one that would provide necessary oils and protein for America ’ s British and Soviet allies . 17 The climactic line of the film follows this description of Zimmerman working with his County War Board to meet Department of Agriculture production goals : “ Thus Zimmerman cooperates .” And further , “ he 16
Ruth Zimmerman Hershey interview , 5 December 2010 . 17
Cut off by the Japanese from Asian soybean sources , Great Britain , the Soviet Union , and the US itself relied heavily on American farmers to provide soy protein and oils for the manufacture of margarine , waterproof soybean glue , and a variety of other soy-based products . At the urging of the Department of Agriculture , US soybean production was 77 % higher in 1942 than it had been in 1941 . See “ Farming in the 1940s ,” Wessels Living History Farm web site , http :// www . livinghistoryfarm . org / farminginthe40s / crops _ 03 . html , accessed 18 July 2014 . On crop changes in the South , see http :// www . oscars . org / filmarchive / collections / warfilm / farm-battle-lines . html , accessed 18 July 2014 .
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