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Abstract
Excerpts: The submarginal land purchase program of the United States Department of Agriculture is conducted by the Soil Conservation Service under authority of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, approved by Congress July 22, 1937. Under Title III of this Act the Secretary of Agriculture is "authorized and directed to develop a program of land conservation and land utilization, including the retirement of lands which are submarginal and not primarily suitable for cultivation, in order thereby to correct maladjustments in land use… .” In order to effectuate this program, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to "acquire by purchase, gift or devise, or by transfer from any agency of the United States or from any State, Territory or political subdivision, submarginal land and land not primarily suitable for cultivation, and interests in and options on such land.” The purpose of this study is to show, in a general way, the procedures and methods employed in acquiring land under Title III of the Act; to recommend changes in methods and procedures whereby the process of land acquisition can be improved; to analyze the effects of adjustments in methods and procedures on the progress of land acquisition; and to present information relative to the land and improvements acquired and data relative to the ownership and occupancy of the land previous to its acquisition. The information used in this study was obtained from the records and files of the Land Acquisition Division of the Soil Conservation Service. The period covered is from January, 1938 to June, 1941.