Florence Louise Hall was the chief of the Women's Land Army from April 12, 1943 until the end of World War II. During her term, at least one and a half million non-farm women joined the farm effort to help alleviate the wartime farm labor shortage.[1]
Florence Hall was born in 1888 in Port Austin, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State Agricultural College (later part of Michigan State University) in 1909 with a BS in Home Economics. Later in 1933, the college awarded her an honorary master's degree. In 1917 she was appointed home demonstration agent in Allegheny County, PA. She spent 1922 to 1928 in the Agriculture Department's Dairy Bureau, traveling in 32 states to organize “milk for health” campaigns.[2] Rising through the ranks of the Extension Service, in 1928 she was appointed senior home economist, with responsibility for the twelve northeastern states. In 1932, Ms. Hall served as President of the Columbia Home Economics Association.[3] And from 1938 to 1943 she served as the field agent, home demonstration work for the Home Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture.[4]
On April 10, 1943 the War Food Administration announced the formation of the Women's Land Army to be part of the United States Crop Corps. Two days later Ms. Hall was selected to head the organization.[5] As chief, she worked closely with home demonstration agents in the Extension Service and with state agricultural colleges to develop plans and procedures for recruiting and training women for the Women's Land Army at the state and local levels.[6]Eleanor Roosevelt was a supporter of the Women's Land Army, and at a May 10, 1943 press conference, she introduced Florence Hall, who presented the new land army uniform to reporters.[7]
After the war she again became Field Agent and a Senior Home Economist with the Extension Service, USDA for the 12 northeastern states from Maine to West Virginia.
In 1952, an annual award was created, the Florence Hall Award, to recognize outstanding accomplishments by members of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS). This award is presented for an outstanding program conducted by one or more NEAFCS members who have been alert in recognizing new concerns and interests of families and have involved people in planning and implementing programs that benefit families.
The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls. The Land Army placed women with farms that needed workers, the farmers being their employers. The women picked crops and did all the jobs that the men had done. Notable members include Joan Quennell, later a Member of Parliament, the archaeologist Lily Chitty and the botanist Ethel Thomas. It was disbanded in 1919 but revived in June 1939 under the same name to again organise women to replace workers called up to the military during the Second World War.
Sarah Emma Edmonds was a British North America-born woman who claimed to have served as a man with the Union Army as a nurse and spy during the American Civil War. Although recognized for her service by the United States government, some historians dispute the validity of her claims as some of the details are demonstrably false, contradictory, or uncorroborated.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service was formally established in 1915 after the 1914 passing of the Smith-Lever Act and in conjunction with Texas A&M University. Originally named Texas Agricultural Extension Service, then later Texas Cooperative Extension, the name Texas AgriLife Extension Service was adopted on January 1, 2008. A&M was added to the agency name on September 1, 2012 as a result of a Texas A&M University System change to strengthen the association with Texas A&M. The primary mission of AgriLife Extension is to provide educational outreach programs and services to the citizens of Texas. In conjunction with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Extension faculty members conduct research and bring practical applications of those research findings to the people of Texas.
Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. The field of 'extension' now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organized for rural people by educators from different disciplines, including agriculture, agricultural marketing, health, and business studies.
Lakeland College is a post-secondary college in Alberta, Canada. It is publicly funded, and maintains two campuses in Vermilion and Lloydminster. Lakeland serves over 7,000 students through the academic year with 2,223 studying full- and part-time.
Posey Oliver "P.O" Davis (1890–1973), was an American educator and administrator, as well as a pioneering agricultural editor and broadcaster.
A common perception is that the birth of Cooperative Extension followed the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided federal funds to land-grant universities to support Extension work. In the formal sense, this is true. Even so, the roots of Cooperative Extension extend as far back as the late 18th century, following the American Revolution, when affluent farmers first began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, these lectures were delivered by university professors — a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.
The Woman's Land Army of America (WLAA), later the Woman's Land Army (WLA), was a civilian organization created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLAA were sometimes known as farmerettes. The WLAA was modeled on the British Women's Land Army.
David C. Smith (1929–2009) was Bird and Bird Professor of History at University of Maine, Orono. He studied the relationship between geography and wealth. He was born in Lewiston, Maine and wrote The First Century: A History of the University of Maine, 1865–1965, the seminal history of the University of Maine.
The agricultural system in Sub-Saharan Africa is a predominantly small-scale farming system with more than 50% of the agricultural activity performed by women, producing about 60-70% of the food in this region. While women provide the majority of the labor in agricultural production, their access and control over productive resources is greatly constrained due to inequalities constructed by patriarchal norms.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service is an outreach-based educational delivery system supported by a partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The UAF Cooperative Extension Service annually serves approximately 80,000 Alaskans, “providing a link between Alaska's diverse people and communities by interpreting and extending relevant university, research-based knowledge in an understandable and usable form to the public.” Since 1930 the UAF Extension Service has partnered with many organizations across the state of Alaska in pursuit of fulfilling its land-grant university mission to disseminate agricultural research and other scientific information.
Ella Graham Agnew was a Virginia educator and social worker. She was the first woman named a field demonstration agent by the United States Department of Agriculture, and later occupied high-level positions supporting the New Deal.
Agnes Ellen Harris was an American educator. She worked in education in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Alabama, establishing Home Economics programs throughout the area. She was instrumental in founding "Tomato Clubs" in Florida, which were the precursor to the 4-H Youth Programs. She was one of the earliest practitioners of the field of Domestic Science and taught nutrition and health to women for fifty years. She was a charter member of the American Home Economics Association and served as a national officer in the 1920s. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1972.
Ida Elizabeth Brandon Mathis (1857–1925) was an American farmer and businesswoman who advocated for methods that would improve conditions for Southern farmers, including crop diversification and rotation and better methods of financing for small farmers. She is credited with reducing agricultural poverty in Alabama and diminishing the state's dependence on imported food.
Mildred Brown "Brownie" Schrumpf was an American home economist, food educator, and author. Named the "Unofficial Ambassador of Good Eating" by the Maine Department of Agriculture, she wrote a weekly food column for the Bangor Daily News from 1951 to 1994 promoting traditional Maine recipes. She was the main proponent of the claim that the chocolate brownie was invented in Bangor. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jane Simpson McKimmon was an American author and agricultural educator, civic leader, state home demonstration agent, and director of women's institutes.
Home Demonstration Clubs were a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service. Their goal was to teach farm women in rural America better methods for getting their work done, in areas such as gardening, canning, nutrition, and sewing, and to encourage them to improve their families' living conditions. Home demonstration agents worked with local clubs to provide teaching services. The clubs also took on other education and charitable roles. These clubs survive into the present day.
Constance Josephine Bonslagel was the Arkansas home demonstration agent for over 30 years, working under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture. During the Great Depression she was the assistant director of the Rehabilitation Division of the Federal Resettlement Administration.
Harriette Eliza Cushman (1890–1978) was the first female Extension Service poultry specialist in the United States, a lifelong supporter of the arts, an environmental advocate, and an honorary member of the Blackfoot tribe.
Lizzie "Lurline" Collier was an American home demonstration agent and teacher. In 2022, she was posthumously named a Georgia Woman of Achievement.
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