Not every farmer grabbed at electricity as it became available. Many who did not understand a power that they could not see or hold in their hands preferred to wait untilit was "safe." Others, suffering from the Great Depression of the 1930s, simply could not afford it.

The Great Depression

The depression had taken its toll on Stearns County dairy farmers. A drought during the 1930s caused a severe shortage of feed. Many farmers had to sell part of the herds they had painstakingly built. Some farms were lost and many farmers had to turn to the government for relief. Alfred Ebnet said the government permitted bankrupt farmers to keep six cows, twenty sheep, four sows, four horses, and feed. They had to pay interest and fire insurance premiums on farm buildings for three years. Ebnet sold everything upon bankruptcy that he was not permitted to keep. He carried the money from his sale in his shirt pocket for three years because he did not trust banks.

Farm families suffering through the depression became more conservative, their hopes for a good life in America shattered. Those who did not become destitute became more frugal, less likely to gamble on nature and move ahead indiscriminately. Many farmers say that those who have not gone through such a hard time do not understand what real hardship is. Henry and Ceil Salzl, St. Martin, paid $165 for each cow they bought in 1926 when they were married. During the depression they sold some of these same cows to the government for $16 a piece. They were not the only ones: the government bought 13,000 head of Stearns County cattle in 1936, and at least that many were sold privately by farmers. The number of farms decreased from 4,896 in 1935 to 4,685 in 1940 and never again reached the previous number.

Ironically, as the number of cattle decreased, improved nutrition, breeding, and housing resulted in the remaining cows producing more than ever. By 1941 Stearns County was the top dairy-producing county in the state, and the number of milk cows per farm increased steadily until the 1980s.

World War II

On the heels of the depression came World War II. Domestic and foreign markets opened as they had during World War I. American farmers responded by raising 50 percent more food annually on less land with fewer workers than they had during World War I.