FARMING THE HIGH PLAINS

SUSTAINABLE SURPLUS

The farming operation at Amache Camp employed more people than any other department. Because many of the inmates were agriculturalists before evacuation and internment, the success of the Amache farms were incredible, producing 3.3 million pounds of vegetables in 1944 alone. The Amache farms produced so much food that they were able to ship their surplus yields to ameliorate food shortages in other internment camps across the Southwest. (Shew 41)

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Onion fields at Amache Camp. Image Source: North Bay Ethnic Digital Collection, Sonoma State University.

FUTURE FARMERS

In addition to the produce yields, Amache inmates also raised an astounding amount of livestock. In 1944, the inmates raised "over 700 head of cattle, over 3,600 chickens, and nearly 1,000 hogs." (Harvey 124) The Amache high school maintained a Future Farmers of America program, and inmates used passes like the ones detailed on the previous page in order to work as contract labor on farms as far away as northern Texas.

FFA Members with their calves. Image Source: Parker, Tom. The Bancroft Library, University of California. Berkeley, California.