1941: Horses And Mules

Despite the demand for mechanized equipment for our armed forces and the resultant shortages in metals, mechanization continued to replace horses and mules on United States farms. A factor contributing to the emphasis on labor-saving machinery was, of course, the decline in farm labor due to the draft and to the attractive wages paid by our industries. The number of horses on farms Jan. 1, 1942, was 9,856,000 head, decline of about 4 per cent compared with a year earlier. There was also a decline of $3.46 in the average value per head and the total value of $638,757,000 was the lowest in over 40 years.