We extend a warm thank you to the Iowa State University Center for On-Line Learning
and the Iowa State University Department of History for their support of this project.
The Cedar County Cow War of 1931
In 1931 during what many consider to be the darkest part of the Great
Depression, farmers in eastern and south-eastern Iowa rose up in violent
protest against a state policy that they felt unfairly interfered in their farm
operations. It was not a program that limited what crops they grew or told
them how to run their farms. Rather, the Iowa law that these farmers rebelled
against was one ultimately intended to protect the health of their families and
ensure that these farmers could earn a better income from the sale of milk
from their dairy herds. Iowa farmers fought against state veterinarians testing
their cattle for bovine tuberculosis, a potentially deadly disease that could
pass from cattle to humans by drinking infected milk.
These men fought against the state for many reasons. Some farmers felt that it was their right to own sick cattle, and that the state was violating their rights. Many doubted that the test was accurate, and therefore the state destroyed cattle that were not sick. The main reasons for the protests against cattle testing were financial in nature. Farmers depended upon the income derived from milk sales. Cattle that tested positive were killed, so the farmer lost milk production, as well as the value of the animal. The State of Iowa reimbursed one-third of the cash value of the cow destroyed, and the federal government also gave the farmer one-third of the value of the animal. This left the farmer with a loss of one-third of the value of the animal. In 1931, with banks closing and farmers burning corn for heat rather than coal, no farmer could stand that amount of financial loss, especially if one's entire herd was destroyed.
Farmers in Cedar County, Iowa, were the first to fight this new law. At first, they attempted to fight the law through legal means. One farmer ran for the state legislature on the single issue of the legality of testing. Others petitioned through the courts to stop testing until they understood how the law and the test worked. In the early spring of 1931, over one thousand farmers gathered in Des Moines to march in protest against the law at the state capital, where they demanded a meeting with the Governor and for the legislature to repeal the testing laws. The legislature listened to their demands, and the governor agreed to meet at a later date, however the legislature did not repeal the law.
In March of 1931, state veterinarians notified a group of farmers in Cedar County that their cows must be ready for inspection in two weeks. When the day came for testing to begin, one farmer was caught with his cows in the barn, and could not avoid having them tested. By the time the veterinarians got to the next farm, however, more than 500 angry farmers waited for them, and the cattle on that farm could not be tested. This pattern continued for several weeks until testing ended in the county.
In September testing began again. On September 21, two veterinarians arrived at the farm of Jake Lenker, guarded by sixty-five deputies. They met another group of 500 farmers on the farm, whose aim was to again prevent testing. When a deputy made threats if the group did not move, violence finally erupted. Farmers used clubs, rocks, and rotten eggs against the deputies, and filled the state car with mud. As the deputies and veterinarians retreated, a call was placed to Iowa's Governor, Dan Turner, who was in Washington, D. C., for a conference with President Hoover. When informed of the events of the day, Governor Turner ordered that the Iowa National Guard be sent to Cedar County to enforce testing. The next day, 1800 soldiers arrived in Tipton, the county seat of Cedar County, in order to protect state veterinarians and prevent further action by the farmers. Machine guns were placed at cross roads, and soldiers enforced state law with bayonets.
Once the Iowa National Guard arrived in Cedar County, all protests by farmers came to an end. For two months, soldiers patrolled Iowa's country roads and helped to ensure the safety of veterinarians and Iowa's milk supply. While the Cedar County Cow War of 1931 ended without bloodshed and with state power enforced, it was the beginning of a period of upheaval for Iowa's farmers. Within the year, more protests would break out through out Iowa and the West because of the continuing economic plight of farmers. Groups like the Farmers Union and the Farm Holiday Movement built on the foundation laid by the Cow War, using physical opposition and protests attempting to improve the conditions they faced in the marketplace. They would all meet the fate as the farmers in Cedar County.
Robert C. Welch
References
Archie, David E. "Times of Trouble: The Cow War." The Iowan Volume 7, Number 4 (April-May, 1959): 28-35, 52-53.
George Ormsby Papers, MS-109. Iowa State University Library, Special Collections Department.
Mills, George. "The Cow War." One-Armed Bandits and Other Stories of Iowa's Past and Present. Ames: Focus Books. 1997.
Cedar County Historical Review. July, 1998.
Further Reading
Center for Food Security and Public Health, "Bovine Tuberculosis" (Ames: Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 2004) http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu
Choate, Jean. Disputed Ground: Farm Groups that Opposed the New Deal Agricultural Program. Jefferson: McFarland. 2002.
Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Stephen Burwood, eds. Agriculture During the Great Depression. New York: Garland. 1990.
Hurt, R. Douglas. Problems of Plenty: The American Farmer in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. 2002.
Johnson, H. Thomas. Agricultural Depression in the 1920's: Economic Fact or Statistical Artifact? New York: Garland. 1985.
Rosenkrantz, Barbara Gutmann. "The Trouble with Bovine Tuberculosis." Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Volume 59 (1985).
Sage, Leland L. "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression." Annals of Iowa Volume 47, Number 2 (1983): 91-103.
Shover, John L. "Depression Letters from American Farmers." Agricultural History Volume 36, Number 3 (1962): 163-168.
____________. Cornbelt Rebellion: The Farmers' Holiday Association. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 1965.
Schwieder, Dorothy. Iowa: The Middle Land. Ames: Iowa State University Press. 1996.
Stickler, Harold Andrew. Influence of Milo Reno on the Iowa Farm Holiday Association as Covered by Three Iowa Dailies. Unpublished thesis, Iowa State College. 1958.
White, Roland A. Milo Reno: Farmers Union Pioneer. New York: Arnos Press. 1975.
These men fought against the state for many reasons. Some farmers felt that it was their right to own sick cattle, and that the state was violating their rights. Many doubted that the test was accurate, and therefore the state destroyed cattle that were not sick. The main reasons for the protests against cattle testing were financial in nature. Farmers depended upon the income derived from milk sales. Cattle that tested positive were killed, so the farmer lost milk production, as well as the value of the animal. The State of Iowa reimbursed one-third of the cash value of the cow destroyed, and the federal government also gave the farmer one-third of the value of the animal. This left the farmer with a loss of one-third of the value of the animal. In 1931, with banks closing and farmers burning corn for heat rather than coal, no farmer could stand that amount of financial loss, especially if one's entire herd was destroyed.
Farmers in Cedar County, Iowa, were the first to fight this new law. At first, they attempted to fight the law through legal means. One farmer ran for the state legislature on the single issue of the legality of testing. Others petitioned through the courts to stop testing until they understood how the law and the test worked. In the early spring of 1931, over one thousand farmers gathered in Des Moines to march in protest against the law at the state capital, where they demanded a meeting with the Governor and for the legislature to repeal the testing laws. The legislature listened to their demands, and the governor agreed to meet at a later date, however the legislature did not repeal the law.
In March of 1931, state veterinarians notified a group of farmers in Cedar County that their cows must be ready for inspection in two weeks. When the day came for testing to begin, one farmer was caught with his cows in the barn, and could not avoid having them tested. By the time the veterinarians got to the next farm, however, more than 500 angry farmers waited for them, and the cattle on that farm could not be tested. This pattern continued for several weeks until testing ended in the county.
In September testing began again. On September 21, two veterinarians arrived at the farm of Jake Lenker, guarded by sixty-five deputies. They met another group of 500 farmers on the farm, whose aim was to again prevent testing. When a deputy made threats if the group did not move, violence finally erupted. Farmers used clubs, rocks, and rotten eggs against the deputies, and filled the state car with mud. As the deputies and veterinarians retreated, a call was placed to Iowa's Governor, Dan Turner, who was in Washington, D. C., for a conference with President Hoover. When informed of the events of the day, Governor Turner ordered that the Iowa National Guard be sent to Cedar County to enforce testing. The next day, 1800 soldiers arrived in Tipton, the county seat of Cedar County, in order to protect state veterinarians and prevent further action by the farmers. Machine guns were placed at cross roads, and soldiers enforced state law with bayonets.
Once the Iowa National Guard arrived in Cedar County, all protests by farmers came to an end. For two months, soldiers patrolled Iowa's country roads and helped to ensure the safety of veterinarians and Iowa's milk supply. While the Cedar County Cow War of 1931 ended without bloodshed and with state power enforced, it was the beginning of a period of upheaval for Iowa's farmers. Within the year, more protests would break out through out Iowa and the West because of the continuing economic plight of farmers. Groups like the Farmers Union and the Farm Holiday Movement built on the foundation laid by the Cow War, using physical opposition and protests attempting to improve the conditions they faced in the marketplace. They would all meet the fate as the farmers in Cedar County.
Robert C. Welch
References
Archie, David E. "Times of Trouble: The Cow War." The Iowan Volume 7, Number 4 (April-May, 1959): 28-35, 52-53.
George Ormsby Papers, MS-109. Iowa State University Library, Special Collections Department.
Mills, George. "The Cow War." One-Armed Bandits and Other Stories of Iowa's Past and Present. Ames: Focus Books. 1997.
Cedar County Historical Review. July, 1998.
Further Reading
Center for Food Security and Public Health, "Bovine Tuberculosis" (Ames: Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 2004) http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu
Choate, Jean. Disputed Ground: Farm Groups that Opposed the New Deal Agricultural Program. Jefferson: McFarland. 2002.
Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Stephen Burwood, eds. Agriculture During the Great Depression. New York: Garland. 1990.
Hurt, R. Douglas. Problems of Plenty: The American Farmer in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. 2002.
Johnson, H. Thomas. Agricultural Depression in the 1920's: Economic Fact or Statistical Artifact? New York: Garland. 1985.
Rosenkrantz, Barbara Gutmann. "The Trouble with Bovine Tuberculosis." Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Volume 59 (1985).
Sage, Leland L. "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression." Annals of Iowa Volume 47, Number 2 (1983): 91-103.
Shover, John L. "Depression Letters from American Farmers." Agricultural History Volume 36, Number 3 (1962): 163-168.
____________. Cornbelt Rebellion: The Farmers' Holiday Association. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 1965.
Schwieder, Dorothy. Iowa: The Middle Land. Ames: Iowa State University Press. 1996.
Stickler, Harold Andrew. Influence of Milo Reno on the Iowa Farm Holiday Association as Covered by Three Iowa Dailies. Unpublished thesis, Iowa State College. 1958.
White, Roland A. Milo Reno: Farmers Union Pioneer. New York: Arnos Press. 1975.