Contour farming saves soil, water, fertilizer
Photo poster of a smiling woman in a straw hat holding a basket of radishes and vegetables, with contoured, terraced rows of shocked grain behind her, under the headline 'Contour farming' and the line 'Saves soil, water, fertilizer'. The technique is plain-folks, with transfer of the harvest's abundance to the practice.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (Victory Patterns display)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (Victory Patterns display). National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-600 (NAID 514080).
Text on the object
CONTOUR FARMING Saves SOIL, WATER, FERTILIZER RIGHT PANEL OF 3-PANEL VICTORY PATTERNS DISPLAY [imprint:] U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943—O—510843
