Commerce in Oklahoma
The Growth of the Service Economy
Agricultural subsidies, technology, and the economy of scale changed the agricultural industry in Oklahoma. Successful farmers invested in more land, buying out neighbors and educating themselves on the new science and business practices that became an integral part of American agriculture. Those without land often moved to nearby cities to find work. This led to population increases in the cities and fewer people in rural areas. Subsidies came about to solve the major problem of American agriculture: overproduction. This concept started during the Great Depression with the passage of the Agricultural Adjustment Act and has evolved into a permanent government policy. Advances in agricultural technology, building on the success of the tractor in the 1920s, included new seed strains, combines, and inexpensive fertilizer. With extensive government support and the technological advances, the cultivated land increased in acreage per grower. The dominant form of agriculture in the United States became large-scale commercial farming.
The reduction in the number of people working in agriculture meant that former farmworkers needed other kinds of jobs. Additionally, as people moved to the cities, they began demanding a wide range of services. This movement helped develop other sectors of Oklahoma’s economy, including construction, education, health care, government, and retail jobs. The construction of suburbs grew in response to the integration of schools in the city core, which, along with construction of a system of highways, meant that the demand for services would continue in every new town, resulting in more jobs available. Tribal nations spearheaded economic development in the towns within their jurisdictions and created numerous rural enterprises that limited the unemployment issues often faced by those living in the countryside.
The cost of advanced farm equipment helped shift the way agriculture was produced into large commercial ventures that could afford investments such as these (2019.061.B5.08242, Oklahoma Conservation Historical Society, OHS).
Most towns offer a wide variety of shopping which provides jobs. Photograph by Paul B. Southerland, 1985 (2012.201.B0974B.0816, OPUBCO Collection, OHS).
