The
Agricultural Adjustment Act (
AAA) was a
United States federal law of the
New Deal era which reduced agricultural production by paying farmers
subsidies not to plant on part of their land and to kill off excess
livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus and therefore effectively raise the value of crops. The money for these subsidies was generated through an exclusive tax on companies which processed farm products. The Act created a new
agency, the
Agricultural Adjustment Administration, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, to oversee the distribution of the subsidies. The
Agriculture Marketing Act, which established the Federal Farm Board in 1929, was seen as a strong precursor to this act.