This document traces the evolution of agricultural practices and dominant cash crops in Berrien County, Georgia, from early subsistence farming to a complex, market-driven economy. Initially, homesteaders focused on self-sufficiency, but by the mid-1800s, cotton emerged as the primary cash crop, heavily reliant on manual labor, including slave labor initially and then sharecropping families after the Civil War. However, falling prices and the devastating arrival of the boll weevil by 1917 severely impacted cotton production, forcing farmers to seek alternatives. Following the decline of cotton, tobacco became the next major cash crop proving highly profitable by the 1920s despite its intense manual labor requirements. The Great Depression era saw tobacco production boom, with Nashville marketing 8 million pounds in 1933, and the introduction of New Deal subsidies through the Agricultural Adjustment Administration helped stabilize farmers. This period also marked the transition from animal-powered equipment to tractors, which significantly reduced labor needs and increased efficiency, though mules remained prevalent until 1954. By the latter half of the 20th century, changing demographics, off-farm employment, and government buyouts for tobacco in 2005 led to the consolidation of farming into larger operations, leaving cotton, peanuts, pecans, and some tobacco as the dominant cash crops for those who can afford modern farming.

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