Agriculture at Amache

Agriculture at Amache

The main industry of the Granada Relocation Project was agriculture. The prime objective was to grow enough vegetables and produce enough meat to become self sufficient in meeting the food needs of the inmates. The farm and meat production operations were highly successful despite the continual shortage of inmate farm labor. The WRA budgetary food allotment for the inmates was 45 cents per day. Later, after Amache farm products were harvested to augment the food supply, the individual allotment was reduced to 31 cents per day.

Many vegetable crops previously not grown in the southeastern area of Colorado were produced on the Amache farm. These included celery, spinach, head lettuce, potatoes, lima beans, onions, tea, mung beans and daikon (Japanese long radish). In addition to the vegetable crops, the inmates grew field crops such as hay, alfalfa, and sorghum for the chickens, pigs, cows and other animals raised on the farm.

Surplus vegetable crops were occasionally sent to other relocation centers. In return, some of the other camps sent their surplus foods to Amache. A vegetable canning plant was built to process some of the foods such as tomatoes. A root cellar was also built to store winter food products.

The Amache farm had a completely equipped blacksmith shop for general repair of farm equipment. Amache had a pig farm, chicken farm, and cattle farm. Meat was processed on equipment operated by the inmates.