Why did the AAA pay farmers to reduce their output of crops?

The Agricultural Adjustment Act paid farmers to reduce output in order to end a glut in the market of agricultural products such as milk, pork, and wheat. The 1920s were not kind to farmers as their lucrative markets in World War I era Europe dried up due to the war ending in 1918. Many farmers who had borrowed money to buy land and machinery were left with falling prices for their products. In order to attempt to pay their loans, farmers produced more, thus driving down prices. The increased agricultural production also helped contribute to the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains, thus adding to the misery felt by farmers. The Agricultural Adjustment Act helped farmers by allowing for price supports while not dumping commodities overseas. The act was controversial in the sense that farmers were being paid to slaughter livestock and plow under crops while many in the United States were going hungry during the Great Depression.