After World War II, Latvia was forced to adopt Soviet-style collective farming, dismantling the independent agricultural system built during the 1920s and 1930s. Farms owned by refugees were confiscated, those tied to German supporters had their sizes reduced, and much farmland was transferred to state ownership. Taxes and mandatory produce quotas were imposed on remaining farmers, making individual farming unsustainable. As a result, many farmers slaughtered their livestock and moved to cities.
The process of collectivization began in earnest in 1948 and accelerated after the 1949 deportations. By the end of 1949, 93% of farms had been collectivized. However, the system proved inefficient and unprofitable. Farmers were required to follow state-imposed planting schedules rather than adjusting to local conditions, and payments for produce were negligible.
The impact was severe: grain production dropped from 1.37 million tons in 1940 to 0.73 million tons in 1950 and further to 0.43 million tons in 1956. It was not until 1965 that meat and dairy production in Latvia returned to pre-war levels.