USDA officials assess Roscoe Filburn a $117 penalty for growing 11.9 acres of wheat beyond his federal allotment, wheat consumed entirely on his own Ohio farm

The U.S. Department of Agriculture assessed Ohio farmer Roscoe Filburn a $117 penalty under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 for exceeding his wheat acreage allotment by 11.9 acres. Filburn had grown the excess wheat exclusively to feed his own livestock and family — none entered the market. Filburn refused to pay and sued Secretary of Agriculture Claude Wickard, setting up a constitutional challenge to federal regulatory power over purely local activity.