In the beginning of the 20th century, farmers living near the towns would sell their products to shops and directly to households, often under a subscription contract. (This is similar to the concept of Community Supported Agriculture in some United States cities since the late 20th century.) To deal with the Great Depression in 1930, the Iceland government instituted state monopolies on various imports, including vegetables. They granted the regional farmers' cooperatives, most of them founded around the start of the 20th century, a monopoly on dairy and meat production for the consumer market. This meant that smaller private producers were out of business.