Special Collections Department: Archival & Manuscript Collections

List, Indexes, & Guides

Sources for the History of Agriculture & Rural Life
in the Iowa State University Library

FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS AND PROTEST GROUPS

AABERG, HERMAN C. (1902- ). Papers, 1940-1942, 1944-1969, 1972-1975, 1983. 1.89 linear feet. MS-117. American Farm Bureau Federation administrator, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Iowa, county agricultural agent, and farmer. Herman C. Aaberg received a two-year, non-collegiate agriculture certificate from Iowa State University in 1924. He served as supervisor of the Lake Mills-Scarville [Iowa] Cow Testing Association from 1925-1926, then became county agricultural agent for Winnebago County, Iowa, where he completed a project to eradicate tuberculosis in livestock. Winnebago County was the first county in Iowa to be declared tuberculosis-free. In 1931, Aaberg left his position to farm in Pocahontas County, Iowa. He returned to extension work in 1932 when he was named county agricultural agent for Sioux County, Iowa. In 1933 he was named Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for the state of Iowa, a position he held until 1936. During his tenure he was in charge of the emergency corn loan program and eradication programs for chinch bugs and grasshoppers. From 1936 to 1944, Aaberg was the Iowa representative for the Chicago Producers Commission Association. In this position he assisted the extension service and the Iowa Farm Bureau in organizing 70 county cattle feeder associations. In 1944, Aaberg joined the American Farm Bureau Federation as director of the Livestock Department (later called Marketing Research and Commodity Activities), a position he retained until he retired in 1969. In addition to his work for the Farm Bureau on livestock and commodity marketing, he was active in developing programs to eradicate livestock diseases. He served on the National Brucellosis Committee, the National Cattle Grub Committee, the National Hog Cholera Committee, and with Livestock Conservation, Inc. For his efforts in disease eradication programs, Aaberg was honored by Livestock Conservation, Inc., the American Humane Association, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1983 he received the Iowa Farm Bureau's award for distinguished service to agriculture. Collection includes biographical material, livestock marketing studies, and minutes and reports of the American Farm Bureau Federation's National Livestock Advisory Committee (1940-1969). Of special note is a report, "Program of the Livestock Committee," written by John Kenneth Galbraith (1940). Processed.

AGRICULTURAL POLICY WORKING GROUP. Records, 1987-1988. 0.21 linear foot. MS-503. Organization founded in 1987 to defeat mandatory supply controls and to promote farm policies that enhanced agricultural and rural economies. Corporate members of the working group included Cargill, Central Soya Company, Continental Grain Company, International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, Monsanto, Nabisco, and Pillsbury. Collection includes policy issue statements, press releases, and correspondence. Container listed.

AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ASSOCIATION. Records, 1972-1981. 2.58 linear feet. MS-415. Grassroots farmers group formed in 1972 to oppose construction of an oil pipeline in eastern Iowa by the Dome Pipeline Corporation of Calgary, Canada. Collection includes correspondence, meeting minutes and reports, news clippings, and U.S. Department of the Interior reports and maps. Container listed.

AMERICAN AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT. Records, 1978-1990, n.d. 0.3 linear foot. MS-463. Organization formed in 1977 in response to Congressional legislation entailing four years of farm prices below the cost of production. In many states, farmers organized protests, strikes, pickets, boycotts, and marches on state capitols and on Washington, D.C. (1977-1979). Collection includes a historical calendar, newsletters, press releases, correspondence, and news clippings. Processed.

AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. Records, 1919-1980, 1987-1994. 6.44 linear feet. MS-479. The American Farm Bureau Federation was established in February 1919, when representatives of 12 state farm bureaus met at the invitation of the New York State Farm Bureau Federation. A committee was appointed at this meeting to develop a plan for a national organization. An organizational meeting was held in Chicago, Illinois, on November 12-13, 1919, followed by a ratification meeting in March 1920. The federation's early statement of purpose was "to develop, strengthen, and correlate the work of the State Farm Bureau Federations of the nation; to encourage and promote cooperation of all representative agricultural organizations in every effort to improve facilities and conditions for the economic production, conservation, marketing, transportation, and distribution of farm products; to further the study and enactment of constructive agricultural legislation; to advise with representatives of public agricultural institutions cooperating with farm bureaus in the determination of nation-wide policies, and to inform farm bureau members regarding all movements that affect their interests." The federation includes the farm bureaus of all 50 states and Puerto Rico. It has 4,000,000 members, with membership on a family basis. The organization analyzes farm problems and develops plans for educational, economic, and social advancement for the agricultural community. Collection includes annual convention addresses; proceedings and resolutions; annual reports; memoranda; and news releases. It also contains speeches of federation president Dean Kleckner from 1987-1994. Unprocessed.

CHEROKEE COUNTY [IOWA] FARM BUREAU. Records, 1924-1962. 0.21 linear foot. MS-093. Materials in this collection are photocopies and microfilms of original records. Collection includes 1924 minutes (photocopies); minutes, 1918-1962 (microfilmed); Cherokee County Farm Bureau Exchange, 1930-1934 (microfilmed); and materials on the Cherokee County Farm Bureau Supply Company, 1945-1958 (microfilmed). Processed.

FARM CRISIS COMMITTEE. Records, 1980-1987 (bulk 1985-1986). 22.1 linear feet. MS-482. The Farm Crisis Committee was formed in November 1984 by a group of 17 farmers and businessmen in the Emerson, Nebraska, area as an outgrowth of the Midwest Governors Conference. Its purpose was to deal with the farm crisis of the 1980s and influence the 1985 U.S. Farm Bill. Led by committee president Tim L. Wrage, the organization sought to raise awareness of the farm crisis and to organize legislative response to the decline of the family farm in the Midwest. Collection contains subject files, documents, proposed legislation, newspaper clippings, and other publications dealing with the farm crisis. It includes correspondence with U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and numerous letters from farmers and from workers in agriculture-based industries. Unprocessed.

FARM LAND PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION, INC. Records, 1976-1979. 0.84 linear foot. MS-108. Organized in 1976, this association of farmers protested the construction of a diagonal interstate (I-380) between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Iowa. Collection includes articles of incorporation, correspondence, legal documents, environmental impact statements, and studies. Processed.

FARMERS AND RANCHERS MIDWEST POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE. Records, 1973-1980. 0.21 linear foot. MS-192. Organization formed in 1978 as a voluntary, non-profit group of individual farmers and others not affiliated with any political party. It supported free enterprise, the market system, elimination of monopolistic practices of labor and business, limiting the role of government, and strengthening the family farm. In 1979 its logo changed from FARM PAC to AGRI PAC. The committee ceased operations in summer 1986. Collection includes a constitution and bylaws, minutes of the board of directors and county chairs, a list of members and officers, a treasurer's report, and files on political action. Processed.

FARMERS' HOLIDAY MOVEMENT COLLECTION. 1932-1934. 0.42 linear foot. MS-461. Farmer's strike movement organized during the Depression to raise farm prices. Demonstrations occurred throughout the Midwest, centering in Iowa and Nebraska. Collection consists of photocopied files obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Freedom of Information Act, including correspondence, news clippings, and FBI reports. Processed.

FARMERS TRANSMISSION LINE SUITS. Records, 1972-1979. 4.47 linear feet. MS-089. Collection consists of records documenting the efforts of farmers in Boone County, Iowa, and other central Iowa counties to prevent the construction of high-voltage transmission lines along a route which would be detrimental to farming. Collection includes legal briefs, hearings, court and commission decisions, maps, and correspondence. Processed.

HILL, E. HOWARD (1908- ). Papers, 1947-1963. 6.3 linear feet. RS 21/07/44. Iowa Farm Bureau Federation executive. E. Howard Hill was born in Minburn, Dallas County, Iowa, in 1908, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1930. From 1931 to 1947 he served on the Washington Township Consolidated School Board. For ten years he was president of the Minburn Cooperative Elevator. Hill became vice-president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation in 1943 and became president in 1947, a position he held until 1963, when he retired and returned to farming full-time. The collection contains biographical information, correspondence, clippings, and photographs. The bulk of the material is Hill's correspondence as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau. Correspondents include Secretaries of Agriculture Charles F. Brannan and Ezra T. Benson; U.S. Senators Allen J. Ellender, Guy M. Gillette, Bourke Hickenlooper, and Jack Miller; and U.S. Representatives James E. Bromwell, Paul Cunningham, James I. Dolliver, H. R. Gross, Ben F. Jensen, John Kyl, Fred Schwengel, and Leonard G. Wolf. Other correspondents include Allan B. Kline and Charles B. Shuman. Hill's reaction to an editorial in Wallaces' Farmer on the performance of Shuman is also in the collection. Much of the correspondence relates to farm policies supported or opposed by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Farm Bureau. Issues include price controls, soil conservation, interstate roads, the Jensen-Mundt Alcohol Fuel Bill, and the Animal Disease Research Laboratory location in Ames, Iowa. The collection also includes Hill's annual addresses to the state convention of the Iowa Farm Bureau (1948-1963) on topics that include international trade, price controls, and reapportionment. Transcripts of speeches by Hill to civic groups and to other organizations on the reapportionment of the Iowa Legislature are also present. Photographs and papers document the Farm Bureau's agricultural missions to South America in 1962 and Asia in 1963. Transcripts of Hill's testimony before the Senate and House agriculture committees include House testimony on the Granger Farm Bill in 1950 and on price controls in 1951. Testimony for the Senate deals with a farm policy bill and land adjustment in 1961 sponsored by Senator Bourke Hickenlooper. Collection includes Hill's files on the American Good Government Committee, the Humane Slaughter Committee (1958-1962), the Iowa Committee on the Resettlement of Displaced Persons, the Iowa Institute of Cooperation (1947-1951), and the Iowa Development Commission (1954-1958, 1960). At the state level, Hill concerned himself with the issues of reapportionment, Daylight Savings Time in Des Moines, and the promotion of agricultural products, with significant correspondence to L. O. Weston and Ray Cunningham. Personal correspondence with William W. Waymack of Dallas County, Iowa, relates to a proposed a trip to Waymack's farm by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin which never materialized, and to the Atomic Energy Commission, on which Waymack served. Other personal correspondence of note is with V. B. Hamilton of Hampton, Iowa. Processed.

HOWARD, JAMES R. (1873-1954). Papers, [1873-1959], 1982. 1.66 linear feet. MS-157. James R. Howard was the first president of both the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Howard was responsible for the first Iowa rural school consolidation (1914) and was an extension service agent from 1916-1918. He served as Iowa Farm Bureau President in 1919 and as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation from 1919-1922. After 1922, Howard held a variety of positions promoting American agriculture. He campaigned for Herbert Hoover in his bid for the presidency in 1928 and made White House visits to Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge. Collection contains biographical information, speeches, writings, and correspondence. It includes information about and correspondence with Howard's contemporaries, including Ralph K. Bliss, Chester H. Gray, Perry L. Green, Otto Kahn, Allan B. Kline, Frank O. Lowden, H. C. McKenzie, Wheeler McMillen, Gaston Means, Milo Reno, Aaron Sapiro, Gray Silver, and Henry C. Wallace. It also contains materials on the formation of the American Farm Bureau Federation, including speeches, reports, and publications from its early years. Of special interest are materials from Herbert C. Hoover's presidential campaign (1928), including correspondence with Hoover aides, speeches, and pamphlets; and an account of Howard's White House visits with Presidents Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge. The materials in the collection were gathered by Howard's son, Robert P. Howard, for his book, James R. Howard and the Farm Bureau (1983). The collection includes Robert P. Howard's edited typescript of his book. Processed.

IOWA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE GRANGE. Records, 1909-1957. 0.42 linear foot. RS 20/02/06. The Grange, founded in 1868, is the second oldest agricultural society in Iowa; the Iowa Agricultural College (IAC, now Iowa State University) Grange was organized as Chapter #2047. The Grange was a secret organization whose structure was based on the Masonic order. Its purpose was to advance agriculture through social interaction and education as well as through indirect political involvement. In the Midwest, the Grange drew some of its popularity from poor economic and social conditions endured by the farmers following the depression of the early 1870s. At monthly meetings, members discussed new agricultural techniques, farming problems, and book reviews. The collection documents the history of the IAC Grange from 1909 until its dissolution in 1939. It contains correspondence, pamphlets, and other publications regarding general Grange laws and procedures; information on state Grange proceedings and business; meeting minutes; scattered financial reports; and other administrative records. Correspondence is mainly to and from botanist Ada Hayden, the local's secretary. It documents relations between the state and local Grange, includes letters to other locals asking for the names of their members attending Iowa State, and deals with the debate in the late 1920s regarding whether or not to continue the local. Members of the local chapter included Perry G. Holden, Louis H. Pammel, Ralph Kenneth Bliss, Charles F. Curtiss, H. H. Kildee, and Martin L. Mosher. Processed.

IOWA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. Records, 1918-1920, 1922-1982. 27.41 linear feet. MS-105. Federation of Iowa farm bureaus organized in 1918, evolving from the Crop Improvement Association. The Iowa counties of Clinton, Scott, Black Hawk, Muscatine, Montgomery, Clay, and Greene first organized in July 1912. During World War I, the U.S. Department of Agriculture enlisted the county crop improvement associations to promote stepped-up food production and food conservation. By the end of the war, all county war emergency organizations felt the need for a permanent farm association, and before the end of 1917 every county in Iowa had a farm bureau. Federating the county farm bureaus took place in December 1918. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) originally used the services of county extension agents; this cooperative effort continued until 1955 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture separated extension from private farm organizations. At its founding, the purpose of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation was "to develop, strengthen and correlate the work of the County Farm Bureaus of the state; to encourage and promote cooperation of all representative agricultural organizations in every effort to improve and facilitate conditions for the economic and efficient production of, conservation of, marketing of, transportation of and distribution of farm products; to further the study and enactment of constructive agricultural legislation; to advise with representatives of the public agricultural institutions cooperating with Farm Bureaus in the determination of state-wide policies and to inform Farm Bureau members regarding all movements that affect their interests." Collection includes correspondence and other records relating to operations of the federation and its subdivisions, including the Iowa Farm Bureau Women. Records document agricultural and political issues and federal and state agricultural programs, and they include a history of the federation. Materials on farm institutes, the extension service, farm prices, agricultural production, soil conservation, taxation, schools, religion, reapportionment, lobbying, the Wheat Referendum, and Congressman Joseph Resnick's attack on the American Farm Bureau Federation are also included. Correspondents include J. Merrill Anderson, E. Howard Hill, and state and federal public officials. Processed.

IOWA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. RESOURCE MATERIAL UNIT. Records, 1924-1980 (bulk 1960-1980). 2.52 linear feet. MS-105, Series 8. Consists of correspondence, news releases, newsclippings, publications, and other materials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Federation, farm-related businesses, and farm-related organizations. Topics covered include citizenship, commodities, consumer affairs, crime prevention, environmental resources, land use, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), schools, taxes, and transportation. Processed.

IOWA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. WOMEN'S COMMITTEE. Records, 1941-1981. 2.1 linear feet. MS-189. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation was officially organized in 1918, based on a loosely organized Crop Improvement Association founded in 1912. The Women's Committee (informally known as the Iowa Farm Bureau Women) was organized to improve the standard of living for rural homes; to work for better farm family living, socially, culturally, spiritually, and physically; and to emphasize the importance of rural homes as a fundamental unit of society. Collection contains handbooks, reference books, conference materials, and booklets. The records include suggestions for education, library development, legislation, health, food production, and other projects. Of special interest are records from the World War II era which document the war-time agricultural concerns of Iowans. Processed.

IOWA FARM SAFETY COUNCIL. Records, 1983. 0.21 linear foot. MS-319. Organization founded in 1943 as the Iowa Farm Safety Committee by a group of 13 individuals drawn from media, government, industry, and education. The committee's membership included Kirk Fox, editor of Successful Farming; J. Stuart Russell, farm editor of the Des Moines Register; Byron Lodwick of the Farmers Home Administration; and L. G. Keeney, president of Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Companies. The purpose of the organization was to find ways to reduce the number of accidents on Iowa farms. In 1959 the group was incorporated and its name was changed to the Iowa Farm Safety Council. Collection includes camera-ready copy and a published copy of Iowa Farm Safety in the 20th Century: A History of Contributions by Rural Safety Volunteers, edited by Herb Plambeck. The book was published by the Iowa Farm Safety Council in commemoration of the IFSC's 40th anniversary in 1983. Processed.

IOWA FARMERS UNION. Records, 1921, 1929, 1946, 1951-1974. 26.24 linear feet. MS-092. The Iowa Farmers Union (IFU) is a division of the National Farmers Union, established in 1902. It considers itself to be a liberal, progressive organization committed to giving family farmers parity of living. The IFU was reorganized and rechartered in 1957, and most of the records date from after this time. The IFU is organized into community and county units in over 30 Iowa counties. Members participate in trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby for their interests. The organization has hosted foreign farm leaders and has run summer camps for children of members. In the 1960s, it provided an on-the-job training program, through a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, it offers such services as cooperatives and insurance coverage to its members. Collection includes correspondence, memos, minutes, resolutions, reports, newsletters, financial records, members' insurance records, federal and state legislation, a constitution, bylaws, and other records, chiefly from 1951-1974. It also includes material relating to commodity production and marketing, conferences on soil and water conservation, youth camps and other educational programs, job training, IFU cooperatives and corporations, and state and national Farmers Union conventions. Correspondents include Charles F. Brannan, Merwin Coad, John Culver, Tony Dechant, Orville Freeman, Lee H. Gaudineer, Jr., Gus F. Geissler, H. R. Gross, Sidney L. Gross, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Charles B. Hoeven, Leonard E. Hoffman, Hubert H. Humphrey, Ben F. Jensen, Reuben Johnson, John Kyl, Thomas E. Martin, Angus McDonald, Jack Miller, Maurice O'Reilly, Kenneth Owen, James G. Patton, Kenneth Schuman, Mamie Schuman, Fred Schwengel, E. B. Smith, Neal Smith, and Leonard G. Wolf. 18.27 linear feet processed, 6.92 linear feet container listed, 1.05 linear feet unprocessed.

IOWA MASTER FARM HOMEMAKERS GUILD. Records, 1928-1932, 1934-1942, 1947-1988, 1992. 5.61 linear feet. MS-060. Organization of Iowa farm women selected because of their merit as homemakers and community leaders. Each year since the guild's beginning in 1928, five or six new members have been selected for membership. The winners receive the Master Farm Homemaker Award and become lifetime members of the guild. The basic goal of the Iowa Master Farm Homemakers Guild is to work for better homes and communities. Collection contains scrapbooks containing news clippings and photographs; a constitution; correspondence; and minutes. Processed.

IOWA ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN FOR AGRICULTURE (I.O.W.A.). Records, 1984-1986. 0.21 linear foot. MS-318. Organization founded in 1984 "to promote agriculture as a business and as a way of life, to preserve the family farm system, and to tell the story of agriculture to the general public." The Iowa Organization of Women for Agriculture (I.O.W.A.) is an affiliate of American Agri-Women, a national coalition of farm and ranch women's organizations. Collection contains newsletters and conference programs. The newsletters discuss activities, identify officers, and include brief articles from other agricultural magazines. The conference programs detail the topics of the annual program, such as farm chemicals, the role of farm women, and the 1985 Farm Bill. Processed.

IOWA STATE GRANGE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. Records, 1908-1976 (bulk 1940-1960). 1.3 linear feet. MS-486. Organization founded in Iowa in 1908 whose membership consisted of both males and females over the age of fourteen engaged in agriculture. It was organized to promote agriculture through legislation, education, community service, cooperatives, and insurance and credit union programs. Collection includes a constitution, correspondence, membership lists, newsletters, conference proceedings, news clippings, and a history of Newton No. 1 Grange. Correspondents include Edward R. Murrow. Unprocessed.

KENNEDY, EDWARD E. (1894- ). Papers, 1932, 1939, 1941, 1989. 0.21 linear foot. MS-458. Agricultural leader. Edward E. Kennedy was national secretary of the National Farmers Union in the 1930s, leaving the position in November 1936 to engage in legislative work for the National Farmers Process Tax Recovery Association and the National Farmers Guild. In 1941, Kennedy helped organize a successful legal battle to repeal the Ohio Wheat Penalty Tax. From 1942 until his retirement in 1969, he was director of research for the United Mine Workers of America. Kennedy was also active in politics in Howard County, Maryland, serving as member of the Democratic State Central Committee from 1966 to 1970 and as judge of Howard County Probate Court from 1971 to 1978. Collection includes pamphlets written by Kennedy regarding the Illinois Cooperative Marketing Act, the Ohio Wheat Penalty Tax, and the National Farmers Holiday Association. It also includes a transcript of an oral history interview about his work with the National Farmers Process Tax Recovery Association. Unprocessed.

NATIONAL CRISIS ACTION RALLY. Records, 1985. 0.21 linear foot. MS-436. The National Crisis Action Rally, organized by the National Farmers Organization, took place on February 25, 1985. Held at Iowa State University, the rally dealt with the farm crisis of the 1980s. A session after the rally concerned the Farm Policy Reform Act of 1985. Records include clippings, speeches, programs from the rally and the session that followed it, and a Beta videotape of the rally. Container listed.

NATIONAL FAMILY FARM COALITION. Records, ca. 1978-1984. 10.4 linear feet. MS-548. Organization founded in 1978 to inform the general public about agricultural systems that are self-sustaining, environmentally sound, and economically stable. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the coalition monitored Congress, lobbying for legislation that furthered its goals. It absorbed the National Family Farm Education Project in 1981 and disbanded in 1984. Records include correspondence, testimony before Congress, bylaws, annual reports, and information on state organizations. Container listed.

NATIONAL FARMERS ORGANIZATION. Records, ca. 1956-1990. 40.3 linear feet (31 records center cartons). MS-481. The National Farmers Organization (NFO) was founded in 1955 to combat low prices farmers received from food processors; the NFO argued that farmers made up 9% of the nation's population but only earned 4% of its income. The original headquarters of the NFO were in Corning, Iowa. The early history of the NFO was marked by radicalism; farmers organized withholding actions to increase prices, then staged boycotts which were marked by slaughter of livestock and property damage. The violent aspects of the organization's activities receded by 1979, when its focus turned to collective bargaining for better prices. The NFO, which now has its headquarters in Ames, Iowa, is organized on county, Congressional district, state, and national levels. Records include correspondence, reports, press releases, legal documents, Federal Bureau of Investigation files, legal services billing lists, a history of the NFO, and publications. Processed.

NATIONAL FARMERS PROCESS TAX RECOVERY ASSOCIATION. Records, 1927-1945. 21 linear feet. MS-044. Organization founded in March 1936 in Des Moines, Iowa, as the Farmers Process Tax Recovery Association to lobby for legislation to refund the Hog Process Tax, declared illegal by the Supreme Court. It became the National Farmers Process Tax Recovery Association (NFPTRA) a year later. Edward E. Kennedy was NFPTRA's Washington, D.C., representative; his main duty was to lobby Congress. Other officers included Donald Van Vleet, president, and Andrew J. Johnson, secretary. Johnson was also president of the Iowa Farmers Union. D. B. Gurney, the leading figure behind the movement to refund the processing tax, initiated claims for the farmers. Collection includes correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, minutes, speeches, financial records, and claims. Correspondents include Andrew J. Johnson, Donald Van Vleet, D. B. Gurney, Helen Holehan, Edward E. Kennedy, and Guy M. Gillette. Processed.

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION/NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FARMERS COOPERATIVES. Records, 1938-1973. 1.3 linear feet. MS-444. Organization founded in 1902 by Newton Gresham, a Texas newspaper editor, to create a group powerful enough to lobby successfully for farmers and to keep them on their land. By 1907 the National Farmers Union (NFU) had over one million members. The organization developed into two branches. The educational branch consisted of the local, county, state, and national unions which operate National Farmers Union newsletters, camps, institutes, officer training schools, and conventions. The cooperative branch, named the National Council of Farmers Cooperatives, consisted of marketing, purchasing, and service cooperatives. Collection includes press releases, newsletters, speeches, NFU statements to Congressional committees, and publications of the NFU. It also includes a brief history of the organization. Container listed.

NORTH AMERICAN FARM ALLIANCE. Records, 1983-1984. 4.52 linear feet. MS-501. Founded in 1983, the North American Farm Alliance is a coalition of over 50 farm, labor, and community organizations from the United States and Canada. It goals included promoting the family farm system of agriculture and a progressive farm program. The group publishes the journal North American Farmer. Collection consists of publications, journals, and newsletters of the various groups affiliated with the North American Farm Alliance. It also includes research files relating to politics, labor issues, and education. Container listed.

ORMSBY, GEORGE J. Papers, 1911, 1927-1935, 1939-1943, 1959. 2.2 linear feet. MS-109. Resident of Wilton Junction, Cedar County, Iowa. Collection contains photocopied newspaper clippings dealing with the Cow War in eastern Iowa (1931-1935) and the Farmers Holiday Movement (1932-1934), two farmers protest movements. It includes a copy of a 1959 issue of The Iowan with an article on the Cow War ("Times of Trouble: The Cow War") with manuscript annotations in an unknown handwriting. The collection also includes photocopied correspondence to George Ormbsy from Iowa state officials and legislators and a scrapbook of Harvey Ingham's farm-related writings in the Des Moines Register. Processed.

PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA. Records, 1985-1992. 0.21 linear foot. MS-449. Nonprofit corporation founded in 1985 to provide farmers with access to information about environmentally sound, low-cost, profitable farming techniques and to encourage research to produce more such information. Collection includes articles of incorporation, research data, brochures, and reports. Container listed.

RE-ROUTE CRUDE OIL. Records, 1976-1982, 1988. 25 linear feet. MS-156. Organization founded in 1977 to oppose the planned crude oil pipeline of Northern Pipe Line Company from Wood River, Illinois, to Pine Bend, Minnesota. Fayette County, Iowa, farmer Jim Lein and his wife Donna knew of difficulties other eastern Iowa farmers had experienced during the building of a Dome Corporation pipeline, and they consulted with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Robert H. Lounsberry and with lawyer Patrick Roby, who had represented farmers affected by the Dome pipeline. Roby advised farmers along the Iowa portion of the route to organize as a corporation and to intervene in the hearing process. Lein did this, becoming executive director of the corporation. Re-Route Crude Oil eventually grew to 4,100 members in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. It based its opposition on environmental concerns and property rights. The Northern Pipe Line route crossed a major freshwater aquifer, and an oil spill could damage the water supply. The organization also argued that the Northern Pipe Line had more to do with the financial gains of its parent company, Koch Industries, than with the public good. Eventually Koch Industries withdrew its plan and joined with Williams Pipe Line in its announced expansion of a crude oil pipeline along a long-established route through Osceola, Des Moines, and Mason City, Iowa. Collection includes articles of incorporation, financial records, meeting transcripts and audiotapes, speeches, hearing testimony, environmental impact statements, feasibility statements, and reference materials. Processed.

RURAL AMERICA. Records, 1975-1981. 1.3 linear feet. MS-419. Organization founded in 1975 whose main goal is to assure rural people equity in the formulation and implementation of public policies and programs. In 1977 it merged with the Rural Housing Alliance, a nonprofit organization established in 1967 to help rural Americans obtain decent housing and community facilities. Records include statements to U.S. Congressional subcommittees, research reports, conference materials, newsletters, and other publications. Container listed.

SAYRE, RUTH BUXTON (1896-1980). Papers, 193-1973. 0.21 linear foot. MS-107. A graduate of Simpson College (1917), Ruth Buxton Sayre was active in many agriculture-related organizations, including the Iowa and American Farm Bureaus, the National Master Farm Homemakers Guild, Associated Country Women of the World, and the American Country Life Association. Collection includes minutes and publications of the National Master Farm Homemakers Guild and correspondence. Processed.

SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY. Farm Protests Collection, 1954-1990, n.d. 2.1 linear feet. MS-294. Members and supporters of the Socialist Workers Party have worked with the farm movement and have covered farm protests for the Party's newspaper The Militant since the 1970s. The items in this collection were collected by various members who were active with the farm movement. The collection contains newspaper clippings and magazine articles dealing with events surrounding farming, both internationally and in the United States. The main focus of the collection is the farm crisis of the 1980s, but other social issues relating to agriculture are included as well. Processed.

UNITED FARMERS OF STORY COUNTY [IOWA]. Records, 1932. 0.21 linear foot. MS-204. Organization formed in the 1930s whose goals included equitable distribution of taxes, a moratorium on farm foreclosures, refinancing of farm debts, and social and economic equality for farmers. Membership in the United Farmers of Story County was open to any person 21 years old who resided in Story County, Iowa, and whose principal occupation was farming. Collection includes a constitution and bylaws, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and a speech given by member Sam J. Nelson at a farm sale which resulted in the sale's postponement. Correspondents include Charles E. Armstrong, Sam J. Nelson, and Millard Peck. Processed.

WOMEN INVOLVED IN FARM ECONOMICS (WIFE). Records, 1984-1986. 0.21 linear foot. MS-317. Women Involved in Farm Economics, a national agricultural organization, was founded in 1976. The group was active in lobbying for agricultural issues at the state and national levels, establishing communication among farm women in the United States, educating women about legislative and economic needs, and attending agricultural conferences and meetings. Collection includes a flyer describing the accomplishments of WIFE, a newspaper clipping discussing the group's activities, and seven issues of WIFE line, a newsletter which details the meetings and activities of WIFE members. Processed.

WOMEN'S HELPFUL BIRTHDAY CLUB. Records, 1925-1979. 0.63 linear foot. MS-201. The Women's Helpful Birthday Club originated as a group of farm women in north Grant Township, Story County, Iowa. Begun in 1904, the club was formally organized on June 12,1907, at the home of Mrs. J. I. (Rens) Mather. Mrs. Elmer Sowers (Laura Kyle) and Mrs. W. A. Taylor were the other founding members. Membership was originally limited to twelve, and the club met in the homes of members on dates near their birthdays. At each meeting the members would present the hostess with a birthday gift. The club presented educational programs at its meetings and held special events several times a year. Eventually the club dispensed with birthday gifts, instead making donations to children's homes and other worthy causes, in keeping with the club motto, "Lend a Helping Hand." Processed.