MS 118 Nelson Urban

Descriptive summary

creator:	Urban, Nelson
title:	Records
dates:	1934-1960
extent:	0.21 linear feet (1 document box)
collection number:	MS 118
repository:	Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

Administrative information

access:	Open for research
publication rights:	Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:	Nelson Urban Papers, 1934-1960, MS 118, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Biographical note

Nelson Urban became an officer in Pioneer, the company founded by Henry A. Wallace. Fred Lehmann, Raymond Baker, and Jay Newlin were also officers in the company.

Currently, Pioneer produces, markets and sells hybrid seed corn in nearly 70 countries worldwide. The company also markets and sells hybrids or improved varieties of sorghum, sunflower, soybean, alfalfa, canola and wheat, as well as forage and grain additives. Worldwide, Pioneer sells products through a variety of organizations, including wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, sales representatives, and independent dealers.

Collection description

This collection contains the received correspondence of Nelson Urban, and includes letters from Raymond Baker, Fred Lehmann, and Henry Wallace. The topics include corn genetics, the farming economy, and other related matters.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
1	1	Raymond Baker correspondence Subjects include corn genetics (inbreds, crosses), as well as the chicken “broiler industry.”	1934-1945
1	2	Fred Lehman correspondence Contents are about selling corn, in-breeding of corn, and other business concerns.	1935-1936
1	3	Henry A. Wallace correspondence	1932-1960
		Letter: discusses expansion. Among other matters, the price of corn concerns Wallace, as well as yields, inbreeding, crosses, weather, and farm legislation	1934
		Letter: in longhand, expresses Wallace’s idea of keeping a 10,000 bushel surplus of seed corn as insurance against a bad year	1935
		Letter: Wallace believes there will be a short growing season	1936
		Letter: concerns Commodity Credit Corporation seed corn loan	1936
		Letter: concerns the possibility of selling seed corn in Argentina	1936
		Letter: mention is made of Japanese-Americans in connection with the War Relocation Authority	1943
		Letters: concern chicken breeding	1957-1959
		Letter: concerns foreign trade and selling Hy-Line products (chickens)	1960
1	4	Correspondence with Stanley Yates, Iowa State Univ.	n.d.
1	5	Article on the development of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.	n.d.