Box 5-6

The Kendall County Farm Bureau Records, comprised of three distinct record groups, document the establishment and history of the Bureau and two affiliates from 1919 to 1970. The first record group contains the historical materials of the Farm Bureau. A complete set of meeting minutes (1919-1969) provide extensive information on the business concerns of the organization. Bureau members discussed and implemented agricultural programs such as cooperative marketing, crop development, tax adjustments and farm credit to benefit members. The Kendall Farmer newsletters (1951-1968) comprise a second major series of the first record group highlighting various new programs and services sponsored by the Farm Bureau and describing activities of several affiliates. A set of annual reports (1937-1967) contain yearly accounts of membership, farm advisement, treasury funds, and youth activities. The financial records, including audit reports, general financial ledgers, and patron account ledgers, detail the various business transactions and overall economic condition of the Bureau. The second record group contains materials from the Kendall County Producers Supply Company. This Farm Bureau subsidiary organized in 1960 to provide serum and other biological supplies for local farm livestock. Minutes, annual reports, audit reports, financial ledgers, and a large series of office files provide a comprehensive history of this organization until its dissolution in 1970. Finally, the third record group documents another affiliate, the Kendall County Cold Storage Company, organized in 1937 to supply meat and crop storage for Bureau members. Cold Storage Company records include minutes (1937-1957), office files, audit reports, and a large volume of general and patron account ledgers. In addition, the collection contains materials from the Kendall County Diary Herd Improvement Association and the Illinois Agricultural Association illustrating farm organization activities at the state level. Researchers should note that the collection contains an organizational history of the Farm Bureau.