Grundy County Farm Bureau Records

The Grundy County Farm Bureau Records document a substantial portion of its history from its inception in 1914 to 1970. A complete set of meeting minutes (1914-1970) details the business concerns of Bureau members providing advice and services to farmers in planning and organizing their farm businesses. Topics discussed at these meetings ranged from improved crop-raising techniques and disease control to farm legislation being considered at the state and national levels. Audit reports (1924-1970) comprise a second major series of the collection and contain income and expense information illustrating the annual financial condition of the Bureau. Additional detailed financial data is recorded in a set of general financial ledger books for the Farm Bureau’s later years, 1950-1970. The collection also includes records from The Grundy County Producers Supply. Organized in 1961, this cooperative distributed serum and biological supplies for the Farm Bureau. The meeting minutes (1961-1970), audit reports, and ledgers completely document this affiliate’s history until its demise in 1970. Audit reports from a second affiliate, the Grundy Refrigerated Locker Association, contain financial data for this organization from 1949-1958. Unfortunately, other Locker Association records are missing from the collection. Finally, a minute book from the nineteenth-century Grundy County Agricultural Society traces the movement of that group toward advancing the mechanics of agriculture in Grundy County. Researchers should note the collection provides very few supplementary materials such as booklets or programs.