Kendall County Farm Bureau Records, 1919-1970 | Northern Illinois University
Administrative/Biographical History
J. D. Bilsborrow called an organizational meeting of farmers in the Yorkville, Illinois Courthouse on November 19, 1919. The participants elected Eugene Matlock as temporary chairman and W. C. Cutter as the temporary secretary-treasurer of the Kendall County Farm Bureau. Earl Price served as the first county farm advisor beginning in March, 1920. The Bureau’s goals included advising farmers on new agricultural methods to increase productivity and profits, and to ensure that agricultural interests were equally considered with other interest groups in the public sector.
In subsequent years, the Kendall County Farm Bureau offered many benefits and services to its members. A seed marketing association, the introduction of soy beans, and farm loans through the Kendall County National Farm Loan Association contributed to the agricultural growth of Kendall County. To satisfy farmers’ demands for greater insurance coverage, the Farm Bureau created various companies handling fire, auto, and life insurance. In 1928, the Kendall Farmers Oil Company organized to provide better fuels and lubricating oils and later expanded its inventory to include fertilizer and feed supplies, in addition to business services, the Farm Bureau also sponsored social functions such as picnics, baseball teams, and 4-H clubs.
Located in Yorkville, Illinois, the Kendall County Farm Bureau continues to provide many services to the local agricultural community.
Subjects (links to similar collections) Administrative InformationRobert F. Brummel, President, deposited the Kendall County Farm Bureau Records in the Northern Illinois Regional History Center on July 18, 1980.
John J. Lacey’s Farm Bureau in Illinois: History of Illinois Farm Bureau (Illinois Agricultural Association: Boomington, 1965) may also be useful to researchers.
Also, the Regional History Center’s reference room holds Kendall County plat books, atlases, and a farm directory supplementing the records of the farm Bureau collection.
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.