Mid-West Dairymen's Company Records (Rockford), 1924+ | Northern Illinois University

Collection Overview

Title: Mid-West Dairymen's Company Records (Rockford), 1924+

ID: RHC/RC/081

Extent: 11.0 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 10/12/1979

Subjects: Associated Milk Producers, Dairying, Dairying, Cooperative, Midwest Dairymen's Company, Pure Milk Association, Rockford (Ill.)

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The records of Mid-West Dairymen’s Company document the origin and development of a northern Illinois non-profit milk producers’ cooperative during the period 1924-1980. The collection contains corporate record books (1924-1963) which include articles of incorporation, by-laws, minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and special committees, resolutions, and bills. This valuable source furnishes essential legal, financial, production, and marketing information from the cooperative’s founding in 1924 until 1963. Correspondence (1933-1961), membership agreements (1936-1961), financial ledgers, and production records provide supplementary and important data which makes possible a thorough and accurate study of the period 1930-1960. In addition, exhibits, reports, hearing proceedings and legal decisions on federal orders pertaining to the marketing of milk, 1934-1964, are included. Researchers should note that there are few materials available beyond 1963 and may wish to consult related Northern Illinois Regional History Collections: DeKalb Milk Consumers Association Records (RC15), Gurler Family Papers (RC25), Pure Milk Association (RC62), Stephenson County Pure Milk Association (RC93).

Collection Historical Note

On February 20, 1924, the Board of Directors of Mid-West Dairymen’s Company met in Chicago to approve the by-laws of a dairy cooperative, organized under the Cooperative Marketing Act of the State of Illinois passed June 21, 1923. The purpose of the new organization was “to be a non-profit cooperative agricultural association without capital stock organized for the mutual help and benefit of its members and to provide better and more economical methods of marketing the dairy products of its members through cooperation...” In 1924 the main office was located in Chicago, but the original plan encompassed six geographical territories - - Indiana, Wisconsin, Rockford East, Rockford West, Winnebago County, Illinois outside of Winnebago County.

Membership in the cooperative declined during the Depression so that by May 1932 there was only one operating district, Rockford: as a result, the headquarters moved to Rockford in 1932. For a short time the Producers Milk Company also existed as a subsidiary non-profit cooperative association handling financial matters and accumulating capital stock. In the 1930’s the cooperative dealt with the Rockford’s Milk Dealers Association and others to obtain higher prices for dairy products.

In response to the Depression and a crisis of overproduction in agriculture, the New Deal’s Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 sought to aid agriculture by reestablishing farm prices at parity level, prices comparable to those in the 1909-1914 base period. It also sought to control production. Since 1933 an increasingly important task of dairy cooperatives, including MidWest Dairymen’s Company, has been to lobby the federal government concerning prices, surpluses, foreign trade, and protection from substitutes for dairy products. As part of the Illinois Milk Producers Association, MidWest also lobbied in Springfield. It has actively followed, if not participated in, federal, state, and city milk control legislation, for example, Rockford’s milk codes concerning health and pasteurized milk in the 1940’s to federal pricing and marketing orders in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1980 it continues to advocate federal milk support prices, restrictions on imports, and support for and funding of the School Lunch Program and Special Milk Program. Over the years it has also sought to increase milk and dairy consumption through the advertising media and has worked with many other dairy organizations and cooperatives.

Mid-West Dairymen’s Company was founded in an “era of cooperatives” in the 1920’s. The Capper-Volstead Act of 1922 had legalized marketing associations and defined terms for producers to organize. Mid-West’s basic aim - - to benefit dairy producers - - has not changed since its founding. In times of relative prosperity or outright depression, Mid-West has been part of the larger cooperative movement which has tried to solve problems of agricultural overproduction by voluntary cooperation and governmental aid. It continues today to maintain a strong membership.

Subject/Index Terms

Associated Milk Producers
Dairying
Dairying, Cooperative
Midwest Dairymen's Company
Pure Milk Association
Rockford (Ill.)

Administrative Information

Repository: Northern Illinois University

Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access to this collection.

Use Restrictions: Property rights in the materials belong to Mid-West Dairymen’s Company of Rockford, Illinois. Literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Acquisition Source: Board of Directors of Mid-West Dairymen’s Company

Acquisition Method: The Board of Directors of Mid-West Dairymen’s Company deposited their records with the Northern Illinois Regional History Center on October 12, 1979.

Related Materials: Researchers should note that there are few materials available beyond 1963 and may wish to consult related Northern Illinois Regional History Collections: DeKalb Milk Consumers Association Records (RC 15), Gurler Family Papers (RC 25), Pure Milk Association (RC 62), Stephenson County Pure Milk Association (RC 93).

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Box 6],
[Box 7],
[Box 8],
[Box 9],
[Box 10],
[Box 11],
[Volume 1: General Ledger (1 volume), 1934-1957],
[Volume 2: Bank Account Ledger (1 volume), 1939-1940],
[Volume 3: Ledger (1 volume), 1932-1961],
[All]

Box 1

Folder 1: Corporate Record Book, 1924-1931
Volume 1-5: Corporate Record Books (5 volumes), 1932-1963
Folder 2: Midwest Dairy vs. General Business Service Corporation, Testimony, 1935
Folder 3: By-Laws, 1969

Box 2

Folder 1-6: Correspondence, General, 1933-1961
Folder 7-23: Correspondence, Alphabetically by Organization, 1939-1962
Folder 24-25: Illinois Milk Producers Association (I.M.P.A.) Condensery Prices, 1945- circa 1963
Folder 26: Illinois Milk Producers Association (I.M.P.A.) Milk Market Reports, 1949-1960
Folder 27: Stephenson County Pure Milk Association, Report, 1957
Folder 28: Census of Business, 1958

Box 3

Folder 1: Federal Milk Market Administration, Produce Reports, 1957-1960
Folder 2: Godfrey's Milk Work Sheets, 1951-1960
Folder 3: Name Change Form, 1960
Folder 4: List of Cancellations, 1946-1963
Folder 5-10: Agreements, Cancellations, 1936-1963
Folder 11: List of Assignments, 1958-1960
Folder 12: Assignments, 1938-1961
Folder 13: Monthly Financial Reports, 1958- circa 1960
Folder 14: Payroll Records, 1946-1960
Folder 15: Proceedings, Hearing on Proposed Marketing Agreement, 1934
Folder 16: Hearing for Proposed Milk Marketing Order, 1948
Folder 17: Exhibits 5-60, 1948
Folder 18: Assorted Orders, 1957-1962
Folder 19: Pasteurized Milk Analysis, Rockford, 1960-1962

Box 4

Folder 1: Order 41: As Amended, 1955, 1957
Folder 2: Order 41: Membership Report, 1957-1959
Folder 3-4: Order 41: Compilation of Statistical Material, 1947-1961
Folder 5: Order 41: Material Used in Hearing, 1961
Folder 6: Order 41: Decisions and Recommended Decision, 1947-1961
Folder 7: Order 91: As Amended, 1949-1952
Folder 8: Order 91: Material Used in Hearing, 1949
Folder 9: Order 91: Recommended Decisions and Finding, 1949-1952
Folder 10: Order 91: Hearings on Amendments: Exhibits 1-32, May 1951
Folder 11: Order 91: Hearings on Amendments: Exhibit (1-47), December 1951
Folder 12: Order 91: Hearings on Amendments: Hearing Record, December 1951
Folder 13: Order 91: Hearings on Amendments: Exhibits R1-R29, March 1952
Folder 14: Order 91: Hearings on Amendments: Reports, 1959-1960
Folder 15: Order 91:Membership Report, 1955-1959
Folder 16: Order 91:Compilation of Statistical Material, 1948-1961
Folder 17: Order 91:Hearing, June 1961
Folder 18: Order 91:Material Used in Hearing, June 1961
Folder 19: Order 30: Materials Used in Hearing, June 1951
Folder 20: Order 30: Utilization and Classification of Order 41 Milk, 1961
Folder 21: Order 30: Official Announcement of Uniform Price, 1961-1962
Folder 22: Order 30: Official Price Announcement, 1961-1962
Folder 23: Order 30: Statistical Summary with Computation of Uniform Price, 1961-1962
Folder 24: Order 30: Supply-Demand Ratio, 1961-1964
Folder 25: Order 30: Recommended Decision, 1964
Folder 26: Orders 30 and 38, 1958-1962
Folder 27: Order 38: Briefs and Exceptions, 1951-1952
Folder 28: Order 38: Official Price Announcement, 1959-1962
Folder 29: Order 38: Utilization and Classification of Order 38 milk, 1959-1962
Folder 30: Order 38: Computation of Uniform Price, 1960-1962
Folder 31: Order 38: Recommended Decision, 1961-1962
Folder 32: Order 38: Final Decisions, Compensatory Payments, 1964
Folder 28-33: Order 38, Reports, Prices, Decisions, 1951-1964

Box 5

Folder 1: Order 68, June 1963
Folder 2: Dairy Publications, 1952-1959
Folder 3: Photographs, Dairy Princesses (5), 1966
Folder 4-8: Midwest Dairyman, 1933-1961

Box 6

Folder 1-8: Midwest Dairyman, 1979-2008

Box 7

Folder 1-: Midwest Dairyman, 2009-

Box 8

Item 1: Monthly Production Records, 1932-1939

Box 9

Volume 1-4: Monthly Production Records (4 volumes), 1940-1955
Folder 1-4: Monthly Production Records, A-Q, 1956-1963

Box 10

Folder 1-2: Monthly Production Records, R-Z, 1956-1963
Folder 3-4: Supplies Inventory, 1958-1960

Box 11

Folder 1-7: Audit Reports, 1932-1950
Folder 8: General Ledger, 1932-1961

Volume 1: General Ledger (1 volume), 1934-1957

Volume 2: Bank Account Ledger (1 volume), 1939-1940

Volume 3: Ledger (1 volume), 1932-1961