Series VI. Newsletters

Scope and Content Note

Newsletters and other publications put out by USDA agencies, as well as by national farmers' associations, industry and lobbying groups, and other agriculture-related organizations. Non-USDA organizations whose publications are found here include the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, National Grange, National Milk Producers Federation, and state and local groups.

While many titles are represented over a span of years, some items were not collected regularly, so only a few issues may be found in this collection.

The series contains two subseries.
1.USDA Newsletters
2. Non-USDA Newsletters

Subseries 1. USDA Newsletters, 1918-1996. 14.5 cubic ft.

Newsletters published by USDA agencies. Included are copies of divisional newsletters such as BAE News from the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and publications of employee organizations, such as OPEDA News, put out by the Organization of Professional Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other titles of interest include Ag Reporter (1964-1990, and scattered earlier issues), dealing with activities and general interest items for employees; Black Unity (1972-1975), a publication for African Americans within the department; and Digest of Congressional Proceedings of Interest to the Department of Agriculture, a brief, daily summary of activities in the U.S. House and Senate (1942-1982).

Files of the official departmental newsletter USDA News (formerly USDA) include an almost complete run of the newsletter beginning with its first issue in 1942. In addition to copies of the newsletter, there are administrative and editorial records from 1979-1984, including budget materials, correspondence, memoranda, production files, and responses to a survey. There are also "agency fact sheets," included as inserts in several issues, 1983-1984, which summarize the history and functions of many of the Department's principal agencies.

Subseries 2. Non-USDA Newsletters, 1941-1994. 10.5 cubic ft.  

Newsletters published by national farmers' groups and other agriculture-related organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Farmers Union (NFU), the National Grange, and state and local groups. There are long runs of Farm Bureau News (1952-1991) published by the AFBF, and the National Farmers Union's Washington Newsletter (1954-1989). There are scattered issues of newsletters from some of the state branches of the NFU, including Iowa Union Farmer, Kansas Union Farmer, and Minnesota Agriculture.

Of note are several publications based in Washington, D.C. that specialize in reporting on the activities of Congress, USDA, and other agriculture-related agencies. Among these are Spade (1942-1945), View From the Hill (1976-1994), Washington Agricultural Record (1973-1993), and Washington Farmletter, also known as Wayne Darrow's Washington Farmletter (1943-1986).

Agricultural cooperatives, corporations, and industrial associations are represent by issues of American Meat Institute Bulletin (1942-1949), News for Dairy Co-ops (1982-1989), and Swift's Dairy and Poultry News (1947-1950). Defense Production Record was a newsletter put out by the National Production Authority, Department of Commerce, dealing with controls on production of agricultural and industrial materials during the Korean War period.

Also of interest is a collection of Work Simplification Newsletter (1943-1956) published by the Work Simplification Laboratory at Purdue University, and known under various titles.

13 Items

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  • Collection: Series VI. Newsletters
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USDA, January 9, 1974 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated January 9, 1974, with an article discussing the department's role in energy conservation in light of the fuel shortage.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/5, file "USDA. 1974" USDA History Collection, Special Collections,…

Date: 1/9/1974

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USDA, February 6, 1942 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated February 6, 1942. Secretary Wickard invokes the attack on Pearl Harbor as the nation's wake-up call to its responsibility in meeting future agricultural demands.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1942" USDA…

Date: 2/6/1942

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USDA, March 18, 1944 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated March 18, 1944.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1944" USDA History Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Date: 3/18/1944

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USDA, April 15, 1944 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated April 15, 1944 tells the history of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) beginning with its inception in 1933. Due to wartime restrictions on paper and printing supplies, photographs were eliminated from USDA for…

Date: 4/15/1944

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USDA, May 26, 1976 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated May 26, 1976, with an article on the 30th Annual USDA Honor Awards Ceremony, which honors those who have made notable contributions to both agriculture and public service, or given extraordinary service to the Department…

Date: 5/26/1976

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USDA, August 29, 1949 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated August 29, 1949.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1949" USDA History Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Date: 8/29/1949

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USDA, October 5, 1942 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated October 5, 1942.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1942" USDA History Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Date: 10/5/1942

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USDA, November 13, 1944 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated November 13, 1944, with an article discussing the programs of the Office of Distribution.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1944" USDA History Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Date: 11/13/1944

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USDA, November 25, 1965 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated November 25, 1965. Secretary Orville Freeman and Jimmy Durante are pictured supporting the "Food is a Bargain" campaign.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/5, file "USDA. 1965" USDA History Collection, Special Collections,…

Date: 11/25/1965

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USDA, November 27, 1943 (Newsletter)

Description: Front page of USDA dated November 27, 1943, with a story about the challenge of providing enough turkeys to meet both civilian and military demand during wartime.Series VI.1, USDA Newsletters, Box 6/4, file "USDA. 1943" USDA History Collection,…

Date: 11/27/1943

No digital file available. Please contact Special Collections for access.

[Untitled]

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USDA SEAL

Description: USDA Seal History

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USDA Centennial Edition

Description: This issue celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the United States Department of Agriculture. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Act creating the Department on May 15, 1862.

Date: 1962-05-09

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