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The state's first Department of Agriculture was created in 1871
to promote agriculture and horticulture and related manufactures and
domestic arts. Its business was conducted by a State Board of
Agriculture made up of representatives from each of the state's U.S.
congressional districts (L. 1871, pp. 113-114). The present
Department of Agriculture was created by the Civil Administrative
Code of 1917 succeeding to the powers and duties of the former
department and board and to those of the Livestock Commissioners,
the State Veterinarian, the Stallion Registration Board, the State
Inspector of Apiaries, the State Food Commissioners, and the State
Entomologist. Included in the department's responsibilities were the
annual collection and publication of agricultural statistics, the
organization and management of an annual state fair, the custody of
the state fairgrounds, and the preservation, distribution,
introduction, and restoration of fish and game. In 1925 the game and
fish division was transferred to the newly created Department of
Conservation. (L. 1925, p. 585).
When the Department of Trade and Commerce was abolished in 1933
the Department of Agriculture received from it the responsibilities
for inspecting grain and warehouses and for standardizing weights
and measures (L. 1933, p. 1061). Authority for setting the rules and
regulations regarding such inspections was assigned to the Illinois
Commerce Commission from 1941 until it was returned to the
Department of Agriculture in 1957 (L. 1941, vol. 1, p. 1032; L.
1957, p. 71), but the responsibility for actually performing the
inspections at all times remained with the department. Organization
and management of the State Fair was transferred in 1965 to the
State Fair Agency (L. 1965, p. 1989). All records, property, and
employees needed for the operation of the State Fair were
transferred from the Department of Agriculture's Division of the
State Fair to the newly created State Fair Agency.
The State Fair Board, composed of fifteen members, superseded the
State Fair Agency in 1975 (P.A. 79-1129, p. 3469). Although
organized along different lines, the State Fair Board retained the
same powers and duties exercised by the defunct State Fair Agency
(P.A. 79-1129, pp. 3471-3473). The State Fair Board was abolished in
1979 and its responsibilities were returned to the Department of
Agriculture where its authority rests in the Division of Fairs and
Horse Racing (P.A. 81-853, pp. 3108-3113).
201.001
DIRECTORS' FILES. 1917-1948. 14 cu. ft. Index.
Directors' administrative files primarily contain correspondence
and related material concerning complaints and investigations of
agricultural law violations; agricultural taxes; pest, insect, and
weed control; livestock diseases (particularly tuberculosis among
cattle); rural electrification; preparation for state fairs;
agricultural experiment station at the University of Illinois; horse
racing; wartime problems (e.g., food, labor, and machinery
shortages); occupation of the state fairgrounds by the U.S. Army Air
Corps; and agricultural legislation. Files also include Attorney
General opinions, State Fair bids and contracts (i.e., buildings,
bands, concessions, exhibitions), reports on drought and flood
relief, reports to the Governor, reports and minutes of meetings
from committees on which directors served (e.g., State Advisory
Committee of the Work and Rehabilitation Division of the Illinois
Emergency Relief Commission, Rural Rehabilitation Corporation), and
material from Court of Claims actions.
201.002
AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS (FARM CENSUS). 1938-1979. 362 cu. ft.
No index.
Yearly assessment books for all Illinois townships give
information on crops harvested and utilization of farmland. For each
township data include name and address of assessor/deputy assessor;
county and township; date enumeration completed; name and address of
each farm operator; total number of acres in farm, both owned and
rented; number of acres of corn (excepting sweet and popcorn)
harvested for grain, silage, or fodder, including hogged or grazed
down; number of acres of oats cut when mature (including those fed
unthreshed); number of acres of winter, summer wheat harvested;
number of acres of rye, barley harvested for grain; number of acres
of soybeans cut for hay, harvested for peas; number of acres of
alfalfa cut for hay; number of acres of cowpeas cut for hay,
harvested for peas; number of acres of clover and clover mixed with
timothy cut for hay; number of acres of timothy cut for hay; number
of acres of sweet clover, lespedeza cut for hay; number of other hay
acres cut for hay; number of acres of truck and vegetable crops;
number of acres of broomcorn or cotton harvested; number of acres of
all other crops harvested; number of acres of orchard land; number
of acres of plowland used for pasture only; number of acres of other
pasture, timber, or wasteland; number of roads, buildings and barn
lots; number of acres of idle plowland; number of acres of red and
alsike clover harvested; and number of acres of timothy, sweet
clover, lespedeza, red top seed harvested.
Beginning in 1942 assessment books also list: number of acres of
flax harvested; number of acres of soybeans, cowpeas plowed under;
number of acres of sweet, popcorn harvested; and number of apple,
peach, pear trees of bearing age. Beginning in 1954 assessment books
also list number of acres of sorghum harvested; number of apple,
peach trees of all ages; number of cows two years and over kept for
milk; number of hens and pullets of laying age; number of grain-fed
cattle and calves marketed; and number of fall sows and gilts that
farrowed. Beginning in 1962 assessment books also list number of
people living in farm operator's household; number of acres of oats
harvested for grain; number of acres of all wheat harvested; and
numbers of breeding ewes, milk cows, and beef cows. Beginning in
1968 assessment books also list number of feeder pigs bought. Each
township book also lists total number of farm acres and number of
farm operators from earlier enumerations along with figures from the
most recent enumeration.
201.003
STATE FAIR ANNUAL REPORTS. 1919-1941; 1946-1972. 71 vols. and
3 cu. ft. No index.
Reports cover all Illinois State Fair events and competitions
such as livestock, mechanical arts, farm products, relics, hobbies
and handicrafts, textile fabrics and art (e.g., quilts, rugs,
needlework), dairy products, beekeeping, garden vegetables and
canning, clothing, Junior Division demonstrations and exhibits, dog
shows, Boy Scout demonstrations, Girls' and Boys' Club activities,
horse racing, baby contests, motorcycle racing, and athletic
contests (e.g., horseshoe pitching, croquet tournaments).
Information contained mainly consists of lists of awards and
premiums distributed in each class of competition. Each list usually
includes names of the show superintendent and judge, section and
class name, number of exhibitors, number of entries, names and
addresses of prize winners by position placed in class competition,
type of exhibit or name of animal shown, exhibitor registration
number, and amount of award or premium.
Also included are minutes of the State Fair Advisory Board
(1919-1920); itemized statements of receipts and expenditures from
exhibitors' tickets, concessions, horse racing, space rental,
admissions, and stall, pen, and entry fees (1919-1935); complete
lists of exhibitors (1919-1939); tabulated statements of entries,
offerings, and awards in each class (1919-1920); and statistical
reports on county fairs receiving state aid (1919-1923).
201.004
ILLINOIS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS ANNUAL REPORTS. 1972-1981;
1983-1984. 8.5 cu. ft. No index.
Reports of agricultural cooperative associations submitted to the
Department of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Industry
Regulation, Bureau of Warehouses, include the name of the
association, date of incorporation, location of the association's
main business office, names and addresses of officers, the principal
commodity or commodities handled, the association's chief marketing
functions and a general statement of operations during the fiscal
year showing the amount of capital stock paid up, the number of
stockholders if a stock association or the number of members if not,
a balance sheet, the total expenses of operations, the amount of
indebtedness or liabilities, date the report was filed and the
license fee received, and the amount of license fee paid. Frequently
included are supplemental notes to financial statements, copies of
audits, and related correspondence. Also included for the years
1983-1984 are the percents of agricultural production purchased from
non-members and the names of other states in which the association
maintained offices.
201.005
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARD MINUTES.
1963-1989. 27 cu. ft. No index.
Minutes are of district boards established for the purpose of
effecting agreements with individuals and governmental agencies to
plan, construct, operate, and maintain programs and projects
relating to the conservation of renewable natural resources. Minutes
concern board membership, bylaws, resolutions, budgets and funding,
pending and approved legislation, educational programs, and
conservation plans. Plans concern such issues as conservation
techniques, pollution control, flood planning, forestry, land
utilization, erosion control, wetlands management, watershed land
treatment, soil analyses, beef marketing, recreation, waste
treatment, waterways navigation, surface mining, no-tillage yields,
and acreage annexation. Also included are board newsletters, news
releases, agendas, financial statements, audit reports, attendance
lists, annual and monthly activity reports, memoranda,
correspondence, maps, and newspaper clippings.
201.006
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT LONG RANGE PROGRAM PLANS.
1968-1986. 1.33 cu. ft. No index.
Plans for resource conservation and development outline district
history; organization and policies; boundaries and land features;
natural resources; land use patterns; conservation needs; long range
program goals and objectives; cooperation with federal, state, and
local governmental agencies; and program implementation and
administration. Frequently included are district maps and related
statistical charts and tables.
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office
of the Secretary of State.
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