The Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives (formerly the Washington State Cooperative Council) was first organized on September 25, 1936, at the Western Washington Research and Extension Center (WWREC) in Puyallup. The charter membership consisted of 45 cooperative leaders representing 35 farmer-owned or -controlled marketing and purchasing organizations. The original impetus for organizing the Council was to encourage and promote a closer mutual relationship between all farmer cooperative business associations in Washington and to support or oppose state agricultural legislation as a unified group.
In later years, as the Council's membership grew, its needs expanded. The Council began working more closely with extension services and engaging in activities designed to advance its cooperative program throughout the state. Vocational agricultural education programs, such as business training conferences and FFA cooperative marketing and purchasing classes and Youth Tours, were also developed.
The Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives is a non-profit organization and a member of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
The records of the Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives are incomplete. Many of the records from 1936 through 1945 were apparently destroyed in a fire. The remaining papers include such material as articles of association, by-laws, financial statements, check registers, minutes of the Directors' meetings, minutes of the officers, executives and trustees meetings, treasurers' reports, audits, general correspondence (included under various subject headings throughout the collection), and the records of several different committees.
All files have been arranged in a single alphabetical series by subject. The folder entitled "General File, 1932-1958" includes correspondence, reports, an organization history, and committee material. The bulk of the material in this file comes from the years 1936-1937. Although the records of the Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives span the years from 1936 through 1976, the bulk of the material dates from the period of the 1950s and 1960s.
This collection is open for research use.
Folders 2-8, "Audits, 1941-1975," may be used only with the written permission of the Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
[Item Description]. Cage 445, Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The records of the Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives were donated to the Washington State University in May 1978 by Karl Kottman, State Director (MS 78-19).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.