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Montana Department of Livestock, Milk Control Bureau records, 1935-1983

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana. Department of Livestock. Milk Control Bureau
Title
Montana Department of Livestock, Milk Control Bureau records
Dates
1935-1983 (inclusive)
Quantity
13 linear feet
Collection Number
RS 500 (Formerly RS 103)
Summary
This collection is a sub-subgroup (Bureau/Program) of the Montana Department of Livestock records, RS 500. The Milk Control Program (formerly named Milk Control Bureau) operates within the Centralized Services Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Livestock records. These records of the Milk Control Program, its predessor, the Milk Control Division, and the Board of Milk Control, consist of interoffice correspondence, general correspondence (arranged by town), hearing dockets, financial records, minutes, reports, speeches and writings, and miscellany, including cost studies.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Montana Milk Control Board was established in 1935 by S.B. 163 in response to "a public emergency... growing out of the unhealthful, unfair, unjust, destructive and demoralizing trade practices" in the industry. The Board, as established, consisted of the director of the Livestock Sanitary Board and the chief of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture, both serving ex officio. A third member, appointed by the governor, served as executive secretary.

The Board was given the power to establish local marketing areas on the request of a majority of the milk producers and distributors of the area. Within that area the Board could then establish minimum prices and require that all milk producers and distributors be licensed. Dairies outside of marketing areas remained unregulated.

The original Milk Control Board was regarded as a temporary body to meet an emergency, but in 1939, the legislature made the Board a permanent agency. The composition of the Board was changed to give consumers, producers, and distributors representation and to remove the position of executive secretary from the Board.

In 1957, in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Milk Control Board, the legislature appointed a special committee to investigate the Board. This committee requested the removal of Executive Secretary A.A. Klemme, increased consumer and producer representation, and recommended sweeping changes in the Board's operations. In 1959 the Board's composition was again changed requiring that "no appointee shall be connected in any way with the production, processing, distribution, or wholesale or retail sale of milk or dairy products in any manner whatsoever."

In addition, the 1959 legislation created "natural marketing areas" covering the entire state and for the first time brought all producers under regulation. A local advisory board was established for each market area.

In 1973, milk control became a division under the new Department of Business Regulation. This division later became the Milk Control Bureau under the Department of Commerce, and later under the Department of Livestock (where it currently operates, as of 2024). The current name (as of 2024) of the program is Milk Control Program.

Executive secretaries of the Board over the years were George A. Norris (1935-1943), A.A. Klemme (1944-1957), T.P. McNulty (1958-1964), and Geoffrey L. Brazier (1965-1972).

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Content Description

Correspondence in this collection is arranged into interoffice correspondence between the executive secretary and various Board members and employees; general correspondence between the executive secretary and a variety of organizations; and general correspondence arranged by community. This last series contains letters from people in the dairy industry in Montana requesting information on their responsibilities under the law and on the methods of setting up marketing areas. It also contains correspondence dealing with attempts to bring local dairies into compliance.

The second major component of the records is the hearing docket series. From 1935 to 1958 these hearings were held in each community requesting to come under the jurisdiction of the Board. The hearing would set up the market area and establish legal minimum prices. After 1958 the hearings were held to establish the twelve "natural marketing areas" and to set prices within those areas. In some cases joint hearings were held for more than one marketing area. These are filed under the lower-numbered area. There are also hearing dockets for statewide hearings on proposed regulation and prices, and on violations by individual dairies. Hearings files may include transcripts, exhibits, and correspondence concerning hearings.

Other records in the collection include financial records (1936-1964); minutes (June 1935-May 1983) of the Board including transcripts of proceedings and testimony; reports (1949-1960) consisting primarily of daily activity logs of the executive secretary; speeches and writings about the Board's functions; and miscellany including lists of milk control areas and dairies within those areas; cost studies for each area; official orders of the Board (1935-1974); and working papers for the annual published utilization report.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by series.

Location of Collection

20:3-2

Processing Note

In 2024, the various collections of the Department of Livestock were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 500, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from the Department of Livestock's Divisions and Boards that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 500. Rather than reprocessing over 50 linear feet of Livestock materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids and provide access to them via links in this central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the Content Note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information is available upon request.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Finding aid prepared by MTHS Staff; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2004; 2024

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