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Agriculture Records at the National Archives at Atlanta

 
RG 4 - U.S. Food Administration Bureau of Plant Industry
RG 95 - Forest Service Farmers Home Administration Farm Credit Administration

RG 4 - U.S. Food Administration

Regulated the supply, distribution, and conservation of foods. Bought and sold grain and sugar and their products through two subsidiaries, the Food Administration Grain Corporation (U.S. Grain Corporation) and the U.S. Sugar Equalization Board, Inc.

Wartime controls lifted following Armistice, November 11, 1918. Conservation regulations lapsed, November-December 1918; licensing requirements, January-February 1919; commodity controls, except wheat, by June 1919. Administration of wheat program transferred to United States Wheat Director, who concurrently served as Chief of the Cereal Division, USFA, and as President of the U.S. Grain Corporation, by Presidential proclamations of June 23 and 24, 1919.

Residual functions of Food Administrator transferred to Chief of the Cereal Division, USFA (wheat and wheat products), and to Attorney General (all other food products), by Presidential proclamation, November 21, 1919.

State Correspondence
These finding aids consist of file folder lists for several record series of correspondence for U.S. Food Administration offices in Alabama and Georgia.

RG 8 - Bureau of Agricultural Engineering

Conducted research and investigated the application of principles of civil and mechanical engineering in the areas of irrigation, drainage, and farm structures and machinery (rural engineering).  Research in irrigation, drainage, hydrology, and soil erosion were transferred to the Soil Conservation Service and the Bureau of Plant Industry, 1935 and 1938.

Field Office Correspondence
This series contains public and internal correspondence and reports relating to supplies, fiscal matters, and drainage surveys conducted in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These include letters sent and received from Washington, weekly field reports, road and bridge bond surveys, field correspondence, and staff correspondence. Topics covered by these documents relate to the Big Black River Survey in Mississippi and Alabama, the Cypress Creek Drainage District in Arkansas, and the drainage surveys conducted on the Florida Everglades.

RG 54 - Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering

Conducted research on agricultural (farming and gardening) and forestry problems in such areas as crops, soils, machinery, storage, transportation, and housing.

Sugar Plant Investigations
This series consists of correspondence and reports relating to the Sugar Plant Experimentation Station in Cairo, Georgia.

RG 95 - Forest Service

Administers the national forest system. Promotes conservation and use of national forests and grasslands. Conducts forest and range research. Assists and cooperates with administrators of state and private forests. Supervised forest and range conservation work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-42. Administered war-related programs, 1942-45. Administered, 1934-42, the Prairie States Forestry ("Shelterbelt") Project, established under the Emergency Appropriation Act (48 Stat. 1021), June 19, 1934. "Shelterbelt" Project transferred to Soil Conservation Service, effective July 1, 1942, by Secretary's memorandum, June 30, 1942.

Correspondence
This series contains correspondence relating to Civilian Conservation Corps plans, work projects, personnel, enrollment, inspections, policies, and special state agreements. Historical Drawings
This series contains engineering and architectural drawings for structures on Forest Service property. The drawings include structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, water and sanitation drawings, bridges, fire towers, and recreational areas. Land Title Records
This series consists of case files relating to the transfer of land titles. These case files contain abstracts of title, warranty deeds, correspondence, receipts, title opinions, appraisal reports, certificates of possession, tax notices, and tract maps.

RG 96 - Farmers Home Administration

Provides small farmers with credit to construct or repair homes and farm buildings, improve farming operations, or become farm owners.

Inventory of Records
This finding aid provides brief descriptions of each series of records found within our Farmers Home Administration records.  More detailed finding aids, including file folder lists, for each series is found below. Administrative Correspondence of the Farm Debt Adjustment Commission of North Carolina
This series consists chiefly of correspondence of G. W. Forester, Executive Secretary of the Commission, and of Harry F. Watkins, but also includes files of correspondence with state and other officials regarding program matters. Copies of Letters Sent
This series consists of copies of letters sent to the central office, state directors, project managers, and others by division employees. Also included are some internal memoranda. The series concerns mainly rehabilitation matters and farm ownership loans. Correspondence and Reference Files of J. B. Slack
This series consists mainly of copies of letters, telegrams, and interoffice memoranda sent, but includes some letters received and reference material. Also included are some summary reports on rehabilitation loans as well as some detailed reports of Bernard G. Torreyson, Regional Collection Adviser, concerning loan operations in various offices in the region. Correspondence and Reference Files of the Regional Director
This series consists of correspondence and reference files created by the Directors of Region 4, which included the States of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The files include letters received; copies of letters, telegrams, and memoranda sent; reports; press releases; and circulars. Much of the material concerns activities involving agriculture and rural development associated with the Great Depression and the New Deal, including correspondence on the direction of the Rehabilitation Program, the Tenant Purchase Program, and various resettlement projects, such as Cumberland Homesteads in Tennessee and Penderlea Homesteads in North Carolina. Correspondence Files of James S. Heizer
This series consists of the correspondence files of James S. Heizer that concern the organization and operation of low-cost medical care programs for rehabilitation clients and their families. Correspondence of C. W. E. Pittman
This series consists of correspondence mainly covering the period when C. W. E. Pittman was located in the state office of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration at Raleigh, North Carolina. Correspondence of H. R. Edwards
This series consists of reference materials on various background subjects, such as policies and procedures, laws and legal opinions, financial data and statistics on loans, and various other informational material. Included are some letters sent by H. P. Edwards. Correspondence of J. R. Allgyer
This series consists of correspondence exchanged with the central office, State Rural Rehabilitation Corporations, and others regarding loans, grants, debt adjustment, and other matters. Correspondence of the Director
This series consists mainly of letters sent, but includes a few letters received, concerning loans, complaints, job applications, and other matters in which the aid of congressmen was solicited. There is also some correspondence, primarily regarding job applications, with Julian N. Friant, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, with W. W. Alexander, Administrator of the Farm Security Administration, and with state directors. Correspondence of the Farm Debt Adjustment Section
This series consists of correspondence of Harry F. Watkins, as State Farm Debt Adjustment Supervisor for North Carolina. Farm Ownership Files
This series consists of case files for agricultural loans made to farm families applying for economic assistance. The case files may contain loan applications, appraisal reports, and data concerning prospective borrowers; options; loan and variable payment agreements; loan analyses; mortgage and warranty deeds; certifications by the county committee; farm and home plans; title insurance policies; fire and property damage insurance policies; and certifications of closing for tenant - purchase loans associated with programs under the New Deal. The files may also include subsidiary forms and correspondence relating to the processing of loans. General Correspondence
This series consists of correspondence of the regional office, which served the States of Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia, relating to the following categories: cooperation among states, municipalities, organizations, and individuals; speeches; articles and press releases; the Land Acquisition Program; the Rural Rehabilitation Program; relocation of individuals and families by the government; farm and home plans for rural rehabilitation clients; farm debt adjustment, occupancy of resettlement projects; farm ownership loans; and administrative and organizational matters. General Correspondence
This series consists of correspondence related to all activities of the division for the States of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Much of the correspondence relates to rural development and rehabilitation, rehabilitation clients, and legal questions regarding the transfer of Rural Rehabilitation Corporation funds. General Correspondence of the Community and Cooperative Services Section
This series consists of correspondence that relates to the section's work in connection with loans to cooperatives or to individual borrowers wishing to join them. General Correspondence of the Farm Debt Adjustment Commission of North Carolina
This series consists of correspondence of G. W. Forester, Executive Secretary of the Commission, and of Harry F. Watkins, its State Representative. The series documents the commission's attempts to work out satisfactory adjustments between distressed farmer-debtors and their creditors. Letters Sent Relating to Applications for Employment
This series consists of letters sent mainly to Congressmen from the states comprising Region 4 in behalf of applicants. Included are some memoranda concerning visits of an official of the Farm Security Administration to these Congressmen. Rural Rehabilitation Loans
This series consists of case files for paid-in-full agricultural loans made to destitute farm families who were unable to borrow from private agencies because they could not offer adequate security for the loans. It consists of files from Dallas, Elmore, Marshall, and Shelby counties in Alabama. A typical case file contains a loan application, a loan agreement, a lease agreement, a mortgage, statements of accounts, receipts, a farm and home management plan, farm visit reports, and related correspondence.

RG 103 - Farm Credit Administration

Regulates and examines borrower-owned banks and associations of the farm credit system.

Project Manager's Files
These series contain records relating to land acquisition and disposal. Property Disposals
These series consist of case files documenting the disposal of land declared surplus by the U.S. Government and deemed suitable for agricultural use. In cooperation with the War Assets Administration, districts disposed of property from military sites classified as agricultural, grazing, forest or mineral lands including any structures on the site. A typical case file generally includes a declaration of surplus property, correspondence, disposal data, appraisals, and deeds. The case files contain primarily textual materials but may include photographs, maps, and architectural drawings.

 

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