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| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR0228 | | TITLE: | Alberta Federation of Agriculture fonds | | CREATOR: | Alberta Federation of Agriculture | | DATE RANGE: | 1936-1970 | | EXTENT: | 5.08 m of textual records | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Alberta Federation of Agriculture was established as the Alberta Co-operative Council on March 21, 1936. It ceased to exist in 1970 when it merged with the Farmers' Union of Alberta to form Unifarm.
The Alberta Co-operative Council was established on March 21, 1936 to serve any or all Alberta co-operatives who wanted to be affiliated with it, to promote their interests and to provide a link to the Western Section of the Canadian Chamber of Agriculture, from 1939 known as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Included in the Alberta Co-operative Council were co-operatives dealing with, grain, livestock, dairy, poultry, wool, and purchasing and distribution of supplies.
At the January 9, 1940 meeting of the Alberta Co-operative Council, revisions to the constitution were suggested to permit the inclusion of more organizations, not only co-operatives, but other agricultural organizations; as well, a change in name was proposed, to one more reflective of this new organization. At the fifth annual convention of the Alberta Co-operative Council, July 4 to 5, 1940, the constitution of the Alberta Co-operative Council was changed to include any farm organization, corporate or otherwise, where the administration was controlled by elected representatives, and the name of the organization was changed to the Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA).
At the last annual meeting of the AFA in January 1970, the decision to amalgamate with the FUA was reconfirmed. The founding convention of the new organization, Unifarm, where the new constitution was adopted, was held in Edmonton on March 24, 25 and 26, 1970.
The Alberta Federation of Agriculture amalgamated in 1970 with the Farmers' Union of Alberta. The new organization that resulted was Unifarm. This organization was reorganized as the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers in 1996.
The Board of Directors of the Alberta Co-operative Council consisted of directors from different commodities, including grain, livestock, dairy, poultry, and wool. In 1941, provisions were approved allowing for representation of the United Farmers of Alberta and the United Farmers of Canada, Alberta Section, on the Board. Membership included no individual members; it was a federation of co-operatives and commodity groups, and membership consisted of farmer organizations and co-operatives, with no local organization.
The Alberta Federation of Agriculture began as the Alberta Co-operative Council; the name was changed at the fifth annual convention of the Alberta Co-operative Council, held in the Buffalo Hotel in Red Deer, Alberta, July 4-5, 1940.
Presidents of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture: Christian Jensen, 1936-1941; Lew Hutchinson, 1941-1946; Roy C. Marler, 1947-1956; Gordon l. Harrold, 1956-1958; Jim Bentley, 1959-1963; Nelson Malm, 1964-1970
| | CUSTODIAL HISTORY: | James McFall, Executive Secretary of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture and later secretary to Unifarm, deposited the records in the Provincial Archives of Alberta between 1967 and 1980. John O. Thompson, grandson of Winifred Ross, who was involved in the AFA, also deposited Alberta Federation of Agriculture records in 1977 (PR1977.0113). | | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of the records of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, and includes commemorative booklets, press releases, bulletins, correspondence, briefs, minutes, financial records, resolutions and reports. The fonds includes one series: Education records, which includes correspondence, reports, newsletters and minutes, relating to the AFA’s membership in educational organizations, such as the Alberta Educational Council and the Alberta Adult Education Association. | | RELATED RECORDS: | Other records pertaining to the Alberta Federation of Agriculture are located in accessions PR1968.0186 and PR1974.0092 of the James R. McFall fonds at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. | | GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history is from the records and from the following books which are located in the Provincial Archives of Alberta Reference Library: Furrow, Faith and Fellowship, 630.6 P933 and Unifarm: A Story of Conflict & Change, 630.607123 J378.
Five boxes of records from accession PR1975.0040, relating to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, were transferred to Library and Archives Canada in 1975.
Included in accession PR1977.0113 are records belonging to the United Farm Women of Alberta fonds, the Junior United Farmers of Alberta fonds, the Farm Women's Union of Alberta fonds (including the Hillside Local No. 906 sous-fonds), the Winifred Ross fonds, the Millet Branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society fonds, the Millet Home and School Association fonds and the Jeane Thompson fonds
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