Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

The first county farm bureaus in the state of Iowa were organized in Clinton and Scott counties on September 1, 1912. The purpose of the farm bureaus was to coordinate the agricultural activities of the county and to work in cooperation with other local farm associations. The farm bureaus also employed a county agent to act as leader, and it was his responsibility to conduct agricultural demonstrations, offer advice to individual farmers, conduct agricultural meetings, and work with rural schools. The agent was supported financially by grants from the federal and state governments and funds raised within the organized counties. In addition, the county farm bureaus of Iowa cooperated directly with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Iowa State College (University) Agricultural Extension Department.

Within five years of the formation of the first farm bureaus in Iowa, farmers in thirty counties were organized. As the United States entered into World War I, an effort was made to organized the farmers in all of Iowa's counties. By June 1, 1918, all ninety-nine counties in Iowa were organized, forming a total of one hundred farm bureaus (Pottawattamie county was split into eastern and western halves).

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation was formed December 27, 1918, at a meeting in Marshalltown attended by delegates from seventy-two of the state's one hundred coutny farm bureau organizations. During that meeting, the constitution and bylaws were formulated and executive officers and members of the board of directors were selected. James R. Howard of Marshall County was elected the first president of the IFBF. During its first year, the IFBF lobbied state and federal legislatures, assisted in establishing other agriculture-related organizations, created a federation publication, and joined with other state organizations to form the American Farm Bureau Federation. By the end of 1919, IFBF membership surpassed 100,000 members.

From its inception, the purpose of the IFBF was to help farm families prosper and improve their quality of life. Over the years IFBF has confronted a wide variety of issues ranging from global trade agricultural education and research, distribution and marketing of farm goods, farm credit, rural power and communications, soil conservation, and price support programs to name just a few. Membership in the IFBF is open to people of any occupation and, as of 2007, claims over 150,000 member families to be part of its organization.

Evolved from a Crop Improvement Association which was partially financed by Julius Rosenwald of Sears, Roebuck and Company and Chambers of Commerce. Iowa counties of Clinton, Scott, Black Hawk, Muscatine, Montgomery, Clay and Greene became active and organized in July 1912. During World War I, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture designated the County Crop Improvement Associations to promote stepped up food production and food conservation. By the end of the war, all County War Emergency organizations felt the need for a permanent farm association. When they became permanent, the name was changed to County Farm Bureau. Before the end of 1917 every county in Iowa had a Farm Bureau. The federating of the County Farm Bureaus took place in December of 1918.

The object of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation was "to develop, strengthen and correlate the work of the County Farm Bureaus of the state; to encourage and promote cooperation of all representative agricultural organizations in every effort to improve and facilitate conditions for the economic and efficient production of, conservation of, marketing of, transportation of and distribution of farm products; to further the study and enactment of constructive agricultural legislation; to advise with representatives of the public agricultural institutions cooperating with Farm Bureaus in the determination of state-wide policies and to inform Farm Bureau members regarding all movements that affect their interests."