State Board of Agriculture

The State Board of Agriculture was founded in 1916 as an authority to enforce the laws of the State of Maryland relating to agriculture. The board's purposes were to supervise the production and distribution of agricultural products with particular attention to sanitation, as well as to oversee the use of fertilizers, chemicals, seeds, and machinery employed in this process. The board was also greatly concerned with controlling/eliminating animal and plant diseases and inn later years, soil preservation and insect control became additional important issues.

The board was divided into specialized departments, such as the Department of Drainage or the Seed Inspection Committee, which oversaw the enforcement of laws and regulations. In addition, these departments investigated specific problemns and published the results of their research in articles and statistical compiliations.

The State Board of Agriculture consisted initially of nine members, all of whom also served as the trustees of the University of Maryland. As the size of the Board of Trustees increased to eleven and later twelve members, so did the membership of the State Board of Agriculture. The positions on this board were unpaid and were held for a term of nine years.

The committee was to report annually to the Maryland General Assembly and, upon request, to the governor. In addition, the board published its annual reports and informational materials for farmers and farm suppliers. From July 1967 until 1972, the board also produced a monthly newsletter entitled "Agricultural Review."

The State Board of Agriculture could claim achievements in many fields. It succeeded in gaining control over the spread of tuberculosis among livestock; consequently Maryland was considered free of tuberculosis by the 1960s. The Farmers' Institutes, first convened in 1917, were annual conferences held by the board to inform farmers about legislation and to instruct them about current agricultural issues. And the mosquito control program was an example of the successful incorporation of communities into the board's programs. Between 1956 and 1967, the board succeeded in increasing the number of participating communities from 82 to 850. This development greatly increased the effectiveness of actions such as spraying, the use of larvicides, and the ditching and filling of marshes to reduce the mosquito population.

The State Board of Agriculture was abolished in 1972 with the creation of the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

From the guide to the State Board of Agriculture records, 1916-1958 (31 items), null, (University of Maryland)

Agency History

In 1854 the Legislature created the California State Agricultural Society and authorized it to hold an exhibition of livestock, manufactures and productions (ch. 51). The 1863 Legislature added a Board of Agriculture to administer the affairs of the Society (ch. 49). The State Agricultural Society was declared to be a State institution in 1880, but it retained its independent status as a State board (ch. 60).

A major reorganization took place in 1929 when the Department of Finance took over all the powers and duties of the State Board of Agriculture and of the State Agricultural Society (ch. 853). A Division of Exhibits was also created. The Society continued to run the State fair, but a Board of Directors of the State Agricultural Society was established to manage its affairs, while the Board of Agriculture became an advisory body to the Department of Agriculture, all persuant to the 1929 act. A 1941 law changed the Division of Exhibits to the Division of Fairs and Exposition (ch. 943), and in 1953 the California State Agricultural Society became the California State Fair and Exposition (ch. 86). In 1963 the Legislature transferred the Division of Fairs and Exposition to the Department of Agriculture (ch. 1714), and then on to the Department of General Services in 1965 (ch. 809).

Studies for a "new State fair" had begun in 1946, and in 1963 a new California exposition and fair was created and placed in the Department of Finance (ch. 1743). Upon its completion the new exposition would replace the old fair. The new exposition and fair was administered by the California Exposition and Fair Committee (hereafter referred to as CEFEC). CEFEC was a state institution composed of State elected and appointed officials, some of whom were also members of the Board. With the creation of the Department of General Services (Stats. 1963, ch. 1786), CEFEC was transferred to it, persuant to (Stats. 1963, ch. 1743). On July 31, 1964, CEFEC contracted with the California Exposition and Fair Corporation (hereafter referred to as CEFCO) to construct and operate the new exposition and fair on the new American River site. Upon CEFEC declaring the new exposition and fair operational on June 21, 1968, the Board of Directors, California State Fair and Exposition, was abolished, non-CEFEC members becoming such, all persuant to the 1963 act. The old fair and exposition, which had continued to operate during the period in which the new exposition and fair was being constructed, was terminated. Thus, records of the Board of Directors, California State Fair and Exposition, overlap those of CEFEC and CEFCO from 1964 to 1968.

CEFCO continued in operation until its agreement with CEFEC was terminated Sept. 30, 1968, and CEFCO activities ceased Oct. 31, 1968. CEFEC began direct administration of the exposition and fair Nov. 1, 1968, and continued until its own abolition and replacement by the Division of Exposition and State Fair, Department of Parks and Recreation, Jan. 1, 1974 (Stats. 1973, ch. 1152).

From the guide to the California State Exposition and Fair Records, 1858-1973, (California State Archives)