The bulk of these papers document the corporate activities of the North Carolina Farm Bureau between 1936 and 1999. The North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, North Carolina Farm Bureau Service Company, and North Carolina Farm Bureau Marketing Association are all represented in the documents of this collection. Also, a substantial amount of material testifies to the activities of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Women's Committee. Formats include correspondence, corporate documents, publications, financial ledgers, legal documents and transcripts, scrapbooks, photographs, film reels, audio recordings, and miscellaneous artifacts. Organized in 1936 as a chapter of the American Farm Bureau, the North Carolina Farm Bureau was created to be a grassroots organization that would give farmers a unified voice on agricultural issues. Its Women's Committee was established in 1942. In 1953, the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company was established. Beginning in 1962, the North Carolina Farm Bureau pioneered creation of a group purchase program that was managed by the North Carolina Farm Bureau Service Company. The following year, the North Carolina Farm Bureau further expanded with the establishment of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Marketing Association. Because of the organization's involvement in legal and legislative matters, a Legal Foundation for the North Carolina Farm Bureau was created in 1983. In 1987, a Political Action Committee was also added. Educational programs of the Farm Bureau include the R. Flake Shaw Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders, and "Agriculture in the Classroom."
