Massachusetts Agricultural Surveys Collection

1910-1965
25 boxes (18 linear ft.)
Call no.: MS 261
rotating decorative images from SCUA collections

As a land grant institution, the Massachusetts Agricultural College developed a range of initiatives over the years to apply the research expertise of its faculty to the improvement of the state's agriculture. During the presidencies of Henry Hill Goodell (1886-1905) and Kenyon Butterfield (1906-1924), in particular, the College's Experiment Stations and Extension Service flourished, sponsoring basic research in livestock and poultry management and the state's major crops, and offering education and consultation for Massachusetts farmers.



Organized by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Massachusetts Agricultural College (and its successors Massachusetts State College and UMass Amherst) and carried out in conjunction with other college departments and state and federal agencies, the surveys comprising this collection examined critical sectors in the agricultural economy of the state, with attention to factors such as land use, business and farm management, dairy farming and cost of milk production, tobacco and onion production, and poultry and livestock disease.

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Background on the agricultural surveys

As a land grant institution, the Massachusetts Agricultural College developed a range of initiatives over the years to apply the research expertise of its faculty to the improvement of the state's agriculture. During the presidencies of Henry Hill Goodell (1886-1905) and Kenyon Butterfield (1906-1924), in particular, the College's Experiment Stations and Extension Service flourished, sponsoring basic research in livestock and poultry management and the state's major crops, and offering education and consultation for Massachusetts farmers.

Scope of collection

Organized by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Massachusetts Agricultural College (and its successors Massachusetts State College and UMass Amherst) and carried out in conjunction with other college departments and state and federal agencies, the surveys comprising this collection examined critical sectors in the agricultural economy of the state. The surveys examined factors such as land use, business and farm management, dairy farming and cost of milk production, tobacco and onion production, and poultry and livestock disease. The collection includes some supplemental statistical information and aerial photographs.

Inventory

Tobacco and Onion Surveys
1910-1911
Box 1

Hampshire County and individual towns.

Towns


Amherst


Box 1
Deerfield


Box 1
Hadley


Box 1
Hatfield


Box 1
South Deerfield


Box 1
Southwick


Box 1
Sunderland


Box 1
Westfield


Box 1
Farm Management Surveys


Conducted by USDA Bureau of Plant Industry and Office of the Secretary

Counties


Barnstable Co.
1919
Box 1
Bristol Co.
1915-1917
Box 1
Essex Co. (Newburyport and Rowley)
1914-1916, 1921
Box 1
Franklin Co.
1915-1916
Box 2
Hampden Co.
1915
Box 2
Hampshire Co.
1915
Box 2
Norfolk Co.
1916-1917
Box 2
Plymouth Co.
1915-1916, 1921
Box 2
Towns


Acushnet
1921
Box 3
Bolton, Berlin, and Stowe
1913, 1915
Box 1
Boxboro
1920-1923
Box 3
Easton
1915
Box 1
Falmouth
1921
Box 3
Granville
1920-1921
Box 3
Hancock
1923
Box 3
Heath
1922-1923
Box 3
Littleton
1920-1923
Box 4
Marlboro
1916-1917
Box 2
Petersham
1913, 1915
Box 2
Sheffield
1920-1923
Box 4/5
Shelburne
1921-1922
Box 5
Sterling and Pratt Junction
1913-1917
Box 2
Farm Management Surveys


Barnstable County--Falmouth
1921
Box 6
Berkshire County--Hancock
1923
Box 6
Berkshire County--Sheffield
1920-1921, 1923
Box 6
Essex County--Andover
1921
Box 6
Franklin County--Heath
1922-1924
Box 6
Franklin County--Shelburne
1921-1923
Box 6
Hampden County--Granville
1922
Box 7
Hampshire County--Granby
1923
Box 7
Middlesex County--Boxboro
1920-1923
Box 7
Middlesex County--Littleton
1920-1923
Box 7
Plymouth County--Middleboro
1921
Box 7
Miscellaneous, uncompleted
1921
Box 7
Business Surveys - Connecticut Valley Farms
1929

Towns: Amherst, South Deerfield, Sunderland.

Surveys # 1-149


Box 8
Surveys #150-299


Box 9
Surveys #300-345 and non-used


Box 10
Dairy Farm Business Surveys - Business Analysis and Cost of Milk Production
1933-1934

conducted by: Dept. of Farm Management, Mass. State College.

Dairy Survey List


Box 11
Summary Cards


Box 11
Detailed Survey Record


Box 12

included in the survey is detailed information on crops, animals, trucking, and wood production, etc., for various counties throughout the Commonwealth.

Land Use Planning Survey
1938

Conducted by: Mass. State College, Harvard University, and USDA.

Towns


Charlton and Grafton


Box 13
Mendon, North Brookfield, Northboro, Petersham, Sutton, Winchendon


Box 14
Livestock Disease Survey
1940-1941
Counties


Barnstable


Box 15
Berkshire


Box 15
Bristol


Box 15
Dukes


Box 15
Essex


Box 16
Franklin


Box 16
Hampden


Box 16
Hampshire


Box 17
Middlesex


Box 17
Nantucket


Box 17
Norfolk


Box 17/18
Plymouth


Box 18
Suffolk


Box 18
Worcester


Box 18/19
Cost of Milk Production and Farm Management Study
1943-1944
Survey Record of Dairy Farm Businesses


Conducted by: M.S.C. Extension Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and The Mass. Milk Control Board Cooperating.

Counties


Barnstable


Box 20
Berkshire


Box 20
Bristol


Box 20
Essex


Box 20
Franklin


Box 20
Hampden


Box 20
Hampshire


Box 21
Middlesex


Box 21
Norfolk


Box 21
Plymouth


Box 21
Worcester


Box 21
Poultry Survey
1950-1951
Box 22
Statistical Summaries: Agricultural Atlas, 1940-1955 ; Agricultural, Economic, and Social Data (1765-1961); Agricultural Conservation Programs (1944-1956)
1940s-1960s
Box 23
Aerial Photographs
1952, 1965
Towns


Agawam


Box 24
Chicopee


Box 24
East Hampton


Box 24
East Longmeadow


Box 24
Granby


Box 24
Hadley


Box 24
Hampden


Box 24
Holyoke


Box 24
Longmeadow


Box 24
Ludlow


Box 24
Munson


Box 24
Northampton


Box 24
Palmer


Box 24
South Hadley


Box 24
Southwick


Box 24
Springfield


Box 24
Warren


Box 24
West Springfield


Box 24
Wilbraham


Box 24
Base map, negatives and unidentified


Box 25

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research. Individual names contained in the field surveys should be used with discretion.

Provenance

Acquired from John Foster, 1989.

Processing Information

Processed by Mike Milewski, 1989.

Language:

English

Acknowledgments

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Copyright and Use (More information )

Cite as: Massachusetts Agricultural Surveys Collection (MS 261). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Agriculture--Massachusetts--20th century
  • Dairy industry--Massachusetts--20th century
  • Farm life--Massachusetts--20th century
  • Poultry--Massachusetts--20th century
  • Tobacco--Massachusetts--20th century

Contributors

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst [main entry]
  • Massachusetts Agricultural College. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • Massachusetts State College. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Genres and formats

  • Photographs

Link to similar SCUA collections