Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Economic Research Service

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(Record Group 354)
1934-78

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

  • 354.1 Administrative History
  • 354.2 General Records of the Economic Research Service and its Predecessors 1948-78
  • 354.3 Records of the Farm Production Economics Division 1934-64
  • 354.4 Records of the Natural Resource Economics Division 1949-74
  • 354.5 Records of the National Agricultural Advisory Commission 1961-65
  • 354.6 Machine-Readable Records 1961-71

354.1 Administrative History

Established: In the Department of Agriculture by Secretarial Order, October 1, 1981.

Predecessor Agencies:
  • Division of Statistics (1863-1903)
  • Section of Foreign Markets (1894-1902)
  • Division of Foreign Markets (1902-3)
  • Bureau of Statistics (1903-14)
  • Bureau of Crop Estimates (1914-21)
  • Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates (1921-22)
  • Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAE, 1922-39)
  • Division of Agricultural Statistics, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS, 1939-42)
  • Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAE, 1942-53)
  • Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations (OFAR, 1939-53)
  • Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS, 1953-61)
  • Farm Economics Research Division, Agricultural Research Service (ARS, 1953-61) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS, 1953-61)
  • Economic Research Service (ERS, 1961-77)
  • Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service (ESCS, 1977-80)
  • Economics and Statistics Service (ESS, 1980-81)

Functions: Conducts research in domestic and foreign agricultural economics and marketing, including economic and statistical analysis; marketing, farm production, and natural resource economics; foreign demand and competition; and foreign development.

Related Records:
Record copies of publications of the Economic Research Service in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government.
Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, RG 83.
Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service, RG 136.
Records of the Foreign Agricultural Service, RG 166.
Records of the Agricultural Research Service, RG 310.
Records of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, RG 355.

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354.2 General Records of the Economic Research Service and its Predecessors 1948-78

History: Economic research functions centralized in BAE, created by the consolidation of the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates and the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics, July 1, 1922. (See 83.2 for administrative history of BAE and its predecessors.) Marketing research functions transferred to AMS by Secretary's Memorandum 830, July 7, 1939; Division of Agricultural Statistics restored to BAE by EO 9069, February 23, 1942. BAE abolished by Secretary's Memorandum 1320, supplement 4, November 2, 1953, with domestic economic research functions divided between AMS (marketing research divisions) and ARS (Farm Economics Research Division), established by the same authority. Foreign agriculture research functions of BAE designated separate OFAR, effective July 1, 1939, by Secretary's memorandum, November 30, 1939. OFAR became the FAS by Secretary's memorandum, March 10, 1953. ERS and Statistical Reporting Service (SRS) established by Secretary's Memorandum 1446, supplement 1, April 3, 1961, splitting functions of the Farm Economics Research Division, ARS. By same authority, marketing research functions of the AMS and research functions of FAS transferred to ERS. ERS, SRS, and Farmer Cooperative Service consolidated into ESCS by Secretary's Memorandum 1927, effective December 23, 1977. ESCS divided, by Secretary's Memorandum 2025, September 17, 1980, into Agricultural Cooperative Service and ESS, which split to form the ERS and SRS, 1981. See 354.1.

Textual Records: Central correspondence, ERS administrator, 1973- 77; and ESCS administrator, 1978. Research project files, 1948- 61. Cooperative agreements, 1971-73.

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354.3 Records of the Farm Production Economics Division
1934-64

Textual Records: Records of Merton S. Parsons, an agricultural economist with the Production Resources Branch, consisting of correspondence, 1954-60; records relating to the Northeast Production Adjustments Advisory Group, 1939-53; records relating to the Northeast Farm Management Research Committee, 1951-64; and records relating to the New England Research Council on Marketing and Food Supply, 1934-55.

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354.4 Records of the Natural Resource Economics Division
1949-74

Machine-Readable Records: Information on U.S. counties taken from the 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, and 1974 Censuses of Agriculture, 1949-74, with supporting documentation (1 data set).

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354.5 Records of the National Agricultural Advisory Commission
1961-65

History: Established by EO 10472, July 20, 1953. Terminated by resignation of members, February 4, 1965.

Textual Records: Policy files, 1961-65.

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354.6 Machine-Readable Records 1961-71

Annual imports and exports trade statistics, 1961-71 (27 data sets).

See under 354.4.

Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.

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