On March 2, 1936, J. E. Winslow called to order the first meeting of the North Carolina Farm Bureau (NCFB) in Greenville.
No records exist to show who was elected to the nonprofit, grassroots organization’s first board of directors, but many years later, the Farm Bureau has much to show for its years of service to the state’s rural families.
As the unified “voice of agriculture” in North Carolina, NCFB has been—and continues to be—a powerful and effective legislative advocate for Tar Heel farmers at the local, state, national and international levels.
In 1942, farm women became members and gained a voice by forming what would become the Women’s Committee. During its early days, NCFB’s support helped make Governor Kerr Scott’s system of Farm-to-Market roads a reality. More recently, it has led the fight for drought relief, transportation regulations and immigration reform.
In 1953, the organization introduced its first service-to-member program: the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. Today, NCFB programs offer its more than 500,000 members a wide selection of services and savings, from prescription drug plans to banking services to educational assistance.
Based in Raleigh since 1958, the Farm Bureau has offices in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties.
Other related resources:
- Agriculture-related items in the North Carolina Digital Collections
- Articles related to agriculture on NCpedia
- Historical photos of agriculture from the State Archives
- North Carolina Agriculture on ExploreNC from the State Library
Image from the State Archive.