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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], West Virginia Associated Crop Growers Records, A&M 4572, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Kotcon, James, 2021/09/01

Biographical / Historical

The West Virginia Associated Crop Growers (WVACG) is the official seed certification organization in West Virginia (WV Code 61-9-11). It provides field inspections and certification for commercial seed production in selected crops, as well as for the Noxious Weed Free Straw and Forage Program. From 1927 to 1935 the organization was known as the West Virginia Crop Improvement Association. The primary objective of the WVACG is to advance the interests of agriculture in West Virginia by encouraging the production and use of good seed and to make known the sources of good seed by means of certification. These objectives are accomplished by encouraging the use of good seed through cooperation with West Virginia University's Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, WVU's Extension Services, and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. The WVACG also grows and distributes improved certified seed; holds an annual meeting; carries out activities to promote good seed; and cooperates with the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies.

-This note based on information found in the West Virginia Associated Crop Grower's "About" webpage, http://face-food.squarespace.com/about, accessed 2024 February 06.

Scope and Contents

The West Virginia Associated Crop Growers (WVACG) Records contain the official records of the WVACG as well as the records of its predecessor the West Virginia Crop Improvement Association (WVCIA), 1927-1935. The records include the by-laws and constitution, minutes of meetings, financial records, correspondence, membership rosters, crop inspection reports, and annual reports, as well as publications. Of significance are the ledgers listing members as well as crop growers by name and data on crops. Publications including books, newsletters, and pamphlets are about crops and seeds. The collection also includes publications and documents from state, national, and international crop growers' organizations.

Box 1 (1925-1988) contains records for both the WVCIA and the WVACG as well as books. Box 2 (1927-1971) contains membership ledgers, financial ledgers, checkbooks, and field inspection reports. Box 3 (1936-1972) contains the majority of the documentation for the organization including minutes and correspondence. It also includes documents from the International Crop Improvement Association, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. Also found in Box 3 are documents assembled for the Internal Revenue Service, 1966, which detail the organization's formation and purpose.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Agriculture -- West Virginia
• Kotcon, James Bernard
• Seed distribution -- West Virginia
• West Virginia Associated Crop Growers (1935-)
• West Virginia Crop Improvement Association (1927-1935)