Records of the Western Dairy Council
Scope and Contents
The Records of the Western Dairy Council consists of documents dated 1935-1988, with the bulk falling from 1970 to 1979. The collection documents the history and promotional activities of the Western Dairy Council and its predecessor organizations: the Denver Dairy Council, Inc., the Dairy Council of Colorado, the Dairy Council of Wyoming, the Wyoming Dairy Association and the Dairy Council, Inc. Also included are documents concerning the history and activities of the Western Dairyfarmer's Promotion Association and its predecessors: the American Dairy Association of Colorado and Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc. Materials include meeting minutes, press releases, speeches by organization leaders, promotional correspondence, pre-publication materials for the monthly newsletter, brochures, clippings, scrapbooks, photographic materials, audio and videotapes and 16mm films.
Dates
- Creation: 1935-1988
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1970-1979
Creator
- Western Dairy Council (Organization)
Restrictions on Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection. However, the collection is stored off-site, so advance notice is required.
Restrictions on Use
Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.
History
The Western Dairy Council, a non-profit affiliate of the National Dairy Council, is funded by donations from members of the dairy industry in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to promote the consumption of milk and milk products. As part of its educational mission, the Western Dairy Council provides nutrition education resources to consumers, educators, health professionals and the media. Sharing the same headquarters and board of directors, the Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association provides educational services for dairy producers. These services include assistance with water issues, training in public relations and promotion of projects to benefit farmers.
On December 18, 1935, a group of representatives from Denver-area dairies organized the Denver Dairy Council, Inc., with the goal of creating an educational and advertising campaign to increase the consumption of dairy products. The name of this organization was changed to Dairy Council of Colorado in 1965. Following a merger with the Wyoming Dairy Council in 1972, the name was changed again to Dairy Council, Inc. A final name change to Western Dairy Council was approved in December 1987.
The Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association originated from the American Dairy Association (ADA) of Colorado, which was organized in 1944 as an affiliate of the national American Dairy Association. This relationship became strained in 1967 after the ADA of Colorado signed an agreement with the Denver Milk Producers, a cooperative controlling eighty percent of the milk production in the state. The agreement called for a smaller percentage of membership dues to be sent to the national organization in order to use most of the revenue locally. Also in 1967, the ADA of Colorado and Denver Milk Producers created the "Goddess of the Rockies" milk promotion campaign. That year, after officially naming their goddess "Meda," the Denver Milk Producers merged with the Intermountain Dairymen's Association to form the Mountain Empire Dairymen's Association (MEDA).
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, MEDA's advertising and promotion committee began funding Dairy Council, Inc. projects. Recognizing a considerable overlap in promotional and educational programs conducted by the National Dairy Council and American Dairy Association, proposals were considered by both organizations for a consolidation or merger of their efforts. In 1972, a separate corporation, named "Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc." (GRMI) was formed from the MEDA advertising and promotion committee. Members of the executive committee of Dairy Council, Inc. began attending GRMI board meetings in 1973 to foster better coordination of activities of the two groups. By 1974, meetings of the boards of directors of both organizations were being held on the same date at the MEDA office, with the GRMI board meeting in the morning and the Dairy Council, Inc. board meeting in the afternoon. Most board members attended both meetings. On March 15, 1974, GRMI president William ("Bill") Wailes was elected president of Dairy Council, Inc. as well. At that time, Harvey Wilhelm served as general manager of both organizations.
In 1981, Tom Jenkinson became general manager of Dairy Council, Inc./Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc., and continued to serve in that position for the following 25 years. The name of Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc. was officially changed to Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association in 1982.
Extent
15 linear feet (10 various size boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Western Dairy Council provides nutrition education resources to consumers, educators, health professionals and the media. Sharing the same headquarters and board of directors, the Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association provides educational services for dairy producers, including assistance with water issues, training in public relations and promotion of projects to benefit farmers. The collection documents the history and activities of these related organizations. Material types include minutes, press releases, speeches by organization leaders, promotional correspondence, pre-publication materials for the monthly newsletter, brochures, clippings, scrapbooks, photographic materials, audio and videotapes and 16mm films.
Arrangement
The collection consists of nine series in ten various size boxes:
Series 1: Minutes, 1935-1988
Subseries 1.1: Western Dairy Council and prior organizations, 1935-1988
Subseries 1.2: Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association and prior organizations, 1948-1988
Subseries 1.3: Wyoming dairy organizations, 1953-1972
Series 2: Promotional correspondence, press releases, and speeches, 1973-1979
Series 3: MEDA News pre-publication materials, 1978-1979
Series 4: Printed materials, 1975-1981
Series 5: Photographic materials, 1974-1978 and undated
Series 6: Clippings, 1973-1979
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1950-1965
Series 8: Audio and videotapes, 1985 and undated
Series 9: Films, 1976-1978, 1985 and undated
Acquisition
The Records of the Western Dairy Council was acquired by the Colorado Agricultural Archive from Dairy Council, Inc. and Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc. on June 9, 1981. The Colorado Agricultural Archive became part of the Colorado State University Libraries in 2004. Additional documents, consisting of meeting minutes, were donated by the Western Dairy Council to the Archives and Special Collections Department of Colorado State University Libraries on April 8, 2005.
Online Materials
Some materials have been scanned and are available through the Colorado State University Libraries website. In the electronic version of this document, direct links appear in context.
Processing
When received, this collection was arranged in roughly alphabetical order by folder title. During processing, documents were re-housed in acid-free file folders and boxes and partially rearranged according to series. Photographs found within the folders were separated, housed in protective sleeves and placed with the photographic materials series. The films, which were received in no discernible order, were rearranged according to reel size. Single copy issues of the MEDA News periodical were not retained. These went through the library selection process to be added to the circulating collection.
Inventory Note
Note: Title information supplied by the archivist is bracketed. Two identical copiesof the same item are indicated by the phrase "2 copies" at the end of the entry.
Subject
- Western Dairy Council. (Organization)
- Western Dairyfarmer's Promotion Association. (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Records of the Western Dairy Council
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Prepared by Linda M. Meyer
- Date
- Copyright 2006
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the CSU Libraries Archives & Special Collections Repository
Fort Collins Colorado 80523-1019 USA
970-491-1844
library_dl_specialcollections@mail.colostate.edu