Agricultural Improvement Association of New York State papers

The Agricultural Improvement Association of New York State was organized by a group of prominent gentlemen: W.C. Brown, President of the Grand Central Terminal; Ralph Peters, President of the Long Island Railroad; E.G. Miner, businessman and civic leader, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pfaudler Company (now Pfaudler Permutit Inc.) and W.C. Barry, President of Western New York Horticultural Society, both of Rochester, NY; George Frisbie, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Utica , NY; Frank A. Vanderlip, President of National City Bank of New York; W. McCarroll, President of New York Board of Trade and Transportation. J.W. Dwight, Member of Congress, (Thirteenth District) and E. Pfarrius and Welding Ring of the New York Produce Exchange, associated as directors or officers.

The purpose of this organization was to diffuse useful and accurate information regarding the agricultural resources and possibilities of New York, to arouse public interest in land matters, and to promote increased settlement upon the farms. The primary object was to aid deserving persons of small means, and especially selected immigrants who could not otherwise secure properties, to locate on the land; the Association bought abandoned or semi-abandoned farms and sold them to such settlers on the installment plan, at an advance only sufficient to pay the interest on the preferred stock and the operating expenses. The new farm owners were given advice on the best way to mange their land, of selecting their stock, of buying their tools and fertilizers and of marketing their products. The company was capitalized on the basis of a common stock with voting power.

The association formed in 1911 and dissolved in 1916 when the work was taken over by the New York State and the United States Department of Agriculture.

The remaining balance of stock ($10,000), with the approval of the stockholders, was given to the University of Rochester as an endowment fund. These monies were to be used for the promotion of agriculture or aiding in some other way such interests in the region.

Within this short period, the leaders of the association were able to revive interest and commitment to rural life. The high prices of food and the increase in population provided not only a golden opportunity to bring back dying farms, but also for immigrants and people with unstable incomes to begin a productive and self-satisfying life. The organization was instrumental in providing information and guidance concerning the principles of scientific agriculture and stock raising to the new farmers.