Scope and Content Note
The papers of Homer G. Smith (1909-1993) span the years 1971-1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 1983. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, printed matter, and oral history transcripts relating to Smith’s book, A Challenge to U. S. Agriculture: Building the Cooperative Credit System.
The book documents the founding and early challenges of the Production Credit System of the Farm Credit Administration. By the 1930s there was a need for a dependable source of farm production credit. The establishment of the PCS led to organizing local farmer- and rancher-owned credit cooperatives. Smith conducted taped interviews with representatives from almost every level of the system. Transcripts of these interviews comprise the bulk of the collection. The correspondence is primarily between members of a review committee set up by Smith to enhance the book’s credence.