Series consists of Headquarters records from a new central registry system based on the Dewey decimal system that was developed for use by both headquarters and regional offices in 1960. Like the earlier 1920-1953 registry system, this file classification is based on a hierarchical and alphabetical arrangement. The difference and improvement lies in the more compact and precise coding method.
On April 1, 1959 a major reorganization of the Department of Agriculture went into effect. The main administrative, research, and regulatory functions of the department were placed in three new Branches. The Administrative Branch assumed responsibility for general administrative matters. The Economics and Information Divisions also came under its wing. The scientific research done by the department became the responsibility of the Research Branch. This Branch acquired the duties performed before the reorganization by the Experimental Farm Service and the Science Service. The new Production and Marketing Branch administered assistance to and regulation of food production, processing, and marketing. These duties belonged to the Production Service and the Marketing Service before reorganization.
This central registry series controls the headquarters files created by the three Branches. It was the second central registry created in this century to control headquarters records across the department. (See the Duplex numeric subject file classification system series for a description of central registry created in 1920 and employed until 1953). Between 1953 and 1960 there was no central registry for all headquarters records. The various Services and Divisions in the department maintained separate registries. The central registry for this series was installed in 1960 to coincide with the major departmental reorganization of the previous year.
The records in this registry series belong to three files blocks: Administration (block 100), Agricultural Relations (block 600), and Production and Marketing Branch (block 800). These records document several aspects of the work of the Dairy Products, Livestock, and Poultry Divisions in the Production and Marketing Branch, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, and the Agricultural Stabilization Board. There are also files on the Department's relations with national and provincial agricultural associations, federal-provincial relations, and federal interdepartmental relations. Among the topics documented in the series are pesticides, water resources, forestry, inspection and regulation of food processing plants, consumer affairs, racetrack betting, transportation of agricultural products, and veterinary science.
