Series consists of records relating to the activities of the various administrative units which were organized during the Second World War to coordinate food production and distribution. During the war, the Department of Agriculture was significantly reorganized to cope with the strains of wartime in order to ensure the efficient production and marketing of agriculture products for home consumption and by the Allies, principally Great Britain. Under the Deputy Minister, an Agricultural Food Board was created, under which in turn were the Agricultural Supplies Board, Dairy Products Board, the Bacon (later Meat) Board, and the Special Products Board. Once again, under the Agricultural Supplies Board were separate Administrators for Feeds, Fertilizers, Pesticides, Seeds, and Flax Fibre, as well as Technical and Economic Advisors. This whole special apparatus of wartime administration was largely staffed by members of the Department of Agriculture, but had regular links as well with the Foods Administration of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board.
The records were originally one series of shannon files which for conservation reasons have been separated and reboxed, although the original numbering and order of the shannon files are maintained on the file list for this series. There are three distinct sub-series within this series: "B" files (Vols. 3617-3628) relating explicitly to the various Boards; "N" files (Vols. 3628-3679) relating to the research work of the Agricultural Economics Division; and "W" files (Vols. 3679-3710) relating to the wartime activities of the Agricultural Supplies Board.