Spearheaded by International Harvester President Alexander Legge and former Illinois Governor Frank O. Lowden , those discussions resulted in the creation of Farm Foundation. Farm Foundation was legally created February 10, 1933, but its formation was not announced until Dec, 6, 1933, three days after the Legge's death. Lowden continued the efforts to make Farm Foundation a reality.
The founders wanted to advance the welfare of rural people. They sought to make rural life more economically productive and rewarding. They wanted farmers to prosper and wanted all rural people to have access to all the social benefits enjoyed by their urban counterparts. They did not envision Farm Foundation as a large grant-making organization. They sought to build a private agency that could supplement and coordinate the work of other agencies; an organization that could build partnerships, initiate and demonstrate the value of a project or idea that could be picked up and carried on by institutions with greater resources.
True to the founders’ vision, Farm Foundation has for 75 years worked as a catalyst for change, fostering discussion of current and evolving issues. Through projects and conferences, the Foundation provides comprehensive, objective information to enhance the decision-making capacity of private- and public-leaders.
On its 75th anniversary in 2008, Farm Foundation published a history, Farm Foundation - 75 years as a catalyst to agriculture and rural America. The book was authored by David Ernstes, Ron Knutson and the late R.J. "Jim" Hildreth.
Historical Documents
Sympathy telegram from Bernard M. Baruch on the death of Alexander Legge.
December 6, 1933 press release announcing the formation of Farm Foundation.
Obituary for Frank Lowden in the Des Moines Register, March 22, 1943.
Farm Foundation's Role as a Policy Issues Catalyst