The series consists of B.C. Farmers’ Institutes records of several different types, including: records of Farmers’ Institute districts; records concerning the reporting of local institutes to the Registrar of Companies and the Dept. of Agriculture; correspondence of the Superintendent of Farmers’ Institutes (in the Dept. of Agriculture); and records of the Farmers' Institute Advisory Board ca. 1961-1967.

The series includes files regarding local Farmers' Institutes. These records document the function of the B.C. Registrar of Companies and subsequently the B.C. Dept. of Agriculture in their responsibility for B.C. Farmers' Institutes. The records document how each local institute registered as a society, carried out its annual reporting, and was dissolved. These files may include: a declaration of desire to form a society under the Societies Act, the certificate of incorporation as a society, constitution and by-laws, a list of first directors, the annual reports which include the institute's annual financial statement, and a memo to file regarding the local institute being struck off the corporate register and dissolved. Files may also include minutes and correspondence. A Declaration of Association includes the names, occupations and address of the local people who wished to form the association.

The annual reports include: a financial statement listing receipts and expenditures, balances, and names of auditors. It also includes the membership numbers, and names and occupations of officers and directors. Annual reports also consist of remarks, sometimes lengthy, about the nature of the local institute and its activities during the past year.

Records of Farmers’ Institute districts date from ca. 1961 through 1967 and from 1968 to 1980. These files include minutes of and resolutions from meetings and annual conventions, correspondence, and financial statements.

The series also includes miscellaneous correspondence ca. 1961-1963, in-going and out-going, from the office of the Superintendent of Farmers’ Institutes of the Dept. of Agriculture.

Where file codes exist on the files, these codes were created based on the number assigned to that institute at the declaration of association.

Annual reports and other corporate records were submitted first to the B.C. Registrar of Companies and subsequently to the B.C. Dept. of Agriculture. Prior to 1956, the Farmers’ and Women’s Institutes were administered under the Institutes Act and Societies Act, and they reported to the Registrar of Companies (the Corporate Registry). Registry files created by the Registrar of Companies documented the registration, corporate history and dissolution of all companies, societies and co-operatives that operated in British Columbia, and were dissolved between 1860 and 1993. Companies, societies and co-operatives that carried on business in British Columbia were required to register with the Registrar of Companies and regularly submit reports and other records to the registry office. For this reason, prior to 1956, Farmers’ and Women's Institute records were held by and in the provenance of the office of the Registrar of Companies. In 1956 the B.C. legislature passed a new “Farmers’ and Women’s Institutes Act” (an act initially dating from 1936). The 1956 act placed the institutes entirely under this act instead of being administered under the Institutes Act and Societies Act, and the institutes were now the responsibility of, and reported to, the Dept. of Agriculture.

Many records of the institutes initially held by the Registrar of Companies were transferred to the Dept. of Agriculture, and the Dept. of Agriculture continued to create records after 1956. Those records transferred to B.C. Archives from the Dept. of Agriculture and its successor, the Ministry of Agriculture, make up the records of GR-0505. Some Farmers’ and Women's Institute records remained with the Registrar of Companies and were transferred directly from that office to B.C. Archives. These records are located in series GR-1526 - Corporate registry files.

Container GR0505-0007 contains some files regarding the B.C. Women's Institutes, as follows:

Aberdeen Women’s Institute
Bonnington and South Slocan Women’s Institute
Carmi Women’s Institute
Christian Valley Women’s Institute
Deer Park Women’s Institute
Lasqueti Women’s Institute
Monte Lake Women’s Institute
North Fraser Lake Women’s Institute
Nukko Lake Women’s Institute
Peace Arch Women’s Institute
Pitt Meadows Women’s Institute
Tatalrose Women’s Institute
Telkwa and District Women’s Institute
Terrace Women’s Institute
West Langley Women’s Institute
Woss Lake Women’s Institute