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| Midwest Plan Service | |
|---|---|
| Name | Midwest Plan Service |
| Abbreviation | MPS |
| Formation | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Ames, Iowa |
| Parent organization | Iowa State University |
| Region served | Midwestern United States |
Midwest Plan Service is a technical publishing unit historically associated with Iowa State University that produced agricultural engineering plans, construction details, and design standards for farms, rural buildings, and small industries. Founded in the late 1930s, it compiled working drawings, specifications, and cost-estimating guides used by builders, extension agents, and agricultural institutions across the United States and beyond. Its publications bridged applied research at land-grant institutions and practice among farmers, architects, contractors, and county extension services.
The organization originated within the network of land-grant university outreach spawned by the Smith–Lever Act and the expanding mission of Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) during the interwar period. Early collaborations involved faculty from departments linked to agricultural engineering, horticulture, and dairy science working with state extension service personnel to address needs documented during the Great Depression. During World War II and the postwar era, demand for standardized, economical building plans increased alongside mechanization trends advanced by institutions such as University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and Purdue University. MPS consolidated drawings and manuals produced by multiple Land Grant Colleges into coordinated titles, reflecting influences from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Soil Conservation Service. Over subsequent decades, changing policy and funding at state colleges and federal agencies affected its operations, resulting in reorganizations and transfers of responsibility between research centers and university departments.
MPS produced a catalog series of numbered titles that included illustrated working drawings, materials lists, and step-by-step construction sequences. Titles covered barns, silos, grain bins, livestock facilities, greenhouses, machine sheds, and specialized storage; many were comparable in scope to manuals from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and guidance issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The publications often cited standards harmonized with the American Society of Civil Engineers and structural recommendations used by county building departments. Editions were distributed via extension offices, university bookstores, and professional meetings such as conferences hosted by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Over time, the catalogs expanded to include energy-conserving alternatives and updates paralleling work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and research on climate control performed at Cornell University.
Design outputs emphasized pragmatic, replicable solutions: dimensioned plans for timber-frame and pole-barn construction, detailed silo cross-sections, grain-handling layouts, and manure-handling systems. Many plans incorporated engineering principles consistent with load paths studied by faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and material specifications aligned with suppliers represented in trade shows like those run by the National Farm Machinery Show. Structural details referenced fastener and timber grading practices promoted by organizations such as the American Institute of Timber Construction. MPS also issued cost-estimating worksheets and ventilation charts that paralleled laboratory findings at the Agricultural Research Service and building-envelope research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Originally staffed by university faculty, extension engineers, and technical illustrators, the service operated under the administrative umbrella of Iowa State University extension and cooperating state extension systems. Editorial control frequently involved review committees composed of representatives from other land-grant universities and professional societies like the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Funding streams included state appropriations, publication sales, and cooperative agreements with agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture. As university restructuring occurred in the late 20th century, responsibilities for catalog maintenance, archiving, and distribution shifted among campus units, research centers, and private printers, reflecting trends similar to consolidation experienced by publishing arms at institutions including University of Minnesota and Ohio State University.
MPS publications shaped the built environment of Midwestern agriculture by standardizing construction practices for thousands of farm structures, influencing design decisions of livestock producers, grain elevators operators, and rural entrepreneurs. The plans informed vernacular adaptations visible in county landscapes, and they contributed to the diffusion of mechanization and biosecurity practices promoted by organizations like the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Architectural historians compare its role to other pattern-book traditions such as those produced by the Gothic Revival and later modernist movements in building dissemination. In technical education, MPS materials were used in curricula at community colleges and technical institutes training skilled tradespeople for agricultural construction.
Distribution methods relied on print catalogs, mail-order fulfillment, and networks of county extension offices that provided localized assistance. Libraries at land-grant universities and state historical societies hold significant paper archives of MPS titles, while selected items have been digitized by university libraries and repositories modeled after initiatives at HathiTrust and the Internet Archive. Access has followed patterns similar to other institutional publishing programs, with copyright and out-of-print issues handled through transfers to campus archives or commercial reprints facilitated by regional publishers. Researchers often locate designs through interlibrary loan systems or special collections at institutions such as Iowa State University Library and related archival centers.
Category:Architecture publications Category:Agricultural organizations in the United States