The Red River Valley Potato Growers Association is the forerunner to what is currently known as the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association. It was first known as the North Dakota Potato Growers and Shippers Traffic Association. The association was founded to "foster and promote the interests and welfare of all those in North Dakota who are engaged in the growing, distribution or shipment of potatoes," according to an undated constitution in this collection. It is a nonprofit organization that serves as a cooperative among area potato farmers and refrains from entering into commercial functions.

The area comprising the Red River Valley of the North includes counties in North Dakota and Minnesota adjacent to the Red River of the North, approximately 250 miles in length and 190 miles in width. This fertile valley produced the nation's third largest potato crop in 1945 with an estimated 43,020,000 bushels. In 1960, the association reached its peak with 2,500 members. With the changing economy of the 1980s and 1990s, membership decreased but acreages for those farmers increased. As of 2006, the association had 330 grower members. It continues to promote the products of potato farmers in the Red River Valley. The organization's offices are in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.