The Elton R. Smith Endowment in Food and Agricultural Policy was established by Michigan State University Department of Agricultural Economics and the Michigan Farm Bureau to carry on Elton R. Smith's commitment, leadership, and global vision of policy education and research.

The Elton R. Smith Endowment in Food and Agricultural Policy is named after Elton R. Smith for his life long contributions to the betterment of Michigan and American agriculture. Elton Smith graduated from the two-year agriculture technology program at what is now Michigan State University in 1931. He remained a lifelong friend of the University. He began his farming career with 120 acres of rented land and built Med-O-Bloom in Caldedonia, Michigan, an 800-acre, 500-head dairy farm nationally renowned for its red-and-white Holstein herd.

Elton Smith's distinguised career spanned more than six decades, during which he served as President of Michigan Farm Bureau from 1964 to 1986, and a Vice President of the American Farm Bureau Federation from 1982 to 1985. Elton Smith was renowned as a forward-thinking, articulate, and knowledgeable spokesperson for agriculture. U.S. presidents, Michigan governors and U.S. secretaries of agriculture frequently called on Elton for his advice. His life-long contributions to agriculture have had a strong impact on Michigan State University as well as the State of Michigan.