Washington County Oral Histories

Bert Hawkins oral history recording

An audio recording of an oral history of Bert Hawkins talking about the Agribusiness Council of Oregon. The recording was done through the “Story Notes” program. Hawkins is from Ontario, Oregon, where he runs a farming operation mainly focusing on livestock and small grains on about twenty-five thousand acres, with approximately 1200-1500 of those acres being farmed and the rest grazed. It is a family operation with his sons running different portions of it. Hawkins is a big supporter and was one of the early joiners of the Agribusiness Council of Oregon (ABC). Since he was in high school, Hawkins saw the need for collaboration between the urban business society and the rural agricultural areas. Hawkins served on the board for a few years for ABC but he was not as active as he would have liked. He also thinks that ABC has not been as active in eastern Oregon as he wishes it would be. Hawkins also talks about Oregon’s reliance on its export markets as about 80% of Oregon’s products are exported. ABC and the agricultural sectors in Oregon need to work together in order to expand and build a stronger base for more exports. At the time of the interview, Hawkins was pleased with the administration in ABC and their strong focus on export markets. And he encourages people to get involved with ABC. Hawkins finishes by talking about the competitive food business, specifically looking at the meat industry. About halfway through the interview, a phone rings and the interview is paused for a second as they answer the phone.

Hawkins, Bert

Washington County (Or.) -- History

Hawkins, Bert

Washington County (Or.)

1 sound cassette (13:06)

English

WCM_OH_273

In Copyright

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Five Oaks Museum

Audiocassettes

Sound