G. Burton Wood Papers, 1908-1987

Collection Overview

Title: G. Burton Wood Papers, 1908-1987

Predominant Dates: 1946-1975

ID: MSS Wood

Primary Creator: Wood, G. B. (Gregory Burton) (1909-)

Extent: 2.7 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The G. Burton Wood Papers are arranged in 3 series: 1. Trip and Meeting Files, 1950 -1987; 2. Speeches and Presentations, 1946-1970; and 3. Reference Materials, 1908-1984.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

The G. Burton Wood Papers document Wood's professional work as an agricultural economist and administrator. The collection consists of trip and meeting files, speeches, and reference materials The Papers reflect Wood’s representation of Oregon State University at special events, in meetings of Oregon commodity groups, and in regional associations and advisory groups. The bulk of the records are for Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and the western United States. The collection also reflects Wood’s particular interests within agricultural economics – farm management, marketing, cooperative associations, the role of land grant colleges and universities, and the administration of agricultural research through Experiment Stations. Speeches, reports, and publications on agricultural forecasts and the future of agriculture broadly in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest are part of the collection. Also of note are materials pertaining to agriculture in Turkey assembled by Wood as part of a large Oregon State University contract with the United States Agency for International Development. Materials pertaining to mint oil, grape wine research, and the Winegrowers Council are part of the papers. Several photographs of groups of individuals (which may include Wood) are included as well.

Biographical / Historical Notes

G. Burton Wood joined the faculty of Oregon State College in 1951 as head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, a position he held until 1966 when he was appointed Director of the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean of Agriculture. Wood retired from these positions in 1975. Wood earned a BS from the University of Oregon in 1938, an MS from Oregon State College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1945. From 1944 to 1951, he was on the faculty at Purdue University. Wood's specialities within agricultural economics were marketing, farm management, and arbitration.

Gregory Burton Wood was born in 1909 in Medford Oregon. He married Ramona Jackson, daughter of E.P. Jackson, in 1935 and they had two children, Gregory Jr. and Patricia. Wood died in 1990.

Author: Roxanne Edgar

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 6 photographs; 4 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The materials were donated to the University Archives by Wood's daughter, Pat Gregory, in 1998.

Related Materials: Oral history interviews of G. Burton Wood are available in the A.L. Strand Oral History Collection (OH 007) and the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 010). Records documenting Wood’s administrative role and research are part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department Records (RG 128) and the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025). The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds the papers of several other agricultural economics faculty including Emery N. Castle, D. Curtis Mumford, and Fred W. Obermiller as well as Elvin A. Duerst, Oregon State alumnus and international agricultural economist.

Preferred Citation: G. Burton Wood Papers (MSS Wood), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

This finding aid replaces a stub record created in 2012. Administrative Regulations for Oregon Agricultural College that were assembled by E.P. Jackson have been removed from the collection and transferred to the President's Office Records of William Jasper Kerr (RG 013 - SG 7).

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

Historically, "squaw" has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used in the context of the Squaw Butte Experiment Station. This station is now known as the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collecctions, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]

People, Places, and Topics

Agricultural development projects--Turkey.
Agricultural economists--Oregon.
Agriculture--Economic aspects--Oregon.
Agriculture--Research--Oregon.
Crops--Research--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station
Oregon State University. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University History
Weeds--Control--Oregon.
Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors
Wood, G. B. (Gregory Burton), 1909-

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Trip and Meeting Files, 1950-1987

Series 1 comprises the bulk of the collection and documents conferences, meetings, and events that Wood attended in his role as an agricultural economist and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. As Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Wood represented Oregon State University at special events throughout the state of Oregon, in meetings of Oregon commodity groups, and in regional agricultural associations and advisory groups. The bulk of the records are for 1966-1975. This series includes materials assembled by Wood pertaining to agriculture in Turkey as part of an Oregon State University contract with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to advise on the organization and coordination of agricultural research and extension programs and the development and prospects for agriculture in Turkey - especially production of wheat and other cereal grains.

This series references Squaw Butte Experiment Station. This experiment station is now known as the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.

Box-Folder 1.01: USAID (United States Agency for International Development) Weed Control Project Meeting, 1971-1972
Box-Folder 1.02: Agricultural Bankers Spring Conference Talk, 1972
Box-Folder 1.03: Fall Agricultural Conference Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.04: Agricultural Research Foundation Investment Committee Meeting, 1987
Box-Folder 1.05: Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Governing Board, 1970-1971
Box-Folder 1.06: Agricultural Research and Advisory Council Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.07: Albers Milling Co. Conference Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.08: American Arbitration Association, 1964-1972
Box-Folder 1.09: American Bankers Association, 1971-1973
Box-Folder 1.10: ASCS (Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service) Conference Trip Folder, 1975
Box-Folder 1.11: Beef Cattle Day, 1972
Box-Folder 1.12: Beef Cattle Field Day Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.13: Branch Station Superintendents Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.14: Community Banker Workshop, 1973
Box-Folder 1.15: Crop Science Field Day, 1974
Box-Folder 1.16: Department Heads Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.17: Interim Committee of ESCOP (Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy) Trip Folder, 1972
Box-Folder 1.18: Annual Summer Meeting of Experiment Station Superintendents, 1974
Box-Folder 1.19: Farm and Ranch Executive Seminar, 1974
Box-Folder 1.20: Governmental Affairs Committee, Corvallis Chamber of Commerce, 1963-1965
Box-Folder 1.21: Governmental Affairs Committee Chamber of Commerce, 1965-1966
Box-Folder 1.22: Grape Wine Research Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.23: Annual Meeting of Gresham Cooperative, 1975
Box-Folder 1.24: Jefferson County Livestock Association Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.25: Meeting with Mark T. Buchanan, 1973
Box-Folder 1.26: Mint Oil Handling Evaluation and Recommendations, 1958-1962
Box-Folder 1.27: Mint, Personal, 1958-1960
Box-Folder 1.28: National Agricultural Outlook Conference, 1971
Box-Folder 1.29: Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the National Research Council's Agricultural Research Institute, 1972
Box-Folder 1.30: National Rural Development Conference, 1973
Box-Folder 1.31: Northeast Regional Center for Cultural Development Trip Folder, 1972
Box-Folder 1.32: Netarts Program and Graduate Student Budgets, 1973
Box-Folder 1.33: Northwest Agricultural Show Talk, 1972
Box-Folder 1.34: Northwest Food Processers Association Liaison Research Committee Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.35: Northwest Regional Meeting of Deans and Directors, 1974-1975
Box-Folder 1.36: Meeting of the Nursery Industry, 1973
Box-Folder 1.37: Oregon Agricultural Research and Advisory Council Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.38: Oregon Branch Experiment Station, Review Committee, Closure, 1972
Box-Folder 1.39: Oregon Poultry Industries Association Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.40: Oregon Rural Areas Development Committee Meeting Talks, 1970
Box-Folder 1.41: Oregon Turkey Improvement Association Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.42: Ornamentals Laboratory Dedication, 1974
Box-Folder 1.43: OSU and USAID Contract for Weed Control Trip Folder, 1974: USAID (United States Agency for International Development)
Box-Folder 1.44: Pacific Northwest Agricultural Chemical Credit Conference Talk Trip, 1973
Box-Folder 1.45: Pacific Northwest Conference on Agricultural Trade with Japan Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.46: Pacific Northwest Farm Forum Trip Folder, 1972
Box-Folder 1.47: Annual PCA (Production Credit Association) Directors' and Managers' Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.48: Pear Bureau Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.49: Planning Session for Joint Meeting of WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee) and Extension Rural Development Group Trip Folder, 1972
Box-Folder 1.50: Rangeland Resources Advisory Board Spring Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 1.51: Regional Bankers Agriculture Conference Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.52: Review of Agriculture Services to Outlying Islands Trip Folder, 1975
Box-Folder 1.53: Scoggin Dam Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.54: Seattle Cedargreen, Personal Basic Data, 1950-1960
Box-Folder 1.55: Seattle Cedargreen Report, 1960
Box-Folder 1.56: Spring Agricultural Conference Trip Folder, 1974-1975
Box-Folder 1.57: Squaw Butte Experiment Station Advisory Committee Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.58: Squaw Butte Beef Cattle Field Day, 1974
Box-Folder 1.59: Superintendent's Annual Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 1.60: Southwest Washington Weed Association Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 1.61: Spring Agricultural Representative Conference, 1974
Box-Folder 1.62: Tri-State Research Coordination Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 2.01: Turkey Agriculture Materials for Trip Folder, 1967-1973: 1 of 3 folders
Box-Folder 2.02: Turkey Agriculture Materials for Trip Folder, 1967-1973: 2 of 3 folders
Box-Folder 2.03: Turkey Agriculture Materials for Trip Folder, 1967-1973: 3 of 3 folders
Box-Folder 2.04: U.S. Bank Agri-Business Talk Meeting, 1972-1975
Box-Folder 2.05: U.S. National Bank Fall Agriculture Conference Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 2.06: Veterinary Medicine Isolation Facility Dedication, 1974
Box-Folder 2.07: Western Farmers Association Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 2.08: Western Region Area Development Research Center Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 2.09: Western Regional Extension Committee Meeting, 1972
Box-Folder 2.10: Western Regional Planning Meeting, 1973
Box-Folder 2.11: W-113 Western Regional Technical Research Committee Meeting Trip Folder, 1973
Box-Folder 2.12: W-113 Technical Committee, 1974
Box-Folder 2.13: W-114 Annual Meeting Trip Folder, 1975
Box-Folder 2.14: Winegrowers Council Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 2.15: Winegrowers Council of Oregon Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 2.16: WSRAC Meeting Trip Folder, 1973: WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee)
Box-Folder 2.17: WSRAC Meeting Trip Folder, 1973-1974: WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee)
Box-Folder 2.18: WSRAC Meeting Trip Folder, 1974: WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee)
Box-Folder 2.19: WSRAC Meeting, 1974: WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee)
Box-Folder 2.20: Yamhill Chamber of Commerce Harvest Dinner Meeting, 1974
Box-Folder 2.21: Personal Notes on Others' Talks, 1965-1973

Series 2: Speeches and Presentations, 1946-1970

Series 2 consists of speeches and presentations given by Wood on a variety of topics at conferences and meetings; typed and reproduced speeches as well as handwritten outlines are included. Most of the speeches are from 1969-1970. Topics addressed include: markets for agricultural commodities, challenges of agricultural research especially in the context of Experiment Stations, the beef cattle industry in the Pacific Northwest, potato marketing and pricing, irrigation, the future of agriculture in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest; agricultural credit, and the commercialization of agriculture ("big agriculture").

Box-Folder 2.22: Speeches Given, 1946-1970

Series 3: Reference Materials, 1908-1984

Series 3 consists of publications, reports, and reference materials received and assembled by Wood. They include publications by governmental and non-governmental organizations, Experiment Station materials, and newspaper clippings. The materials represent a wide range of topics including economic and agricultural forecasts, farmers cooperatives, the role of land grant colleges and universities, and agricultural research administration especially through Experiment Stations. This series also includes a 1908 postcard to Mrs. E.P. Jackson, Wood’s mother-in-law, as well as several photographs taken in the 1960s-1970s of groups that may include Wood. Materials pertaining to a committee studying the feasibility of a proposed OSU golf course are included. A directory from 1970 demonstrates Wood's professional contacts.

Box-Folder 2.23: Agricultural Research Foundation Publications, 1983-1984
Box-Folder 2.24: Curriculum, Ornamentals Short Course (Horticulture), 1959-1966
Box-Folder 2.25: Department Reviews, 1968
Box-Folder 2.26: Directories, 1969-1970: Includes Deans of Agriculture, Experiment Station Directors, Other Departments, Branch Stations, Extension services, Oregon Agriculture Commodity and Farm Organization, Senate and House Comittees, ESCOP (Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy),WSRAC (Western Social Research Advisory Committee), WAERC - ERC (Western Agricultural Economics Research Council), USDA, and Northwest Soil and Water Conservation
Box-Folder 2.27: Feasibility of a Proposed OSU Golf Course, 1978
Box-Folder 2.28: Materials Relating to the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1967-1968
Box-Folder 2.29: Materials Shared with Wood, 1961-1975
Box-Folder 2.30: Materials Shared with Wood, 1967-1972
Box-Folder 2.31: Newspaper Clippings- Farm Subsidies and Picking a University President, 1967-1968
Box-Folder 2.32: Oregon Experiment Station Materials, 1973-1975
Box-Folder 2.33: Oregon Commodity Data Sheets, 1967-1968
Box-Folder 3.01: Others' Materials and Papers Presented, 1963-1972
Box-Folder 3.02: Others' Materials and Papers Presented, 1966-1975
Box-Folder 3.03: Papers by Others, 1961-1974
Box-Folder 3.04: Photographs, circa 1965-1975: Includes a photgraph of Roy Young with a field trip group (circa 1965) and 4 other photographs of unidentified groups (which may include Wood). Several of the photographs are by R. W. Henderson. One is a color print.
Box-Folder 3.05: Photographic postcard to Mrs. E.P. Jackson, 1908: Postcard from E.P. Jackson to Mrs. E.P. Jackson, parents of Wood's wife Ramona Wood (nee Jackson)
Box-Folder 3.06: Publications and Materials by Government Agencies, 1960-1980
Box-Folder 3.07: Publications and Materials by Government Agencies, 1962-1973
Box-Folder 4.01: Publications and Materials by Government Agencies, 1967-1974
Box-Folder 4.02: Publications and Materials by Non-Government Organizations, 1960-1976
Box-Folder 4.03: Publications and Materials by Non-Government Organizations, 1965-1973
Box-Folder 4.04: Quality and Food Task Force, 1974-1975
Box-Folder 4.05: Report on Effects of Effluents on Flavor of Salmon Fish, 1966
Box-Folder 4.06: Reprinted Publications, 1956-1968
Box-Folder 4.07: A Review of the Pacific Northwest White Wheat Futures Contract, Report to the Governor, 1973
Box-Folder 4.08: Western Agricultural Economics Association Publication, 1983