Blake Crosby Oral History Interview #2, May 16, 2014

Partial Transcript: Go ahead and talk about what you were saying earlier about putting these in pots and whats happening out here.

Segment Synopsis: The interview conducted on the Crosby Hops farm in Woodburn, Oregon, begins with Blake introducing the recently planted baby hops. He spends time explaining the amount of watering required, how the weather dictates the amount of water they receive, and what type of hops they are and what they are typically used for (IPA's)

Partial Transcript: Growing up in the industry, and more broadly in agriculture...

Segment Synopsis: Crosby shares how the majority of farmers in the area, regardless of what crops they producing, are multigenerational farmers whose families have resided in the area for extensive periods of time. The nature of agricultural work typically is passed down from generation to generation, and the hops industry is no different. Crosby goes on to mention how we as Americans all have traces to agriculture in our family lineage, as what this country was built on.
Crosby farms recently began designating Friday afternoons as a period of time for people interested in the hops/beer industry to visit the farm and be given a tour of their facility.

Partial Transcript: Building this farm from a small ma and pa style farm, like most farms were back in the day, to a more commercial industrialized farming operation.

Segment Synopsis: In this segment Crosby elaborates on how his grandfather initially ran the family farm as a small scale local farm, and how it grew into a larger commercial sized farm as his father took over in the 1980's and even more so as Blake became involved. The growth has required improvements in technology, acreage size, and hop variation.
He then moves in greater detail of when his father took over, and how his father and grandfather never had much of an opportunity to work together, but the closer age gap between Blake and his father has allowed for them to make quicker improvements to the farm due to their ability to work together.
Blake shares about his college path, attending the University of Oregon for his undergraduate studies before heading to Willamette University for graduate studies.

Partial Transcript: I would love for the legacy to continue..

Segment Synopsis: Crosby shares his desires to pass down the family farm to future generations of the Crosby family.
He then speaks about the his thoughts about the future of the hops industry, specifically noting how their has been an overwhelming demand for hops in recent years that supply can't meet, but eventually the industry will likely see an excess in supply, and what that will mean for the Crosby farm and the industry as a whole.
Blake shifts the focus towards the demand of variety in hops, and the challenges that can arise from this trend. Hops varieties can be very unique, and it can take years for hops farmers to fully understand a healthy growing process for a specific variety.

Partial Transcript: So we start over here with bailed hops

Segment Synopsis: The conclusion of the interview consists of Blake walking the facility and giving a narration of the all the equipment that is used in the process following the picking of the hops.