Brian Bolduc Oral History Interview, November 24, 2020

Partial Transcript: Excellent. Today is November 24th and we're going to talk about your life. Thank you for agreeing to do this. Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc was born on Maui, in Hawaii, and grew up in Maine. He explains that he spent most of the year in Maine, but that his parents would take him and his sister to Maui in the winter to visit their grandparents. He talks about what it was like growing up with parents who worked in the hospitality industry, and notes that he enjoyed meeting all the different people who would frequent his parents’ motel.

Partial Transcript: So why did, why did your family move to the West Coast then?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses his family’s move to Oregon when he was an adolescent. He explains that his mother wanted to be closer to family, and that he had uncles and aunts living in California and Portland. He talks about the new jobs his parents took after the move, including woodworking for his father, and real estate and advertising for his mother.

Partial Transcript: So what did you like to do when you were a kid? What were the things that you were into?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about his childhood interests, which included hockey, football, and skiing. He notes that he struggled with math classes, and was influenced by his dad’s interest in beers and microbreweries.

Partial Transcript: So what led you to Oregon State? What was the big what was the draw of that as a school versus any of the others?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc explains that he chose to attend OSU because he wanted to stay in-state and wanted to attend a larger school that offered a variety of classes. He enjoyed the fact that it was located in a college town and visits when he can.

Partial Transcript: So I am curious…you're still really close to the major agricultural centers for us here in Oregon. What was what was that like not coming from a farming family directly?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about his interest in agriculture and the agricultural classes he studied while attending university. Unlike many of his peers in the agricultural sciences classes, Bolduc did not come from a farming background, but he gained experience through summer jobs and internships. He talks about his interactions with his peers and friends who were from farming families, and offers anecdotes about the farms around Corvallis and throughout Oregon.

Partial Transcript: So you went to OSU…So what, what are your early memories of of OSU?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc recounts his memories of studying at Oregon State. He joined a fraternity, Sigma Pi, during his freshman year, and spent a lot of time participating in fraternity activities and events.

Partial Transcript: What kind of classes did you take? So obviously you must have taken a fair number of business classes.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about the classes he took while in college. While the majority of his classes were business related, as he was pursuing a business degree, he notes that he also took a lot of other miscellaneous classes out of interest. A class he remembers as being influential is Intro to Beer and Wine Spirits.

Partial Transcript: So what did you do for work when you were in school?

Segment Synopsis: While in college, Bolduc worked as a driver for Safe Ride, which is a driving service that helps students to get home safely at night. He also pursued multiple farming internships, particularly during the summers, and briefly worked as a merchandizer.

Partial Transcript: Tell me about the Olympics.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses his internship with NBC during the Vancouver Olympics. He was hired as an intern in the hospitality department, and was responsible for driving NBC talent to Olympic events, dinners, and other meetings. He recalls this memory happily, and notes that it was one of his favorite college experiences.

Partial Transcript: What did you think you wanted to do when you graduated?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc notes that after college he intended to get a job, but had no clear idea about what exactly he wanted to do. The job market was not strong when he graduated, but he eventually found a job working in advertising at KGW, an NBC affiliate in Portland. He notes that he enjoyed the job, but after having children wanted to switch to a career that would allow him to spend more time at home. He talked to his brother-in-law, who worked in agriculture, and began pursuing a career in farming.

Partial Transcript: And so your official job title is assistant director of business and sales.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses his current job, noting that his job title changes occasionally, but that he’s generally in charge of business and sales for a hops farm. He talks about the structure of the farm and the ways it has expanded since he began working there.

Partial Transcript: I'm curious about whether how are other farms handling that? The fact that certainly for lots of reasons, multi-generational farming is changing…Is this something that is happening in the industry writ large that people are thinking about it?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about the farming industry in Oregon. He notes that multi-generational farming is still very common, and that many young Oregonians attend college to study agriculture. He states that a lot of farms are now monocultures, and that he worries a lack of diversity in crops may ultimately harm farms.

Partial Transcript: So you, you were coming of age as someone who could drink alcohol and during a really interesting phase…was there a link, and how has that changed, between agriculture and beer?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses how the popularity of craft brewing in Oregon has led to an expansion in the hops industry. In his view there’s a collaborative relationship between Oregon farms and breweries, that creates new opportunities for both industries. He also talks about the differences in working with local breweries and large multinational companies, and the different forms of contracts between hop farms and brewers.

Partial Transcript: Two questions I have that will beat us in two different directions so you can choose which one to teach. So one question I have is about social media and marketing as it relates to farming. The other question I have is your involvement on the or the Hop Commission as a commissioner and as a board member on the Oregon Brewers Guild. So. Choose your fork in the road

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about the role of social media in advertising hops and beers. He remarks that social media is now used ubiquitously among farms and brewers to promote products and to educate the public about the industry and about sustainable farming practices.

Partial Transcript: Do you think that it will attract new people into the industry? We were talking earlier about that, that kind of the stream, the stream of like business sustainability or farm sustainability, Do you think that that that is this is a little bit asking you to look at a crystal ball but do you think is, could that be a component of it too?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about how social media can be used to spark an interest in agriculture among people who may otherwise be familiar with it. He also discusses using social media to show women who work in the industry, making it seem like a feasible career for other young women.

Partial Transcript: So talk about your work. Why did you become a commissioner and so so both the for the viewing audience at home, both the Hop Commission and the Brewers Guild are very focused on the industry writ large. And so what what was attracted to you? Why, why did you join both of those commissions?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses his role as a member of both the Hop Commission and Brewers Guild. He explains that the primary purpose of the Hop Commission is to find ways to advance and improve the Oregon hops industry, while the Brewers Guild represents the brewing industry. He talks about the projects he has worked on and discusses other members of these organizations.

Partial Transcript: I imagine that there's a lot of advocacy talk that the board is about sharing the work of breweries with consumers, but also having this advocacy role for government and state legislation and that kind of work. What are the conversations like? Like what are the what are some of the the challenges that maybe aren't making it into the news or are making it into the news? Like what? What are you talking about?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about how the pandemic has impacted the brewing industry. He explains that many breweries are struggling financially, as restaurants and bars haven’t been purchasing beers in the normal quantities, and tasting rooms have largely closed down. This, in turn, impacts the hop farms that sell to the breweries. He talks about how the Brewers Guild has responded to the economic struggles of breweries, and how different festivals and events have been impacted.

Partial Transcript: How how is life on the farm adjusted? What are some things that I'll ask? What are some things that have that have come out of what has changed on the farm?

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc indicates that farming hasn’t been as affected by the Covid pandemic, although they have sold fewer hops due to the decrease in demand. He states that largely the farms have been able to keep employees helpful, and that the fact that most farm work occurs outdoors has been helpful

Partial Transcript: Yeah, we got through we got through harvest fairly unscathed with with COVID. But, yeah, the wildfires were certainly the biggest the biggest problem that no one saw coming.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc discusses the Oregon wildfires of 2020. He notes that it had a deleterious effect on farming, and that many crops were damaged because of it. While some were still able to be used and developed a smokier note, many could not be sold.

Partial Transcript: One thing. Sorry to interrupt you and interrupt myself. One thing I do want to hear about is the work that you and the farm have done both with OSU, but also with the grain to glass kind of, this moving testing out I guess of of Goschi Farms going into barley.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about new forms of crop harvesting and brewing that different farms have developed in collaboration with Oregon State University’s agricultural science program. He mentions new salmon seed beers and how those have been shaped by concerns about sustainable farming. He also talks about barley farming and it has become increasingly popular in Oregon and Washington due to new forms of sustainable farming.

Partial Transcript: Well, and it, it also I think speaks to the the benefit of having these overlapping relationships.

Segment Synopsis: Bolduc talks about how building collaborative relationships between different industries, namely hops farming, barley farming, breweries, and agricultural sciences can encourage innovation. He also talks about the importance of crop diversity and his concerns about monoculture farming.