Department of Agriculture

HONOLULU – Two members of the Agribusiness Development Corporation Board of Directors were reconfirmed for their second terms by the State Senate recently.  Robert E. Cooper of Hilo and Robert V. Osgood of Kaneohe, Oahu have been reappointed to the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC), an attached agency of the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

  Cooper is retired and is a former chief executive officer of W.H. Shipman, Limited, an agricultural land management company in the Puna District on Hawai`i Island.  He also was senior vice president of development for Blackfield Hawaii Corporation and also held other land management positions with other companies.  Cooper graduated from Punahou High School and the San Jose State College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.  He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

  Cooper is a former instructor in real estate finance and development at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo and is a member of the Arc of Hilo and the County of Hawai`i’s Environmental Management Commission.  He is presently the chair of the Peanut Butter Ministry of the Methodist Church in Hilo.

Osgood is also retired and worked as a researcher scientist and agronomist for the University of Hawai`i and the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center (formerly known as the Hawai`i Sugar Planters Association) for more than 30 years.  He continues to provide consulting expertise on agriculture to government agencies and other organizations.

Osgood received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Miami, a masters of science degree and PhD from the University of Hawai`i.  He is also a member of the Hawaii Sugar Technologists and the Weed Science Society of America.

ADC was established in 1994 to facilitate and provide direction for the transition of Hawai`i’s agriculture industry from sugar and pineapple crops to diversified crops.  Since its inception, ADC has participated in many agricultural projects across the state, including the management of the Waiahole Irrigation System on Oahu and the East Kauai Irrigation System, the administration of the Kekaha agricultural land on Kauai and funding a solar-powered disinfection of irrigation water project on Maui. ADC is also in the process of assuming management of the East Kauai Kalepa agricultural lands and the Kau irrigation system on Hawai`i Island.

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