The Fund was initially created and funded by contributions made by Ernest F. Berg and Stanley F. Berg, who were raised in Yakima, Washington. Their father, Ernest F. Berg, Sr., was a farmer in the Yakima Valley and ran sheep in the winter and packed in the summer. Since the Berg Brothers worked with and for their father, they were involved in animal science and agriculture their entire lives. ollowing difficult times during the Depression, the Berg Sheep Company was formed in 1945 when the Berg Brothers, along with their father, purchased their first herd of sheep. In 1952, they acquired a ranch in Okanogan County. At that time, the Berg Brothers bought out their father and thereafter ran their operations under the name of the Berg Brothers. Over the years, they also ran cattle on their land and continued to acquire registered land located on the Colville Indian Reservation. By 1983, the Berg Brothers had ceased their full-time ranching operations. In 1994, they sold the registered land that they had acquired over the years to the Colville Indian Tribe, at which time they owned the largest tract of privately-held land on the reservation. The Berg Brothers sold their ranch in 1995 and officially retired.The Berg Brothers, now deceased, were involved in animal science and agriculture their entire lives. They are establishing this fund to allow students from Okanogan County to build careers in agriculture.
Award Requirements
It is the intent of the Berg Brothers that recipients for tuition scholarships as described above be high school graduates of schools located in Okanogan County, Washington, or students whose established residence is in Okanogan County, Washington; if, in any given year, there are no such eligible recipients, priority shall then be given to high school graduates of schools located in Chelan and Douglas Counties, Washington, or students whose established residence is in Chelan or Douglas Counties, Washington; or, if there be none, priority shall then be given to high school graduates of schools located in the remaining counties in Eastern Washington, or students whose established residence is in the remaining counties in Eastern Washington. One-half (1/2) of the annual allocation from the Fund be used to provide tuition scholarships to students in Washington State University’s Department of Animal Sciences, and one-half (1/2) of the annual allocation from the Fund to provide tuition scholarships in Washington State University’s College of Agriculture and Home Economics generally.