Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Eason Horticultural Resources is now employee-owned

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Eason Horticultural Resources (EHR) announced that it has become employee owned through an ESOP structure as of October 1. “This transition reinforces EHR’s dedication to preserving its long-standing legacy. This new structure promotes a workplace where mutual success is a shared priority and where employees are empowered to actively contribute to its growth, shaping the […]

November 2024: The Transportation Issue

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This month’s issue helps nurseries navigate the challenges of shipping their products efficiently and economically to their buyers. Columns: Growing Knowledge, an ongoing series provided by Oregon State University in collaboration with the USDA and in partnership with OAN. Download a PDF of this issue.

It’s prudent to stay wise to double brokering, ID theft and other freight-related scams

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The freight industry is an ocean filled with many fish. Operators of all sizes stand ready to move products to market — including trees and plants. Just one problem. The ocean also has sharks. These unethical predators work a variety of angles, threatening to victimize the shipper who sends product, the buyer who receives it, the […]

Sound planning and strong communication helps complex loading processes run more smoothly

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With the variety of sizes, shapes and load configurations involved in nursery shipping, and with the fact that shippers are moving living plants across great distances, coordinating shipping in nursery is fraught with logistical challenges. Careful planning, good communication and loading efficiency are critical steps to getting a truck in and out of a nursery […]

Though almost inevitable, damage claims can be minimized with the right moves

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For many Oregon growers of woody material, it’s not uncommon for plants to take six, eight or even 12 years to grow before they’re ready to ship. That’s years of watering, fertilizing, pruning and general care. But all that can be for naught if the plants aren’t loaded into trucks carefully, kept at the proper […]

Will nurseries continue to enjoy favorable freight rates and availability?

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There’s a simple truth about nursery products — they don’t make money until they leave the nursery. That’s why growers pay close attention to the cost and availability of trucks to take plants to market. “My livelihood and that of others around me revolves around these trucks,” said Todd Nelson, an owner of wholesaler Bountiful Farms […]

A gathering of community

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Our nursery industry community is special. This will be my 19th year celebrating our annual gathering at License to Grow: The 2024 OAN Convention. Mark Krautmann and Kathy LeCompte were easy choices to serve as honorary co-chairs on November 15–16 at Salishan Coastal Lodge in Gleneden Beach. Changing of the guard At convention we celebrate […]

Growth means more when it’s a team

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When you think about growing, what comes to mind? Root structure and branching? Fertility and weed management? Perhaps it is personal growth. Greenhouse structures and irrigation design? Or business and community? For me it is cultural growth — how a group solves problems together, makes small, meaningful improvements, how they interact with the outside world, […]