Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Fall Creek transitions leadership positions

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Oscar Verges has been promoted to co-CEO of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc. and Amelie Brazelton Aust has been named executive vice chair of the board of directors, according to a release from the blueberry breeding company. Cort Brazelton will share the CEO role with Oscar, and Amelie will continue to work with them […]

Managing epidemics

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Whether dealing with plant pathogens or COVID-19, common principles apply The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it, threatening human health, causing disruption to our society, and resulting in economic challenges. While impacts of plant pests and diseases may pale in importance compared to COVID-19, they still cause large-scale ecological and economic damage […]

Plants on the move: Freight with uncertainty

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COVID-19 threw nursery shipping for a loop, but things settled and stayed strong Gary “Bert” Bertleson used to have it pretty good in the summer. The head of nursery over-the-road sales for Integrity Logistics, a freight shipping and trucking broker in Wilsonville, Bertleson would regularly take an entire month off in the summer. He was […]

Plants on the move: Making room for safety

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On nursery loading docks, COVID-19 changed everything Uncertainty and panic about the COVID-19 pathogen quickly took hold of shipping companies and nursery loading docks across the United States earlier this year. “It was the third week of March — that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,” said Matt Frederick, logistic coordinator and operations manager of K&M Distribution Inc. […]

Plants on the move: An oasis for the road

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Nurseries provide hospitality for drivers cut off from usual resources The open road has been lonely for truckers in 2020. That’s according to Matt Frederick, operations manager for of K&M Distribution Inc. (Rogue River, Oregon), which serves the nursery industry. When moving a nursery stock shipment in a refrigerated truck, a driver headed to the […]

Meet the leader: Jesse Nelson

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General ManagerHans Nelson & Sons Nursery Inc. OAN member since: 2002 OAN roles/positions: Board of Directors – Field and Bare Root Tell us about yourself: I grew up doing different little jobs around our family farm in Boring, Oregon, for as long as I can remember. My grandfather started Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery in […]

Strength and wisdom

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An adage says ‘behind every great man is a great woman,’ but it seems archaic to bring up these days with the budding ascension of so many women as national leaders. My two politically-active and college-aged daughters have watched Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris of California become a viable national force in real […]

Western Nursery & Landscape Association falls victim to pandemic

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Members of the Western Nursery & Landscape Association (WNLA) have voted to dissolve the association, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Western trade show event that was set for January in Kansas City. The show was the 130-year-old trade group’s main source of income, and the board determined the association could not be sustained without it.

The Advocacy Issue: October 2020

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In this special issue, we explore the ways OAN members speak out on behalf of the nursery industry. We will take you inside the process — including the need for speaking out, the team that works on OAN advocacy, the approach that OAN follows, the issues OAN addresses and the battle to keep down the […]