Columns

Convention and the nursery family

By Jeff Stone — Posted December 7, 2017

Something special happened at this year’s OAN Convention, held in November at Salishan. Anytime there’s a large gathering of our membership, I find myself rejuvenated. The camaraderie is something to behold. You see titans of the industry interacting with up-and-comers and the future of the industry. They talk about trends, production and labor challenges as […]

Specializing in the unique

By Mike Darcy — Posted December 6, 2017

They would never be called a “garden center.” They would not be a place to go to for buying annuals in the spring. They have very few hard goods; it is unlikely that a customer would find garden chemicals, fertilizers, gloves and other items. Their locations are usually not in a metro area and they […]

A winter respite

By Josh Zielinski — Posted December 6, 2017

Growing up on a farm and container nursery, I have always noticed a slight lull in the pace when fall and winter roll around. While many of my childhood friends went out of town for Spring Break and often went on numerous summer camping and fishing trips, it didn’t make sense for our family to […]

Going big on transportation

By Jeff Stone — Posted November 1, 2017

As Oregon’s largest agricultural sector, the nursery and greenhouse industry depends on an integrated transportation system so product can get to market. Nearly 75 percent of the nursery stock we grow ends up leaving our borders, with more than half ticketed for markets east of the Mississippi River. As a trade association, we have supported […]

Don’t underestimate the power of email

By Ian Doescher — Posted November 1, 2017

There are so many digital tools you can use to reach potential customers these days: digital ads on Google or Facebook, social media pages and advertising, videos, remarketing, blogs, websites, and more! In this new and evolving landscape, it’s easy to forget about one of the first digital marketing tools many of us used: email. […]

It’s good to be back on top

By Bill Goloski — Posted November 1, 2017

For folks I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I am Josh Zielinski and I am thrilled to be your incoming OAN president. These are exciting times in our industry. It feels good to come in just a few months after USDA reported that nursery and greenhouse crops are back on top in Oregon agriculture, […]

A time for reasoned minds

By Jeff Stone — Posted October 1, 2017

October is upon us — the release of summer’s long grip on our operations, leaves rapidly changing into a wonder of colors, crisp mornings and celebrations of Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving. It is difficult not to write about all the tumult happening around our great nation. It is not the first time nor the […]

A year of growth

By Mark Bigej — Posted October 1, 2017

In-depth involvement in the OAN leads to lessons that will serve for a lifetime My how the time has flown! I can’t believe I’m writing my final President’s Message for Digger. What a fun and eventful year it has been. I want to thank all of our OAN members for allowing me the honor of […]

Open gardens, open minds

By Mike Darcy — Posted October 1, 2017

Gardening is a constantly changing hobby for many of us. When we visit garden centers, we are often not only buying plants that are familiar to us, but we are on the lookout for something new. Many private gardens have signature plants that might be a tree or shrub, or perhaps it is a plant(s) […]

It’s good to be the king (of ag commodities)

By Mark Bigej — Posted September 13, 2017

Leading Oregon in sales has its advantages After falling from the top perch for the past two years, greenhouse and nursery products have recaptured the No. 1 position in terms of production value among Oregon’s diverse agricultural commodities! Newly released figures from the Oregon Department of Agriculture show that our industry generated $909 million in […]