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You are here: Home / Archives for Columns / President's Message

President’s Message: Into the unknown

By Jim Simnitt — Posted April 24, 2020

Spring is a hectic time. Add in a worldwide pandemic with economic uncertainties, and it can be a recipe for disaster. The most unnerving aspect is the unknown. As an industry, we are accustomed to unpredictable weather. We see damaging frosts, rainy weekends, and hot, dry summers stressing the growing season. These are all hiccups […]

Filed Under: Columns, Coronavirus, President's Message Tagged With: COVID19, Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members

Lending our future a hand

By Jim Simnitt — Posted March 27, 2020

The nursery industry as a whole is mutually supportive. We help each other out. There is always someone willing to assist a fellow nursery or talk with someone looking to start a career in this great industry. One of the ways Oregon Association of Nurseries members help each year is to promote horticultural education through […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, President's Message

Our voice matters

By Jim Simnitt — Posted February 26, 2020

In February, I joined a group of the OAN’s Government Relations Committee members on a trip to Salem. We met with legislators to talk about the current session and how multiple bills directly relate to, and impact, our nursery industry.  Ten or more years ago, this would have been an “off year” — the legislature would […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, Politics

Instant gratification

By Jim Simnitt — Posted January 23, 2020

This past fall I was able to take time away from my nursery and visit a few of our new retail customers. It’s always great to get out and see how the retail sector of our industry is doing. One of the things that kept coming up was an emerging trend of “just in time” […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, President's Message

Why we connect

By Jim Simnitt — Posted January 1, 2020

Oregon is a diverse place with mountains and coastline, high deserts and fertile valleys. The nurseries that dot the Oregon map are just as diverse. Liner production, reforestation, cut flowers, Christmas trees, retail, and large specimen growers are just some of the categories represented, and our people are just as diverse as our products. Oregonians […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: OAN, OAN Members, President's Message

Slowing down to take stock

By Jim Simnitt — Posted November 22, 2019

The days are shorter, colder and wetter, which means it’s beginning to look a lot like the winter season around the nursery.  This time around the holiday season is a slower time of year. The greenhouses are all buttoned up for winter. The pipes are drained and winterized. We have the time to slow down […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, President's Message

Ready to rise and shine

By Jim Simnitt — Posted October 23, 2019

I was fortunate to grow up on our family nursery in Canby, Oregon. It is where I found a love of plants and the nursery industry, and has brought me to being your president of the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) this year. If we have not met, let me introduce myself. My name is […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members

A word of thanks

By Mike Hiller — Posted September 26, 2019

“Thank you.” These two words are so often underused, but I have chosen to start out this month’s column by using them for a specific reason. It has been such an honor to serve as president of the Oregon Association of Nurseries for the past year. Thank you to all of the staff members and […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members

Building your team

By Mike Hiller — Posted September 4, 2019

September is one of my favorite months of the year. On the nursery, we are starting to push plants into dormancy to get them ready for the coming winter. We may work tirelessly all summer to help the plants size up. This is also when they set flower buds for the next spring. But the […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Farwest, OAN, OAN Members

Welcome to Farwest

By Mike Hiller — Posted July 26, 2019

Welcome to our Farwest Edition of Digger magazine. The Farwest Show is a time for our members to showcase what is new and display all of the high-quality plant material from the Northwest. I hope you have already made your plans to attend, but if not, I hope you will consider coming to see the […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Farwest Show, OAN, OAN Members

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NURSERY NEWS

In Memoriam: Melvin John Steffenson

New USDA Census of Hort arriving in mailboxes this month

Oregon Association of Nurseries honors the industry’s best at 2024 Convention

Eason Horticultural Resources is now employee-owned

Oregon’s nursery licensing program aims to keep the entire industry healthy

Building trust is key to establishing clientele base for new nurseries

Five owners share their experiences on what it takes to start a nursery businesses

Bailey hires new CFO and chief HR officer

More Nursery News

From the pages of Digger

May 2025: Sustainability Issue

April 2025: The Tree Issue

March 2025: The Perennial Issue

February 2025: The Greenhouse Issue

January 2025: The Retail Issue

More issues of Digger

Pests and Diseases

Prioritizing nursery pest challenges

New tools in the battle against thrips

Aiming for precision in pest control

Oregon’s nursery licensing program aims to keep the entire industry healthy

$250,000 shifted to P. austrocedri research

More articles

FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

Sense of excitement prevailed at Farwest as nursery industry ‘Meets the Future’ 

Farwest Show attendees select favorites for the Retailers’ Choice Awards

Starway to Heaven™ Japanese Snowbell wins People’s Choice balloting at Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

Hopper Bros. wins Best in Show booth award at 2024 Farwest Show   

Starway to Heaven™ Japanese Snowbell wins Judges’ Best in Show at Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

More Updates from Farwest

The Value of Membership

Meet the leader: Sam Pohlschneider

OAN honors the industry’s best

Oregon Association of Nurseries honors the industry’s best at 2024 Convention

More member stories

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