Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

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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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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

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There’s no one template for starting a retail or wholesale nursery. Each business is as unique the owners who start them, the locations they select, and their unique visions for their businesses. Digger magazine visited with five nursery owners who started their own businesses. Although they took different roads to their dream of starting their […]

$250,000 shifted to P. austrocedri research

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Officials have quickly reprioritized $250,000 in federal horticulture research funds to immediately begin developing and implementing effective strategies to prevent the spread of Phytophthora austrocedri and minimize its impact on the horticultural industry. P. austrocedri is a destructive pathogen threatening valuable ornamental crops including cypress, arborvitae, juniper, and cedar, which could have serious consequences for nurseries, landscapes, […]