The lingering pandemic finds nurseries getting creative to fill vacancies Jonathan Pedersen, chief executive officer (CEO) and president at Monrovia Nursery Co. (Azusa, California), has watched as the labor market in the nursery industry has changed over the years. But this summer, with the global pandemic still overshadowing everyday life, vaccine mandates throwing in wrenches […]
Competing for key personnel
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Nurseries dangle remote work, added benefits and work-life flexibility to attract top talent The nursery industry has struggled with labor shortages for years. It started with field, farm, and greenhouse workers, and more recently has grown to include the key roles of propagators, growers, sales representatives, and managers. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, horticulture and […]
Member profile: Kelleygreen Nursery
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When wholesale plant buyers drive across the wooden, one-lane bridge to access Kelleygreen Nursery, they typically don’t do it by accident. The grower of containerized Japanese maple varieties is situated on 22 acres of gently sloping ground that is nestled between forested Coast Range hills, about a three-hour drive from Portland, or about 45 minutes from Eugene. “If somebody comes here, we know they’re serious,” said cofounder Jan Kelley, who owns and operates the nursery together with his son, Kevin.
Working assets
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Educating workers on personal finance helps both the employer and the employee Articles seem to be published every day about how individuals will have to work well past retirement age because they haven’t saved enough for retirement and Social Security soon won’t be sufficient to meet their income needs. “Saving more” isn’t the simple solution […]
November 2018 — The People Issue
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November 2018 — The People Issue In Oregon, nurseries and their people ship close to $1 billion worth of ornamental nursery and greenhouse plants per year. That’s why you will seldom find a nursery owner or manager who does not appreciate the critical role of employees at every level. In this issue: Introduction: People. That’s […]
People. That’s what it’s about.
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It takes a number of essentials to transform a healthy seed, seedling, cutting or start into a market-ready plant or tree. There’s water. Fertilizer. Pest management. Growing media for containerized plants, or healthy soil for those grown in the field. If any of these are missing or unavailable, the product will suffer or die, but […]
The leadership farm team
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When people talk about the nursery industry’s human resource challenges, they often speak strictly in terms of labor. But the nursery industry needs people at all levels, from entry-level workers to crew leaders, supervisors, managers and above. To succeed in a challenging industry, nursery companies rely on the experience, technical knowledge, management ability and leadership […]
Working wonders
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Despite pervasive labor struggles, nurseries find ways to find workers There was a time, up until 2006 or 2007, when Robinson Nursery in McMinnville, Oregon would lay off at least 30 percent of its workforce every year, just after the fall season and heading into winter. Back then, the nursery industry’s labor pool included a […]
The essentials of retention
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Many growers can’t set the price of their products in the national marketplace. They are competing for business with growers from states that don’t have same high cost of doing business, which puts Oregonians at a competitive disadvantage. This means business owners must focus on collecting high-value returns on high-cost labor expenses. When compiling salaries […]
The Pacheco brothers
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Four decades ago, Doug Zielinski — then a recent Oregon State University graduate, fresh off an internship at Kraemer’s Nursery — decided to chase a dream by becoming a fourth generation farmer. Doug’s father, Ernie, had taken over the farm when he was just 15 years old, after Doug’s grandfather, Charlie, suddenly passed away. The […]
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