After several tough years brought on by the recession, Oregon’s nursery industry — the most valuable sector of the state’s agricultural economy — is showing signs of a comeback.
“It’s by no means a wonderful market, but all of a sudden it’s improving.”
“It’s by no means a wonderful market, but all of a sudden it’s improving,” says Nancy Buley, a spokeswoman for the J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.nursery in Boring, one of the state’s largest.
Oregon’s nurseries and greenhouses grow landscaping trees and shrubs, and supply commercial garden centers with house plants. About 75 percent of nursery production is shipped out of state, and the industry is tightly linked to housing and other development.
But nursery operators are encouraged by an uptick in orders, a trend particularly noticeable over the past six to eight weeks. Orders for Schmidt & Son products are up more than 10 percent over this time a year ago, Buley said.
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— Eric Mortenson