Oregon's 2017 nursery sales climb

The Oregon nursery industry climbed to its second-best sales year on record in 2017, according to newly released figures from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
The state’s wholesale and retail nurseries tallied an estimated $947.7 million in sales during the calendar year, which was more than enough to make nursery and greenhouse crops Oregon’s top agricultural commodity, ahead of cattle and calves, which were in second place at $695 million.
“The wholesale nursery industry is a traded sector that serves markets in every time zone of the United States, as well as Canada and overseas, and brings significant dollars back to the Oregon economy,” says Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries. “More than three-fourths of what we grow in Oregon is shipped over state lines, to destinations as far away as the East Coast.”
It was the Oregon nursery industry’s best sales year since 2007, when $1.039 billion worth of Oregon nursery and greenhouse products were sold, just prior to the Great Recession, which caused sales to decline.

Oregon remains the nation’s third-leading nursery state, behind the larger states of California and Florida, according to the most recent USDA Census of Horticultural Specialties (2014).
Oregon leads the United States with more than 61,000 acres of land in nursery production. What’s more, Oregon is the nation’s top grower of coniferous evergreens, deciduous shade trees, bareroot nursery products and deciduous flowering trees (USDA Census of Horticultural Specialties, 2014).
In 2017, the Oregon nursery and greenhouse industry (including the Christmas tree sector) employed an average of 9,288 people and had a total payroll of $317.3 million, for an average wage of $34,159, according to the State of Oregon Employment Department.
For more: www.plantsomethingoregon.com/pmlb

Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountain Nursery.