Published 11:00 am Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Oregon nurseries continue to see strong sales and high demand — even as some in the industry express concerns about labor shortages and high costs.
The Oregon nursery industry is the state’s most valuable agriculture sector, estimated at $1.22 billion in 2022. The USDA Census of Agriculture, released earlier this year, found that Oregon was third nationwide in sales of nursery stock after California and Florida.
Amanda Staehely, president of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said statewide sales are still strong despite her worries about a potential slowdown. Her nursery — Columbia Nursery in Canby, Ore. — is exporting plants outside North America for the first time this year, including Japan, which she said proves a demand for Oregon crops.
“There’s not another state that has such a diverse and beautiful product,” said Staehely. “We’re really lucky to be able to grow here.”
A new overtime law, which took effect in 2023, requires that Oregon agricultural workers be paid time-and-a-half for work exceeding 55 hours per week. Next Jan. 1, that will change to 48 hours a week.
The law mirrors those in states like California, Washington and Colorado. Proponents say the laws ensure fair pay for agricultural workers.
Yet results in other states have been mixed, according to Timothy Delbridge, an assistant professor of applied economics at Oregon State University.
“The ag overtime law is going to require farmers to change the way they manage their employees,” Delbridge said. “I believe the impact is going to be negative for nurseries (and) will be good for some workers and bad for others.”
Delbridge said some farms could hire more laborers working fewer hours, spread hours across existing workers including part-time employees or diversify their operations to avoid surges in labor needs.
He also pointed to a 2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association study indicating that many workers earn less from their employers due to working fewer hours.
Darcy Ruef is a part owner of Al’s Garden & Home, a grower-retailer. She said Oregon nurseries are already dealing with high costs on top of the overtime law, including an increased minimum wage and higher energy costs.
“Even though our sales seem to be growing, our expenses are growing faster than our sales are. We’re getting squeezed,” said Ruef.
Staehely said she worries about competing with other states with fewer wage laws — like Tennessee, whose nursery sector is growing and whose nurseries can more easily ship to East Coast buyers.
“A big majority of our product ships out of state, so we’re competing with states that have a lot of lower overhead costs, and obviously lower shipping and freight costs,” Staehely said.
Concerns about labor availability have sparked discussion over the usage of robotics and other technologies.
Staehely said that Bountiful Farms, a 700-acre nursery in Woodburn, Ore., is one such nursery — using robots for pruning and spraying, among other common tasks.
She also voiced concerns that smaller nurseries like hers might not be able to afford such technologies.
“You’re making the bigger guys bigger, and the smaller guys can’t catch up,” Staehely said.
Ruef said that Al’s is using some new technologies — like planting and seeding machines — though she indicated she wouldn’t want to replace the company’s current crews.
“We have an amazing growing crew on all sites,” Ruef said. “But we’re aging, so if it gets harder and harder to find people to replace them, we will start mechanizing.”
