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CapitalPress.com
February 20, 2015
People & Places
Nursery owner gets hooked on agriculture
Angela Bailey fills
her mother’s shoes,
and finds they fit
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
GRESHAM, ORE. — It
was the phone call no one
wants to get. Angela Bailey’s
mother, Verna Jean Hale, had
suffered a heart attack, para-
medics were on scene and
things didn’t look good. By
the time Bailey and her hus-
band could drive the 45 miles
east across the Portland metro
area to the nursery her mother
owned outside of Gresham,
Bailey’s mom had died.
Bailey and her husband,
Larry, were stunned. Her
mother was only 70 and there
was no succession plan. Bai-
ley’s father, a music teacher,
had died when she was 14,
and she was an only child.
She’d grown up on the nurs-
ery, knew how to graft trees
and had a basic understand-
ing of how things worked, but
knew nothing of her mom’s
day-to-day operations. It
wasn’t until customers began
calling that the Baileys real-
ized there were orders of or-
namental trees that needed to
be shipped.
The Baileys asked them-
selves whether they should
continue the business — con-
tinue growing and selling Ver-
na Jean’s Japanese maples,
beeches, dogwoods and mon-
key puzzle trees — or move
on. Larry was a chemical
engineer with a Ph.D. from
Stanford University and good
job at Intel, the giant comput-
er chip company in Hillsboro.
Angela had a communications
degree from Seattle Pacific
University, a toddler to care
for and another baby on the
way. If her mom had expected
her to continue in the nursery
business, she’d done a good
job of hiding it.
But legacy can be a com-
forting cloak, one that feels
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Angela Bailey, the Oregon Farm Bureau’s second vice president and winner of its Outstanding Woman
award, encourages producers to speak up on agricultural issues.
Western Innovator
Angela Bailey
Notable: Second-generation co-owner of Verna Jean Nursery
outside Gresham, Ore. The nursery
specializes in ornamental trees,
primarily Japanese maples, beeches,
dogwoods and monkey puzzle trees.
Elected second vice president of the
Oregon Farm Bureau and presented
the Outstanding Farm Bureau Wom-
an award during state convention in December 2014.
Personal: Age 41, two daughters, Katie and Abbigayle; holds a
communications degree from Seattle Pacific University. Married to
nursery co-owner Larry Bailey, a chemical engineer who works as
a patent agent in Portland.
Background: Grew up in the Gresham area, spending a great
deal of time on the tree nursery started by her late mother, Verna
Jean Hale, but originally had no intention of following her mom
into the business. Her late father, George Hale, was a music and
band teacher.
Make-do methods: Farmers are known for their ingenuity and the
Baileys are no exception. Seeds for the nursery’s monkey puzzle
trees come from a pair of towering specimens Angela Bailey’s
parents planted on the property perhaps 50 years ago. Their seed
gathering method? A few well-placed kicks with their daughters’
soccer balls brings a shower of seeds for collection.
right when draped over your
shoulders.
“We didn’t want to move
on,” Bailey says.
That was 10 years ago this
spring. Today, Verna Jean
Nursery retains its modest
niche in Oregon’s nursery in-
dustry, which by production
value is the leading sector of
the state’s agricultural econ-
omy.
And Bailey — “Angi” to
her many friends — has be-
come one of the Oregon Farm
Bureau’s rising leaders and
clearest voices. She’s made
lobbying trips to Washington,
D.C., tracks national legisla-
tion, cajoles elected officials
and encourages producers to
speak up and tell their stories.
She’s a graduate of the Amer-
ican Farm Bureau’s commu-
nications “boot camp,” which
trains producers to become
public advocates for farming.
The nursery has no genetical-
ly engineered plants, but when
Jackson County was debating
a ban on GMO crops, Bailey
traveled there to hear the argu-
ments and absorb information.
At the Oregon Farm Bu-
reau’s annual convention in
December, Bailey was elect-
ed second vice president and
gained a spot on the board of
directors. She also won the
Outstanding Farm Bureau
Woman award, given for ex-
ceptional contributions in fur-
thering the Oregon Farm Bu-
reau’s goals at the local, state
and national level.
Bailey was flabbergasted.
“I’m honored by the
award, I can’t believe it,”
she said. “I don’t do what I
do for the recognition, I do
it so I can keep farming.”
Bailey’s Farm Bureau in-
volvement began with the
Multnomah County branch.
Attending her first Oregon
Farm Bureau annual conven-
tion as a county representative
sealed the deal, as Bailey was
struck by the manner in which
members hashed out issues.
“I loved the grass roots
policy process,” she says. “I
hadn’t seen anything like that
before. I was hooked.”
Bailey has since become
one of the Farm Bureau’s
leading advocates for recon-
necting with a public that’s
now three generations re-
moved from the farm, doesn’t
understand agriculture and is
swayed by anti-farming activ-
ists. Bailey says she heard a
conference speaker put it this
way: “In the absence of your
voice, issues are being decid-
ed by people who don’t know
us and don’t like us.”
She credits her husband,
Larry, for setting the fami-
ly on the course that’s led to
her leadership position. The
family was bouncing back
and forth between Hillsboro
and Gresham when Larry pro-
posed that he leave Intel and
they move to the rural nursery
to make a go of it. He took the
lead the first few years as An-
gela cared for their children.
“He just dove in, he read
books, he built greenhouses,”
Bailey says. “Even when we
didn’t know what to do, we
just did something. You learn
as you go along.
“Larry, to me, is the un-
sung hero of this whole sto-
ry,” Bailey says. “He’s the one
who said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
Larry Bailey has since tak-
en a position that allows him
to use his engineering train-
ing; he’s a patent agent with a
Portland law firm and Angela
Bailey has assumed primary
responsibility for the nursery.
In that sense, Bailey be-
lieves she’s carrying on for her
mom. “She loved trees, loved
the ag industry and loved her
customers very, very much.”
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Barred owl attacks joggers in Salem, Ore., park
Mail rates paid in advance
SALEM, Ore. (AP) —
MSNBC host Rachel Mad-
dow inspired Oregon’s cap-
ital to post new warning
signs in a park where four
runners reported attacks
from an angry owl likely
defending its nest against
perceived threats.
One jogger, a surgeon,
said the owl hit him twice
in Bush’s Pasture Park
in Salem, and so hard he
thought he was having a
stroke or an aneurysm. An-
other said the bird swiped
his longtime running cap
and nicked his scalp.
Maddow suggested on
air last week that the city
should post a vivid yel-
low warning sign using the
iconic pedestrian stick fig-
ure bent forward at a run.
Above, claws extended, is
a raptor.
1 year U.S. ...................................$49.49
Salem officials liked the
idea.
Mark Becktel, parks
and transportation services
manager, said the city se-
cured rights to reproduce
the sign and is posting 20
of them.
“It’s just making peo-
ple aware that there’s an
owl there that for whatever
reason swoops down and
goes after people’s hats,”
he said.
Officials previously put
up handbills with printed
warnings that Maddow said
weren’t strong enough.
Birders say the assailant
is a barred owl, an aggres-
sive bird that’s especially
so during the current mating
season.
Barred owls are also
known to attack spotted
owls, which are protected
Danielle Peterson/AP Photo/Statesman-Journal
John Kleeman, Parks Operations Supervisor for Salem, Ore.,
installs signs at Bush’s Pasture Park on Feb. 12 warning visitors of
the recent owl attacks. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow suggested
the signs when she recently featured a story about an angry owl
that has attacked four runners at the park.
under the federal Endan-
gered Species Act.
Much of the angry owl’s
play in the press was in fun.
The local paper, the States-
man Journal, had an online
naming contest. “Owlca-
pone” got 238 votes, lead-
ing among 11 suggestions.
Coming in third, at 188
votes, was “Rachel Mad-
dowl.” The MSNBC host
suggested the sign design
during a 14-minute segment
Feb. 5 about wackiness in
Oregon.
Among her topics were a
Republican leader who col-
lects urine samples for sci-
entific research and allega-
tions that former Gov. John
Kitzhaber’s fiancee used his
office to win contracts for
her consulting business.
Politically, “Oregon is
nuts,” Maddow said.
But what amused her
most was the threat “loom-
ing over the state of Oregon
right now, looming silently
and occasionally swoop-
ing down and terrifying
the state — and sometimes
drawing a little blood.”
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Capital Press ag media
Giant African snails seized at Houston airport
HOUSTON (AP) — U.S.
Customs and Border protec-
tion inspectors in Houston
seized six live giant Afri-
can snails that are a pop-
ular delicacy across West
Africa.
The snails were found af-
ter a passenger from Nigeria
declared the animals during
a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection inspection.
According to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
the giant African snail is
fast becoming an invasive
species.
The six snails, seized
Feb. 2 at George Bush Inter-
continental Airport, are pro-
hibited in the U.S. and have
the ability to reproduce very
quickly.
Customs and Border
Protection Port Director
Charles Perez says there
is no penalty when inter-
national travelers make a
truthful declaration.
On an average day in
2014, CBP agriculture spe-
cialists around the nation
discovered 425 pests at U.S.
ports of entry, and 4,447
materials for quarantine.
Calendar
FEBRUARY
NATIONAL
Feb. 23-26 — Potato D.C. Fly-
In, sponsored by the National Potato
Council, Mayflower Renaissance
Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C., www.nationalpo-
tatocouncil.org
ter, Corvallis, http://smallfarms.ore-
gonstate.edu/sfc
OREGON
Through Feb. 21 — Oregon
Logging Conference, Lane Coun-
ty Fairgrounds and Convention
Center, Eugene, 541-686-9191,
www.oregonloggingconference.
com
Feb. 24-25 — Oregon Dairy
Farmers Annual Convention, Sa-
lem Conference Center, www.
dairyfarmersor.com/101-conven-
tion-general
Feb. 28 — Oregon Small Farms
Conference, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Oregon
State University LaSalle Sells Cen-
IDAHO
Feb. 26-27 — Idaho Hay and
Forage Conference, Best Western
Burley Inn, www.idahohay.com,
208-888-0988 or cindy@amgidaho.
com
Feb. 27 — Drones for Forestry
workshop, 1:15-4:30 p.m., University
of Idaho Extension, 1808 N. Third Ave.,
Coeur d’Alene, $15, 208-446-1680
CALIFORNIA
Feb. 25 — Sutter-Yuba-Colu-
sa-Yolo-Solano-Sacramento Walnut
Day, Veterans Hall, Yuba City, 530-
822-7515, http://cesutter.ucanr.edu
MARCH
OREGON
March 16-17 — Oregon State
University Blueberry School, LaSells
Stewart Center and CH2M Hill Alum-
ni Center, OSU campus, Corvallis,
http://osublueberryschool.org/
March 20-23 — Oregon FFA
State Convention, Silverton, www.
oregonffa.com
March 20-22 — Northwest
Horse Fair & Expo, Linn County
Fair and Expo Center, Albany, www.
equinepromotions.net
CALIFORNIA
March 3 — Walnut (7-year-olds)
No Pruning-Pruning Comparison
Field Meeting, morning, Nickels Soil
Lab, Arbuckle, 530-822-7515, http://
cesutter.ucanr.edu
March 3 — Walnut (2-year-olds)
No Pruning-Pruning Comparison
Field Meeting, afternoon, Nickels
Soil Lab, Arbuckle, 530-822-7515,
http://cesutter.ucanr.edu
March 17-18 — Fruit Ripening
& Retail Handling Workshop, Uni-
versity of California-Davis, http://
postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Education/
fruitripening/
March 22-24 — California Fresh
Fruit Association Annual Meeting,
The Grand Del Mar , San Diego,
www.CAFreshFruit.com
APRIL
OREGON
April 18 — Oregon Women for
Agriculture Auction and Dinner, Linn
County Fair and Expo Center, Al-
bany, 503-243-FARM (3276), http://
owaonline.org/
CALIFORNIA
April 18-21 — California State
FFA Conference, Selland Arena,
Fresno, www.calaged.org/statecon-
vention
IDAHO
April 8-11 — State FFA Leader-
ship Conference, College of South-
ern Idaho, Twin Falls, www.idffafoun-
dation.org/
MAY
WASHINGTON
May 14-16 — Washington FFA
Convention, Washington State Uni-
versity, Pullman, www.washingtonf-
fa.org/convention
CALIFORNIA
May 1-2 — Forest Landowners
of California annual meeting, Holiday
Inn, Auburn, www.forestlandowners.
org/
JUNE
CALIFORNIA
June 15-26 — Postharvest
Technology Short Course, University
of California-Davis, http://posthar-
vest.ucdavis.edu/Education/PTS-
hortCourse/
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www.blogriculture.com
Index
California ................................ 9
Dairy .................................... 14
Idaho .................................... 10
Livestock ........................ 14,15
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 8
Washington ..........................11
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