Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2018)
August 17, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Desiree Bergstrom/Capital Press Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries in Wilsonville, Ore. Labor, immigration reform remain challenges for nursery industry By DESIREE BERGSTROM Capital Press An inadequate supply of labor and the need for a new federal immigration policy remain the Oregon nursery industry’s overarching con- cerns. Oregon Association of Nurseries Executive Direc- tor Jeff Stone says he is con- cerned about the labor short- age currently gripping the industry and the country’s continuing struggle with im- migration policy. Currently, the Oregon nursery industry is the top agricultural commodity in the state, valued at $909 mil- lion in 2016, according to the OAN, and surpassing the No. 2 cattle industry by $208 mil- lion. But a shortage of labor available to the industry re- mains a threat, Stone said. “There are fewer work- ers now than a few years ago with an industry that is poised to grow,” Stone said, adding that it is estimated 70 percent of the current workforce is immigrant workers. In June, a group of OAN members, along with Stone and legal counsel, traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Oregon’s congressional delegation and discuss a proposal by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte that would have made it possible for workers to receive agri- cultural visas as well as “a chance to get right with the law if needed,” according to Stone. The proposal and the bill it was attached to ultimately failed in the House. While the labor problem isn’t a new issue for the in- dustry, Stone said that it has everyone talking now because “the need for reform is now at a critical level for agricul- ture.” Coming off several hard years, the Oregon industry is doing well. Stone said that the nurseries in the association had a busy spring, which is a good indicator. The lack of labor, howev- er, limits nurseries’ abilities to grow. “It is my sense that very few (nurseries) have all the workers they need and defi- nitely do not have the workers necessary to grow their opera- tions,” he said. Young people opting out of agriculture is another thing to keep in mind when discussing the labor shortage across Ore- gon and the rest of the nation, Stone said. Finding workers in ag- ricultural fields, such as the nursery industry, is hard in general because the work is physically demanding. Labor issues aside, Stone said that the reason Oregon is able to stay among the top three states in nursery produc- tion is because of the climate and better availability of wa- ter. However, he credits much of the success of the indus- try in Oregon to the growers themselves. “They are craftsmen of plant growing,” he said. N18-2/101