According to early estimates by the Oregon Association of Nurseries, Oregon’s largest sector of agriculture sustained millions of dollars in damage due to recent winter storms. This damage comes as nursery and greenhouse growers cope with a sinking economy and prepare for the upcoming shipping season.
The Association received reports of widespread damage to greenhouse structures. At one seedling operation in Molalla, Ore., 72 out of 84 greenhouses were crushed under more than a foot of snow and ice. Another operator sustained more than $1 million in damage to its greenhouses and equipment. Plant losses in the Willamette Valley are estimated to be significant, but the full value of those losses may not be known until the spring, when plants begin to emerge from dormancy.
In order to gather data regarding the extent of the damage across the state, the OAN issued an online survey to its members. In the letter to the membership with the survey, president Tom McNabb wrote that, “the OAN must obtain a solid understanding of the damage members have experienced so we can communicate to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and our Oregon congressional delegation the very serious harm the recent winter storm caused our industry.”
Preliminary results of the survey will be available early next week and will be reported to the press.
The Oregon Association of Nurseries, based in Wilsonville, represents more than 1,500 wholesale growers, retailers, landscapers and suppliers. Oregon's ornamental horticulture industry is the state's largest agricultural commodity, with annual sales of more than $1 billion.
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