Oregon Association of Nurseries

OAN Past President Amanda Staehely advocates for a louder voice for specialty crop growers and other small, family-run operations in the Farm Bill in an op-ed piece published December 12 in the Portland Tribune newspaper, and other Carpenter News Group newspapers in Oregon. “… In order to accomplish that, we need to leave partisan politics at the door,” Staehely said. “The last Farm Bill was passed in 2018 — nearly seven years ago — and since then, much in agriculture has changed. For example, the cost of inputs today far out-matches agriculture’s ability to compete on a national and international level. Oregon also needs more research funding to tackle water, labor and environmental challenges that are specific to our state. Congresswoman Salinas and I agree that a bipartisan Farm Bill must provide a strong roadmap to success for specialty crop production, including funding for university research, which is vital to getting and staying ahead of the game on disease and pest issues. We also need funding to advance research and development on innovative machinery used within our industry. When it comes to carbon sequestration, reducing carbon emissions and advancing sustainable agriculture, other countries have taken the lead, and America must act swiftly to catch up if it aims to be at the forefront of these issues. Finally, we need to work together with our state and federal partners to develop an effective crop disaster relief policy.” Read Staehely’s op-ed piece: https://lnkd.in/gsjFc-2y

Monrovia announced that it has made leadership changes at its flagship Oregon nursery as well as its nursery in Georgia and corporate offices. Brett Cromly is now the general manager of the Dayton, Oregon nursery, Monrovia’s largest. Brett previously led the company’s Georgia location as general manager and will be bringing key learnings from his role there to Monrovia’s flagship nursery. Cromly began working for Monrovia in 2017, first as an inside sales representative. He was quickly promoted to regional sales manager at the Georgia nursery, and then he became the general manager of the nursery in 2021. Greg Rusow, the most recent general manager of the Oregon nursery, has moved into a new role as vice president of production practices across all nurseries. During his long tenure with Monrovia, Rusow previously served as general manager at all three Monrovia nurseries. Although still based in Oregon, Rusow will be traveling frequently to the other nurseries to advise on best practices in growing techniques. Scott Andrews is returning to Monrovia as the general manager of the Georgia nursery. With nearly 14 years of experience at that location, Scott’s methodical approach to production and deep leadership experience at the nursery will help him continue expanding the nursery’s plant selection to meet market demands.  Toni Bielli will be moving back to Monrovia’s California nursery as its new regional sales manager. Toni was previously an inside sales representative in the California region, and in recent years served as the nursery’s national senior account manager for its Lowe’s business.

Ag overtime and agri-tourism vs. land use are two topics of interest to the nursery industry being discussed at the Oregon State Board of Agriculture’s quarterly meeting December 17−19 at the Best Western Plus, Agate Beach Inn, 3019 N. Coast Highway in Newport, Oregon, with an option to participate remotely. A past president of OAN, Josh Zielinski of Alpha Nursery, serves on the State Board of Agriculture. During the first day of the meeting on Wednesday, December 18, the agenda includes a panel discussion on agricultural worker overtime at 9:40 a.m. and a panel discussion on agri-tourism and land use at 1 p.m. The OAN Board of Directors has pre-filed a bill to fix agricultural overtime regulations, and has named it the OAN’s top legislative priority for 2025. An overtime threshold was established at 55 hours for 2023 and 2024, and it drops to 48 hours on January 1, 2025. The bill sets the threshold at 40 hours starting in two years. Farm groups have drafted a bill that makes the 48-hour threshold permanent, while allowing a floating 12-week exemption with a cap of 55 hours. Oregon’s retail nurseries are at the forefront of a burgeoning agri-tourism industry in Oregon and rely on it to diversify their revenue stream, helping to contribute nearly $1 billion to the state economy. "This is an important meeting for the OAN in more ways than one. Besides agri-tourism, there will also be a panel discussion on ag overtime. The State Board of Agriculture recognizes that ag overtime is an issue that needs to be addressed for the nursery industry and is considering passing a resolution urging that the legislature address it," Executive Director Jeff Stone said. Find more information: https://lnkd.in/ggPxA-GE

Chris Ball, former CEO of Quantix, a leading supply chain service provider for the chemical industry, has been named CEO of másLabor, the nation’s leading provider of comprehensive H-2A and H-2B visa services. He replaced former CEO Edward Salva, who left in June. Ball is a seasoned executive with nearly 30 years’ experience across multiple industries. “We are thrilled to have someone of Chris’ caliber at the helm,” said GJ King, chairman of the board, in the announcement by másLabor. “másLabor is a tremendous company with an experienced, capable senior management team. With his leadership, we are excited to grow and scale while doubling down on the best-in-class expertise and operational excellence that has made másLabor the industry standard-bearer.” másLabor is the OAN’s preferred guest worker services vendor and OAN members receive custom consultations on applying for H-2A labor, as well as dedicated resources and access to their expert H-2A housing connections, program basics and compliance guides. Find out more about OAN’s member benefits: https://lnkd.in/gZmZYztg

G. Rey Reinhardt has been named president of the J.R. Simplot Co. AgriBusiness Group, according to AgriPulse, an agricultural news website. Reinhardt has been with the company for six years, most recently as vice president of business development and optimization for Simplot AgriBusiness. Reinhardt succeeds Doug Stone, who retired. Prior to joining Simplot, Reinhardt was at Nutrien (formerly Agrium) for eleven years, where he served as vice president of retail operations.

The USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) awarded a combined $772,656 in October to Oregon Flowers, Champoeg Nursery and Barnett Farms and Nursery as part of its grant program to help them make energy efficiency improvements. “Over the past four years, USDA Rural Development has invested over $40 million in renewable energy projects for Oregon’s farms and rural businesses,” said Margi Hoffmann, state director for USDA Rural Development (RD) in Oregon. “By giving rooftops and otherwise unusable land new life, these projects make Oregon ag more sustainable and disaster resilient while saving producers thousands each year.” View the recipients and learn more: https://lnkd.in/gKx9nDMk

The 2025 USDA Census of Horticulture Specialties is being mailed this month to more than 2,000 horticultural operations in Oregon and some 40,000 nationwide. The census asks questions about crops grown, their value, the square footage used for growing them, production expenses and more. Responses are required by law. They are due by February 14, 2025. Read more: https://lnkd.in/guvpuPsK

Director’s Desk: A year to take stock and be grateful. By Jeff Stone #oandirectorsdesk #oregonassociationofnurseries #nurseries

President’s Message: A visit to Smith Gardens brings lessons in effective communication. By Ben Verhoeven #oanpresidentsmessage #oregonassociationofnurseries #nurseries #communication

Several of the nursery and greenhouse industry’s finest servants received their deserved recognition at the President’s Awards Dinner, which concluded the annual 2024 OAN Convention on Saturday, November 16. The convention took place at Salishan Coastal Resort, Gleneden Beach, Oregon and had more than 200 OAN members in attendance. View the award winners and read the full writeup: https://lnkd.in/gqxcEKC6