Digger magazine

Serving the Northwest Nursery Industry for Over 50 Years

You are here: Home / Archives for Curt Kipp

Articles and posts by Curt Kipp

Growing in a new way

By — Posted

Nurseries modify processes on the fly to protect their workers from COVID-19 COVID-19 created a game-changing societal threat — a deadly pathogen that can spread easily for up to 14 days without the carriers showing symptoms. Nurseries and greenhouses responded quickly by implementing social distancing to prevent transmission. They looked at every facet of their operations, […]

2020 Farwest Show canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

By — Posted

The 2020 Farwest Show in Portland, Oregon has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to show producer the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN). The show, for nursery and greenhouse operators and professionals, had been scheduled for August 26–28 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. “We are very disappointed not to be […]

Michigan nurseries can resume operations

By — Posted

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has modified that state’s stay-at-home orders from March 23 and 30 with a new order issued April 24, thereby allowing the state’s green industry businesses to resume operations immediately — provided they follow “enhanced” social distancing rules, as required by the state. Although the state’s stay-at-home mandate was extended through May 15, […]

Nurseries problem solve a pandemic

By — Posted

Ben Rough (pronounced “row,” rhymes with “now”) will never forget his first day of work at J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. nursery in Boring, Oregon. The newly hired CEO of the company started on March 23 — the same day that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a mandatory stay-in-place order for Oregonians in response […]

New Mexico garden retailers can reopen

By — Posted

Independent nursery retailers in New Mexico have won the right to reopen for business, provided they do it via curbside pickup and/or delivery service only. The state government had previously left garden centers, retail nurseries and retail greenhouses off the state’s list of essential businesses, although farms — a category that includes wholesale growers — were […]

One-stop national nursery industry resource for COVID-19 launches

By — Posted

The Nursery & Landscape Association Executives of North America (NLAE) have launched a one-stop tool for green industry businesses to see how operations and shipments to and within various North American states and territories are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Agriculture is essential, and nurseries are a part of agriculture,” Margaret McGuire-Schoeff, executive director of […]

Little Prince of Oregon creates retail referral program

By — Posted

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, OAN member Little Prince of Oregon Nursery (Aurora, Oregon) has created an online affiliate marketing program called Garden Center 911. Under this program, retailers refer customers to the wholesale grower’s consumer website, www.littleprinceplants.com. Little Prince sells the plants and ships to the customer directly, and the retailer gets a 20% commission on each […]

SBI Software creates no-contact retail pickup program

By — Posted

Nursery inventory management and sales software developer SBI Software (Portland, Oregon) has created a no-contact plant ordering portal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows retailers to upload inventories and pictures to a website (www.nocontactplantpickup.com) where customers can then order and pay for the plants online using their computer, phone or tablet. After ordering, the […]

Charlie Hall updates economic projections amid COVID-19

By — Posted

A U.S. economy that already had several telltale signs of a possible recession has now likely entered one for sure, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, green industry economist Dr. Charlie Hall told listeners at a Monday webinar presented by AmericanHort and the Nursery and Landscape Association Executives (NLAE). “Our economy was functioning, we’ve had a […]

In Memoriam: Wayne Russell

By — Posted

The Oregon Association of Nurseries is saddened to report the passing of Wayne Russell, father of Russell’s Nursery founder Loy Russell. Wayne passed away January 16 at home in Aurora, Oregon, at age 89. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. this Friday, January 24, at Simon-Cornwell Colonial Chapel, 390 N. Second St., […]