Digger magazine

Serving the Northwest Nursery Industry for Over 50 Years

  • Digger-Employment_banner-2020-728x90px.jpg
  • NG_banner-2020-728x90px.jpg
  • FW_banner-2022-728x90px.jpg
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Nursery News
    • Features
    • Plants
    • Growing Knowledge
    • Operations
    • Nursery Country
    • Meta
  • Issues
  • Events
  • Farwest
  • Columns
    • Director’s Desk
    • Mike Darcy
    • Pivot Points
    • President’s Message
  • Employment Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / Events / Nursery industry professionals converge at the Farwest Show in Portland

Nursery industry professionals converge at the Farwest Show in Portland

By Curt Kipp — Posted August 31, 2017

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For nursery professionals who wanted to “Be Far From Ordinary,” the 2017 Farwest Show had much to offer.

  • More than 400 exhibitors, including 57 that were exhibiting at Farwest for the first time.
  • Three exceptional nursery tours.
  • An inspiring keynote from Terri McEnaney of Bailey Nurseries.
  • A strong collection of expert seminars with Dan Hinkley, Brie Arthur, Leslie Halleck, Gary Lewis, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, Sean Hogan and many others.
  • The Retailer Idea Center, which continuously offered free, on-the-show-floor mini-seminars for retailers.
  • The Grower Solutions Center, which did the same for growers.
  • A successful new Happy Hour at the conclusion of Day One.
  • The traditional (and very popular) Farwest Pub Crawl on Day Two.
  • Stimulating gatherings for young nursery professionals (Emergent: A Group for Growing Professionals) and women in horticulture.
  • On-site meetings for several industry groups.
  • Beautiful new plants at the New Varieties Showcase and useful new products at the New Products Showcase.
  • And, of course, a full solar eclipse the Monday before the show started. Many exhibitors moving into the show donned eclipse glasses and strolled outside, joining thousands who came to Oregon just to see the spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime event.

“That was different,” OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone said. “It made hotel rooms and rental cars a little harder to get.”

During its three-day run (August 23–25), the show attracted nearly 6,000 green industry people to the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Some 18 percent of them were first-time attendees.

The event brought together groups, businesses and even individual job seekers, some fresh out of college.

“It’s great when people in the industry can converge, share their knowledge, make new connections, and renew the relationships they’ve established previously,” Show Director Allan Niemi said. “The green industry is made of strong fabric and that’s due to the lasting connections people make, beginning with a face-to-face encounter and a handshake.”

“This is what the Internet cannot do,” said Show Chairwoman Denece Messenger of Decorative Bark Products Inc.

There were two different delegations from China who came to see what Oregon and the United States have to offer. Among international visitors to Farwest, they weren’t alone. The show welcomed visitors hailing from 22 different countries and 45 different states.

The show, produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries, reflected the continuing strength of Oregon’s nursery industry, which sold more than $909 million worth of plant products in the most recent year tallied. An estimated 80 percent of Oregon’s horticultural products are shipped to out-of-state markets.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Events, Farwest Show, Nursery News, OAN Members Tagged With: Farwest, Farwest Show, OAN, OAN Members, Wholesale Nurseries

About Curt Kipp

Curt Kipp is the director of publications and communications at the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and the editor of Digger magazine.

The Value of Membership

Creating the future generation of nursery leaders

Everde Growers®

Meet the Leader: Rod Park

More member stories

NURSERY NEWS

Terra Nova Nurseries promotes Harini Korlipara to general manager

OBC Northwest grows sales team with three additions

másLabor merges with AgWorks H2 to form largest visa labor service provider

Bailey Nurseries recognizes top brand licensee partner growers

Six decades of support

More Nursery News

From the pages of Digger

August 2022 — Farwest Edition

July 2022

June 2022 — The Sustainability Issue

May 2022 — The Technology Issue

April 2022 — The Tree Issue

More issues of Digger

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Virtual is the new reality – for now

Trade shows in the time of COVID

A demand ‘renaissance’ for nurseries

Western Nursery & Landscape Association falls victim to pandemic

MANTS 2021 to move online due to COVID-19

More articles

Nursery Guide LIVE

Nursery Guide LIVE clicks into place

Booth spaces still available for Nursery Guide LIVE March 17–18

Nursery Guide LIVE virtual marketplace postponed due to winter storm damage

Keynote presentations at Nursery Guide LIVE virtual marketplace provide insight on green industry trends in 2021 and beyond

More Posts from this Category

FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

Tailored to today’s customers

Little Prince repeats as Best in Show booth winner

Two stand out at New Varieties Showcase

Retailers’ Choice Awards embrace discoveries at Farwest

Farwest marks a gathering of new, returning faces

More Updates from Farwest

Connect with us online

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
​

Updates to exisiting subscriptions can be sent to info@oan.org

News

  • Nursery News
  • Growing Knowledge
  • Nursery Operations
  • Meta

Features

  • Plant Features
  • OAN Members
  • Oregon Nursery Country

Columns

  • Director’s Desk
  • Mike Darcy
  • Pivot Points
  • President’s Message

Resources

  • OAN Home Page
  • Job Listings
  • Subscribe to Digger
  • Advertise in Digger
  • Online Plant Search

© Copyright 2020 Oregon Association of Nurseries · Admin

 

Loading Comments...