Addressing Oregon’s Aging Work Force Will Not Be Easy

Much like the national figures, Oregon’s workforce is aging.  In fact, 33% of workers in the agriculture, forestry, fishing industries in the Beaver State are 55 years of age or older.  In addition, Oregon is one of the oldest states in the nation, with the median resident about 17 months older, than the average American.  One sector that’s feeling the aging workforce more than others in the farming community is nursery and greenhouse.

Jeff Stone, Executive Director and CEO of the Oregon Nurseries Association said the community at large does not understand the impact the aging workforce is having on the top commodity in the state.  He said one of the biggest problems is the disconnect between the consumers and agriculture, noting a few generations ago, most American’s weren’t too farm removed from the farm.

That has changed dramatically in the past 50 years.

Another problem is that shoppers don’t understand producers are price takers, meaning they can’t change the costs of their commodities to pay the bills.

“When you grow a plant or a tree, there's only so much that the consumer will pay for it at the retail center.  Labor, they say why don’t you just pay them more, you'll get more people. No.  People just don't want to get into Ag.  And there's no one in the nursery industry that's even close to the minimum wage. The average wage that a nursery worker makes is about $45,000 a year, which is, you know, not terrible.” 

Stone said most Oregonians don’t appreciate what the nursery and greenhouse industry bring to the state, pointing out they generate twice what the #2 and #3 commodities do, combined.

“That's about $1.3 billion that are generated by the nurseries, and 80% of what we grow goes outside of the state.  So, those are all bright shiny new dollars coming back to the state, and that's largely unseen.  When people are driving by a nursery, they'll see it, it's beautiful there, there are people out there, but they don't realize the economic footprint that our workforce allows us to be.  And so there are solutions out there, and none of them are easy.”

Stone is urging all Oregonians, to pay attention to the labor issue, in the months and years to come, and to support local nursery growers and farmers.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com