A recent Associated Press story highlighted the struggles of wholesale nurseries across the country with the economic downturn. Case in point: Oregon’s nursery industry has “plummeted” into a historic slump after reaching a record high of almost $1 billion in sales three years ago.
The nurseries in Oregon are laying off employees, cutting costs and foregoing new buildings and equipment, according to the story, which quotes David Niklas of Clackamas Greenhouses. He had to file bankruptcy after losing almost half his sales when his primary retailer was bought out.
“The family has poured money into it as we tried to restructure it and make new markets,” he says. “Commercial lenders aren’t talking to me because I’m coming out of bankruptcy.
“They aren’t even talking to GM, so why would they talk to a little nursery?”
The story cites factors across the country like a halt to housing construction, high transportation costs and lending woes as reasons for the difficulties many nurseries are facing in this economy.
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