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| April showers bring May flowers in Oregon | ||
| 05/07/2008 | ||
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Suggested lead April showers have brought May flowers in Oregon, despite a cool spring so far. You can still expect a sea of color in many areas of the Willamette Valley as part of the state's number one agricultural commodity: Entire audio file Audio 01 Recent statistics show Oregon ranked 11th in the nation in value of floriculture, with 224 growers responsible for about 126 million dollars in wholesale value. That's just a part of Oregon's 966 million dollar greenhouse and nursery industry: MC ANINCH: "The floriculture industry here in Oregon is important. It is not a major part of the nursery or horticulture industry in the state. But for those businesses that are involved in it, it generates quite a bit of dollars for them." :11 audio file Audio 02 Gary McAninch (MAC-an-inch) is supervisor of the nursery and Christmas tree program for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He says floriculture is one of the more visible parts of Oregon's ag industry this time of year: MC ANINCH: "All you've got to do is drive up and down the highways in Oregon this time of year and you can see the diversity. Right now, the irises are coming into bloom south of Woodburn on I-5. You can't miss them. Previous to that, we had tulips and daffodils were in bloom. A little later in summer, the dahlias will come in." :16 audio file Several growers and even communities in the Willamette Valley hold festivals this time of year that help attract customers. It shouldn't be hard for anyone in Oregon right now to see and simply smell the flowers. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney. Additional audio: Audio 03 MC ANINCH says flower lovers in Oregon have many opportunities to enjoy the blooming color of a very visible part of the state's agriculture: "Each one of these types of flowers seems to have a festival associated with it. So you can go to the tulip festival, the dahlia festival, or the iris festival. It's a great public event. Great for the family to come out and enjoy the colors of the flowers themselves and usually some other activities." :15 audio file Additional audio: Audio 04 MC ANINCH says Oregon ranks 11th in the nation in terms of wholesale value of floriculture production, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: "The climate here is not as conducive as some of the other larger- California and florida would be the largest states that produce this type of product. But Oregon is certainly ranked up pretty high and we do grow some very nice flowers here." :13 audio file Full story http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/080507flowers.shtml |
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