Fisher Farms

Fisher Farms, a leading nursery nestled in the foggy foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range, would not be recognized by its original owners if they saw it today. The nursery’s decade-long transformation, spearheaded by owner Bob Terry, drastically changed the nursery’s products, size and reputation.

Terry, who serves as the Agri-Business Council’s second vice president, feels his company’s drive to remain at the leading edge of innovation mirrors the entire nursery industry’s role in Oregon agriculture. He points out that the industry’s annual sales are approaching a billion dollars, almost double that of the next leading commodity.

“We need to be carrying the flag for all of agriculture,” says Terry of the industry’s responsibilities. His strong support of ABC’s efforts to educate the general public stems from the desire to involve the nursery industry in public outreach. He also notes that another advantage for ABC members is the workers’ compensation and health insurance programs designed specifically for agriculture.

Terry explains that the nursery industry has shown it can lead when faced with change, as it has with environmental concerns over the past decade. And it continues to face increasing challenges in labor and transportation.

“After several decades of growth, we may see some slowdown as the industry adjusts to these changes,” he predicts.

Yet, Terry was not always a nurseryman. He came into the industry through “the side door” when he was hired to re-shape another large Oregon nursery in financial straits. He helped turn the operation around and, in doing so, decided he liked the industry.

In 1996, his search to buy a viable nursery lead him to the 60-acre, family-owned Fisher Farms. Near Gaston in Washington County, the nursery began in 1981 with 55,000 1-gallon containers of mostly conifers and junipers.

Today, the nursery grows 1,600 varieties – mainly woody ornamentals and woody perennials — with over 3.5 million plants sold each year. The nursery carries an annual inventory of more than 7 million plants, now grown on 300 acres spread across three sites: Gaston, Sherwood and Dayton.

Terry said it takes a year-round work force of 90 people, with staff numbers peaking at more than 200 during the busy shipping season. He points out that efficient shipping is crucial to the industry’s success since much of what they produce leaves the state. He estimates they send over 400 semi-truck loads per year of high-quality plant material throughout the U.S.

“We market and sell to retail garden centers, landscape contractors, re-wholesalers, and growers throughout the Intermountain Region, Midwest, East Coast, Northwest, and Northern California,” he says.

Fisher Farms has partnered with several “plant introduction” programs such as Norvalis, Proven Winners and the new Biltmore Estates. He says these programs allow Fisher Farms to grow and sell some of the most exciting new plants in the industry.

“Our goal is to find varieties that are compact and maintenance-free, with strong visual appeal,” explains Terry. He is particularly excited about a new collection of evergreen azaleas, called “Encore” azaleas, that bloom from spring to fall. Northwest gardens burst with vibrant colors from the many azaleas grown here, but the blooming season is short. “Now we can have those colors all summer,” he says.

Fisher Farms is growing a unique Japanese maple from New Zealand called “Shiraz.” The compact tree grows 15- to 18-feet tall, has bright red stems and bright red growth in early spring. As the leaves mature in late spring, the color changes to a lime green with variegated edges, Terry adds. “These new selections are all part of Fisher Farms’ move away from the ‘big box’ chain stores,” he continues. “We are redirecting our sales toward the high-end garden centers … where quality is more important.”

Not content with limiting sales to the U.S. market, Fisher Farms is active in developing international opportunities. Terry’s participation in several trade missions has reaped business contracts with China, Japan and Canada. But it is not just in marketing that Fisher Farms finds itself at the leading edge of technological and management changes.

“While we try to avoid being at the ‘bleeding’ edge, we have risked making critical changes in how we grow plants, communicate and manage operations,” he explains. “It has been crucial to our steady growth.”

Terry beams when speaking of the company’s organizational quality-control program that has drastically lowered sales losses and returns due to harvesting or shipping damage, or other problems. He says that losses dropped from mid-single digits to less than 0.1 percent. His talented staff, he extols, developed the program.

“But, ultimately we did these things because the most important part of the nursery are the workers and, of course, our customers,” says Terry. He believes that if Fisher Farms employees are satisfied with their work, it translates to better service and happier customers. The increasing demand for Fisher Farms’ products might just prove he is right.