Oregon Economy

Agriculture and Industry in Oregon

Oregon Agriculture and Industry

Oregon's real gross state product in 2012 was estimated to be $187,440 which was just about the national state average, $187,440. Oregon has the 25th highest GSP out of the 50 states.

Oregon is the leading provider of lumber in the United States; about one-tenth of the nation's timber can be found in the state. There are nearly 31 million acres of forest land (almost half the state), and although much of this area is protected from logging for environmental reasons, the state produces more than 5 billion board feet per year. Other industries connected to timber include paper and paper items, printing and publishing.

The state's numerous dams provide abundant, cheap electric power. The John Day Dam is one of the largest hydroelectric generators in the world. The dams also assist in flood control and navigation, and the rivers are rich in fish, particularly salmon.

In agriculture, the state is a leading producer of peppermint, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, black raspberries, and hazelnuts. Also important is the production of raspberries, hops, prunes, snap beans and onions.

Although mining is not a major industry overall, Oregon leads the nation in the production of nickel. Tourism is increasing as a resource to the state, as there are 13 national forests, one national grassland, and more than 220 state parks.

Oregon Agriculture:

Cattle, vegetables, nursery stock, fruits and nuts, dairy products, wheat.

Oregon Industry:

Lumber and wood products, tourism, food processing, paper products, machinery, scientific instruments.

The Willamette Valley is very fertile and, coupled with Oregon's famous rain, gives the state a wealth of agricultural products. Apples and other fruits, cattle, dairy products, potatoes, and peppermint are all valuable products. Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s and Oregon is home to at least four wine appellations. Due to regional similarities of climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French region of Alsace.

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber production and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, timber harvested from federal lands dropped some 96% from 1989 from 4,333 million to 173 million board feet (10,000,000 to 408,000 m³) in 2001. While the 1980s saw an unsustainable amount of timber harvested, the drop in timber harvested is still significant, as the total amount of timber harvested in 2001 is less than half of that in the late 1970s. Even the shift in recent years towards finished goods such as paper and building materials has not slowed the decline of the timber industry. Examples include Weyerhaeuser's acquisition of Willamette Industries in January, 2002, the announcement by Louisiana Pacific in September, 2003 that they will relocate their corporate headquarters from Portland to Nashville, and the experiences of small lumber towns like Gilchrist. Despite these changes, Oregon still leads the United States in softwood lumber production; in 2001, according to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, 6,056 million board feet (14,000,000 m³) was produced in Oregon, against 4,5257 mbf. in Washington, 2,731 in California, 2,413 in Georgia, and 2,327 in Mississippi. The effect of the forest industry crunch is still massive unemployment in rural Oregon and is a bone of contention between rural and urban Oregon.

High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s. Tektronix was the largest private employer in Oregon until the late 1980s. Intel's creation and expansion of several plants in eastern Washington County continued the growth that Tektronix had started. The spinoffs and startups that were produced by these two companies led to the establishment of the Portland metropolitan area as the Silicon Forest. The recession and dot-com bust of 2001 in the Silicon Valley has led to similar results in the Silicon Forest; many high technology employers have either reduced the number of their employees or gone out of business. OSDL made news in 2004 when they hired Linus Torvalds, developer of the Linux kernel. Oregon also is the home of non-technology-based companies such as shoemaker Nike, whose world headquarters is located in Beaverton.

Oregon had one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Tourism is also strong in the state; Oregon's evergreen mountain forests, waterfalls, pristine lakes (including Crater Lake National Park), and scenic beaches draw visitors year round. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, held in Ashland, is a tourist draw near its Californian border which complements the area's scenic beauty and opportunity for outdoor activities.

Oregon is home to a number of smaller breweries.