ArborGen partners with S.C. nursery to boost production

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ArborGen, a global leader in the sale and development of advanced genetic seedlings that improve the productivity of forest trees, has formed a partnership with the South Carolina Forestry Commission to operate and modernize the Taylor Nursery in Trenton.

The 10-year agreement will allow the Edgefield County nursery to increase its annual capacity to 30 million units, according to a news release.

ArborGen, with operations in the U.S., Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, produces conventional and advanced genetic tree seedlings with improved growth rate, yields, stress tolerance, disease resistance and wood quality.

“We are excited to make our entire portfolio of seedling genetics even more accessible to landowners in this area and look forward to providing our industry expertise and customer service to South Carolina and surrounding states,” Andrew Baum, ArborGen president and CEO, said. “ArborGen was founded in South Carolina and maintains its global headquarters here. With our investment in Taylor Nursery and the current production at our Blenheim location, ArborGen looks forward to helping our customers create a profitable, sustainable forest they can be proud of for years to come.”

Taylor Nursery will become the seventh nursery ArborGen operates. Improvements to the facility will begin once the contract takes effect on April 1. The first crop of seedlings is expected in late 2018 or early 2019.