Village Profile® Home Page | About our Company | Sales Opportunities | Community eStore | vpmobile.us®

Business and Economic Development

Hermiston has found success in agricultural ventures since its beginning and this continues into the present. Hermiston is poised for continuous growth and continues to have a solid foundation in farming and raising livestock.

This community has also had some success with light industry. Examples include frozen food products, metal specialties, plastic pipe, major trucking hubs, horse trailers, manufactured homes and motor control panels. Still in operation today, Marlette Homes, Inc. specializes in the fabrication of manufactured housing. Marlette’s long history is a testament to the favorable business conditions in Hermiston. These businesses continue to be major employers:

• Wal-Mart Distribution Center
• ConAgra Foods
• Hermiston Foods (NORPAC)
• Hermiston School District
• CMH Manufacturing (Marlette Homes, Inc.)
• Union Pacific Railroad
• Good Shepherd Medical Center
• Wal-Mart Retail Store
• Express Personnel Services
• Safeway Stores, Inc.
• State of Oregon
• Two Rivers Correctional Institute
• Washington Demilitarization Co.
• Certified Personnel Service Agency, Inc.
• Medelez Trucking
• River Point Farms
• Umatilla Army Depot and Government Employees
• Umatilla Army Depot Contractors

Transporting products in and out assists in making Hermiston a prime location for business to locate. Union Pacific Railroad has always been indispensable. Interstate 82, Interstate 84 and U.S. Highway 395 provide another avenue for the exchange of goods. The Port of Umatilla furnishes an aquatic thoroughfare to the Columbia River transportation system.

Industrial areas are readily available, making it easy for businesses to locate or relocate there. The Cook Industrial Site offers opportunities for growth with access to major highways and rail service.

Utilities have already been established here for easy installation. The City of Hermiston owns a few sites conducive to office space and light industrial.

The unemployment rate for Umatilla County for April 2008 was 5.8 percent; Oregon as a whole was at 5.6 percent; both quite close to the national average. Low taxes make moving a business to Hermiston quite attractive.

AGRIBUSINESS

Irrigation has always proved to be an asset and necessity for Hermiston, as the early people discovered. This tradition continues into today’s farming practices with the production of potatoes, watermelon, alfalfa, wine grapes, onions, asparagus, mint, fruit, peppers, wheat, field and sweet corn, garlic, lima beans, mint, peas, silage, carrots, grass seed and poplar trees.

Sheep, llamas, buffalo, beef and dairy cattle and horses are the primary forms of livestock that are raised. Hermiston is home to the regionally famous Northwestern Livestock Horse Sale held at Northwestern Livestock.

Always looking for new ways to further agricultural ventures, Hermiston works with Oregon State University Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center to unearth breakthroughs in agriculture.

Hermiston’s location offers an extended growing season of 120 days due to the dry, mild climate where many different crops can survive and prosper. Average rainfall is 9.060 inches. The average temperature has a high of 86 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 26 degrees Fahrenheit. The summer average high is 86 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

With the push toward growing foods organically, Oregon has made an effort to do the same. While non-organic farming is still the major player in the state, organic farming has increased to fit the sentiment throughout the country.