Doug Hundley, spokesperson for the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), wants to lay to rest worries over reports of a shortage of Christmas trees.

“In a broad national view, any concerns about the availability of trees are unwarranted and unnecessary,” he explained. “We’ve heard similar concerns about shortages over the past four years. The reason there’s been a lot of media attention about this is from 2005-2010, we had too many Christmas trees available. In 2007-8-9, we had the Great Recession, and that took demand down. We had an abundance of trees for about a decade. That’s ended. We have a good balance between supply and demand. We quit having an abundance of trees and just have a good balance.”

There are 15,000 tree farms in the United States, Hundley said. More than 26 million real trees were purchased nationwide last year. Of those trees, 32 percent – more than in any other category – were purchased from ‘choose and cut’ farms.

“Where trees are purchased has changed,” he noted. “In the past, retail lots and chain stores were the great majority. Choose and cut farm sites are growing – the number of people going to them is growing. That supports our idea there’s a new generation of millennials that wants to start new traditions. A real tree is more important. There’s more emphasis on going to the farm, not only for the tree, but for the real life experience of going to a farm and walking amongst the trees.”

On its website – www.realchristmastrees.org – the association has compiled lists of COVID-19 practices it recommends for farms and tree lots. Among the recommendations for farms: develop an overall plan, communicate with and train employees, create special hours for the elderly and those considered high risk and price products to eliminate the need for coins.

- By Michele F. Mihaljevich, Indiana Correspondent

Christmas tree farms across the region have taken measures to try to protect the public and employees from coronavirus while allowing for the tradition of families visiting to choose and cut their trees. Farm World spoke to farm owners to get specifics on the actions they’ve taken and about their hopes for the season.

Barker’s Christmas Tree Farm

LEXINGTON, Ky. – COVID-19 might have put a damper on gatherings in Kentucky, but one place where families can enjoy outdoor time together is hunting their Christmas trees. You will see some changes at farms this year but don’t expect the Christmas joy to be taken out of it.

“We’ve moved to a reservation system this year, just like you might find at your doctor,” said Dale Barker, of Barker’s Christmas Tree Farm. “All you have to do is to select the day and time you want to come out.”

Barker said he doesn’t think business will be any worse off this year, but the season will be spread out over a longer period of time. He said his farm had 800 reservations over the three-day period after Thanksgiving and plans to sell anywhere from 800 to 1,000 trees this season. He also said the change in circumstances added some unforeseen benefits – an improvement in parking.

“Before, everyone wanted the biggest and the best, so the day after Thanksgiving, we would see a big rush. Parking has been an issue for several years.”

Another option taken by some farmers in the Kentucky region is tree tagging. Instead of the reservation system, they are promoting a tagging system where customers will come out and mark their tree. Afterward, they can come out at any time to retrieve it.

While tree farms might not see a large hit in income, the pre-cut businesses could be more affected. Barker said most cut trees in the area come from North Carolina. The coronavirus is hindering some deliveries to smaller operations, he added.

According to the NCTA, there are close to 350 million Christmas trees currently growing on Christmas tree farms in the United States.

Kentucky growers do have a competitive edge since locally grown trees are fresher than trees from out-of-state sources. The most popular and salable species in the state are Douglas fir and Canaan fir. Tree farms generally have a five- to seven-year wait before their trees can be sold at the optimum market size of 5 ½ to 7 feet.

- By Jordan Strickler, Kentucky Correspondent

Twinsberry Tree Farm

SHREVE, Ohio – Twinsberry Tree Farm is still making Christmas happen for families in 2020, despite weather and other challenges. Located just outside of the village of Shreve, in Wayne County, Twinsberry Tree Farm is owned and operated by Joel Berry, his son, Scott, and daughter-in-law, Ashley.

Joel is the third generation on the farm, which was established in the 1930s by his grandparents, Tom and Bessie Berry.

The farm has 40 acres of Christmas trees, including six different varieties of fir trees, three varieties of spruce trees and White Pine. Of the fir trees, the Berrys consider the Concolor fir their signature tree. The Concolor fir is an eye-catching tree because of its silver, bluish-green coloring. “The Concolor is a popular tree because it has a lot of color and a unique lemony fragrance to the needles,” Joel said.

In addition to selling trees, Twinsberry Tree Farm also offers colorful wreaths made of evergreen, boxwood and grapevine as well as swags, centerpieces, porch pots and custom ornaments.

Out in the field, 2020 has been a challenge. A wet spring can turn the trees yellow, but a dry summer is even more challenging. “We lost quite a few trees due to the drought this summer,” Joel noted. “New seedlings have a six- to eight-inch root system and if the top six inches of soil gets dry, the seedlings are toast.”

Instead, Berry said they are trying a new system where they use a side lateral on an established stump and stake it up so it grows straight. The stump already has an established root system in place and is more drought-tolerant.

And while the weather presents its own set of issues, that is mild compared to the challenges that have been presented by the COVID-19 virus.

“We aren’t sure what to expect,” Ashley said. “Apple and pumpkin farms have seen an increase in sales because they offer outdoor activities. We have seen an uptick in retail sales so far.”

Berry said the farm has established a plan to keep their staff and customers safe during the season. Customers should only visit the farm if they are healthy and not showing symptoms of COVID-19. They are also asking customers to practice social distancing with other visitors, to wear a mask in indoor areas, especially if social distancing isn’t possible, and to make use of the handwashing stations around the farm during their visit.

Employees will be required to wear a mask when they are around customers and other staff members. The farm is using contactless payment methods such as tap and pay and contactless pick-up for customer purchases.

For more information, visit www.twinsberrytreefarm.com or follow the farm on Facebook. 

— By Susan Mykrantz, Ohio Correspondent

St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Judy Reifenberg, co-owner of the St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm, is concerned how the Christmas tree selling season will go. Changes in their operation over the holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic have left her admittedly uneasy.

Reifenberg co-owns the farm northeast of Fort Wayne with her husband Mike. They started talking about the potential impact of COVID-19 in May. “We asked ourselves, ‘what’s it going to be like at Christmastime? What are we going to do?’”

They came up with several solutions they hope will allow business to remain as normal as possible, she said. They’ve boosted their online store, which sells trees, wreaths, garland and other holiday fare. They normally open the farm to the public for the season the day after Thanksgiving; this year, they opened the Monday before the holiday.

The biggest change the Reifenbergs made is requiring appointments for customers to come and pick out a tree, whether pre-cut or selected from the fields. The appointments-only requirement is a “big risk,” she stated. “I’m a nervous Nellie.”

Face masks will be necessary and if customers refuse to wear them, they’ll be asked to leave, Reifenberg explained. Other changes this year include clear plastic barriers between customers and staff inside the barn, limits on the number of people in the barn at one time and no train ride around the farm.

In addition to dealing with the stress of COVID-19, the Reifenbergs had trouble getting pre-cut trees from other growers this year. “The bottom line is the drought of 2011, 2012 and 2013 hurt every farm east of the Mississippi,” Reifenberg noted. “We lost transplants, seedlings, we lost a lot of trees. It takes seven-12 years to grow a tree and we’re in that seven-year window. I couldn’t get one extra tree this year.”

The Reifenbergs bought the property in 1999; the farm opened in 1988. They have 55 acres and 21 acres in trees.

Reifenberg hopes people will purchase live trees this year and that they will make an appointment before they come to the farm.

“It’s the experience – the tree, the birth of Christ, the Christmas season, the Christmas giving season,” she said. “Come out and enjoy the beauty; the beauty out here is incredible. Where can you go, take your family for an hour and come home with a tree and enjoy it for three-four weeks? It’s a living presence in your home.”

For more information, visit www.stjoetreefarm.com.

- By Michele F. Mihaljevich, Indiana Correspondent

Dutchman Tree Farms

MANTON, Mich. – Christmas trees, both wholesale and retail, are a pretty big business at Dutchman Tree Farms, located in Manton, in the northwest part of the Lower Peninsula.

Dutchman has other things going on, such as landscaping, which was salvaged in the spring after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer backed off her prior insistence on keeping such businesses shut down. Things are going pretty well for the Christmas tree side of things, which is mainly wholesale, although there is a retail choose-and-cut operation next to the main farm, according to co-owner Scott Powell.

“Retail has faced some challenges with sales because of COVID-19,” Powell said. “For us as a wholesaler, we have had to test all employees since August. There have also been some issues with sending employees from one place to the next on testing days. We’re exempt from business shutdowns because of the forestry aspect of our business.”

Dutchman has operations in 10 counties in Michigan. According to Powell, Dutchman is pretty much like every other business in the face of COVID and COVID shutdowns: “We’ve had to adapt. We had a very good spring, with landscaping, because people were home doing projects. For Christmas trees, we’re in an under supply situation right now. There’s increased demand because of under supply. Growers are getting out of the business, selling their land to developers, but that means more business for the ones that are left.”

According to Michigan Christmas Tree Association Executive Director Amy Start, the expectations in the industry are high on the retail side. “We anticipate having a really good season,” Start said. “If you look at some similar businesses like apples and pumpkins, they tell us they had a really great season. We think it’s going to be really busy.”

Start said some farms are taking measures like not having wagon rides, not offering food and not having Santa this year as a way to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. She described the wholesale side of the Christmas tree business this year as “phenomenal.”

Retail Christmas tree sellers place orders with wholesalers in the spring, put a deposit down on the trees they order and take delivery in November, Start said. Powell said people are looking for “normalcy” this year. 

“More and more people are planning on being home and they’re planning on buying a real tree,” he said. “People are longing for normalcy this year and togetherness. That’s what a real Christmas tree does.”                                                                                    - By Kevin Walker, Michigan Correspondent