A Weather Channel report this week warned how drought is adversely affecting Christmas tree farms in the Northeast. Turns out that's not the only struggle these farms are facing, with growers "having to overcome historic challenges," per the Wall Street Journal. Those challenges include not only abnormally dry weather in some parts of the country, but also inflation, competition from overseas, and a shorter selling season, as tree sales typically kick off after Thanksgiving, which took place late this year.
Storm season in North Carolina, which the Journal notes produces more Christmas trees than any state except Oregon, has also caused major chaos within the industry, due to massive flooding from Hurricane Helene. Because it takes a full decade to grow a Fraser fir, and many of the decimated trees were in the middle stages of their growth, the impact of the hurricane will be felt for some time. "It's the hardest year ever in North Carolina agriculture," says Lee Wicker of the North Carolina Growers Association. "The damage from Helene had a compounding effect. It wasn't one single thing, it was all these things that happened."
Labor shortages have also been an issue, and some farmers are nervous about how the incoming Trump administration's immigration stance will affect local agriculture, especially if legal immigrants are somehow affected. "We live in a community that's mostly older people and retired people, and the labor force goes from 700 workers to 2,500 workers at harvest," says Rusty Barr of North Carolina's Barr Evergreens. "We couldn't do it without [migrants]." Some say that the entire concept of a Christmas tree farm is based in "inherent absurdity," per the Telegraph. "It's one of the most stupid business models out there, if you think about it," says Sadie Lynes, founder of UK Christmas tree wholesaler Jadecliff. "You grow this thing for 10 years. It has a four-week lifespan. And then it's worth nothing." More here. (More Christmas trees stories.)
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