This Week In Ag #145
Fresh pine-scented aroma… natural beauty… American-made… and yes, eco-friendly. You can’t beat the real thing. That’s how 26 million of us feel as today we celebrate #NationalChristmasTreeDay.
Christmas trees are grown by local farmers on 10,000 dedicated farms, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres across the fruited plain. Like with any farm, these holiday-themed conifers are produced under intensive management practices that include sound fertility and pest control methods.
The world’s most famous Christmas tree farmer is none other than the world’s most popular celebrity, Taylor Swift. Okay, she may not currently grow trees, but she did grow up on an 11-acre family Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. She documents her roots in her popular song/video “Christmas Tree Farm.”
Over two-thirds of our nation’s Christmas trees are grown in North Carolina, Oregon and Michigan. The biggest producer is Ashe County, North Carolina. Farmers in this mountainous region of 28,000 residents supply about 2 million trees annually. On average, it takes 7-10 years to raise a tree from seedling to its standard harvest size of 6-8 feet, although some trees may take up to 15 years to reach their desired size. The most popular Tannenbaum is the Fraser Fir, preferred by over one-third of all real tree consumers (including yours truly).
Beyond their seasonal serenity, real Christmas trees are a real benefit to the environment. Much like with the beef industry, Christmas trees are grown in areas that cannot support other crops. Of the 350 million Christmas trees currently growing on US farms, less than 10% are harvested each year. These farms will annually sequester 1 metric ton of carbon per acre. They provide excellent habitat for wildlife and are a renewable resource: for every Christmas tree that is harvested, three new trees are planted. Plus, they are 100% recyclable, adding nutrients back into soils as mulch.
#ChristmasTree #Christmas #Sustainability #TaylorSwift #Farming
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