page_title: Christmas tree production in the United States
section_title: Production history
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas tree production in the United States / Production history
caption_attribution_description: English: Christmas tree farm in Texas
context_page_description: While the first Christmas tree farm may have appeared as early as 1901, Christmas tree production in the United States was largely limited to what could be harvested from natural forests until the 1950s. Among the important Christmas tree producing areas in the U.S. are Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and the Pacific Northwest. In 2002 Christmas tree production in the United States totaled 20.8 million trees and the U.S. was one of the world's leading producers of natural Christmas trees. That same year, Pennsylvania was the top producer in the United States.
context_section_description: The first Christmas tree farm in the United States is believed to have begun in 1901 when 25,000 Norway Spruce trees were planted by W. V. McGalliard in Mercer County, near Trenton, New Jersey. The trees were sold seven years later for US$1.00 each. Despite the early pioneers of the industry, by the late 1940s 90 percent of all natural Christmas trees sold in the United States were still harvested from forests. The most popular species during that era, Balsam Fir, Douglas-fir, Black Spruce and White Spruce, were all readily available from forests.
  Following World War II more trees began to be planted in plantations. Other changes were taking place as well, in the late 1940s and early 1950s farmers began to shear trees in response to customer demand for denser trees. During the 1960s the market for Christmas trees in the United States began to change. The number of part-time growers declined, while some part-time growers ceased operations others expanded their operations and became full-time Christmas tree farmers. Expansion occurred in all major U.S. Christmas tree growing regions, Michigan, the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina.
  The number of plantings increased during the late 1970s and continued to do so into the 1980s.  From 1977 to 1979 total U.S. production reached about 29 million Christmas trees annually. One species, Scots Pine was planted in numbers which far exceeded demand for the product. As the number of individual farmers increased, better marketing strategies and promotion programs were developed. Helicopters became a fixture on large farms during the early 1980s as growers used them to move trees from the field to the shipping yard. Between 1988 and 1994 U.S. the number of Christmas trees harvested in the U.S. was about 34–36 million per year.
  In 2002, in the United States, 21,904 Christmas tree farms covered 447,000 acres (1,810 km²) of cropland and accounted for 20.8 million Christmas trees cut.  Of those farms, 686 harvested 100 acres (0.40 km²) or more, which accounted for over 196,000 of the total acres of trees harvested. That same year, there were only three U.S. Christmas tree farms with more than 10,000 acres (40 km²) of cropland in production. Pennsylvania was home to the most American Christmas tree farms in 2002; the state boasted 2,164 farms. Oregon, however, had the most acreage devoted to the crop with 67,800 acres being used for Christmas tree farming.
  The total U.S. crop in 2004 was valued at $506 million with $143 million attributed to the nation's leading producer in 2004, Oregon. Oregon was followed in production numbers by North Carolina, Washington, and Michigan.
caption: Christmas tree farm in Texas
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