This Year's Christmas Tree Shortage Has Roots In The Recession : NPR
Valerie Bauerlein
This year  there is a tree shortage. Most growers blame the tightened supply on the Great Recession  says  Valerie Bauerlein  who covered the story for The Wall Street Journal .
A decade ago  "we were in a global economic malaise  " Bauerlein  tells NPR's Michel Martin. "And Christmas tree growers couldn't sell the trees that they had cut  and for the price that they had in them  so then they planted less."
Christmas trees  as magical as they might seem  are still an agricultural crop. "Trees grow about a foot a year  " Bauerlein  says. "So eight  10 years later  there's a shortage. There's more demand [now] because the economy's prospering. And there are fewer trees to meet that demand." The total acreage in production has dropped at least 30 percent since the early 2000s  she says.
Even if you've seen plenty of trees in lots or in cut-your-own tree farms around your area this season  you'll likely be paying more the farther you live from the biggest tree-producing states. Oregon and North Carolina now face reduced selection and higher prices   Bauerlein  says.
There is also been a movement of growers exiting the business. In recent years  "you also saw a lot of dropout of growers themselves  especially smaller growers  in western North Carolina â one of the main producers" of trees   Bauerlein  says. "You're also seeing fewer growers and [less] acreage in Oregon  which is the biggest producer; they account for about 30 percent of the market." A lot of growers in Oregon are turning to grapes for wine and  a smaller number  to cannabis amid the booming marijuana industry  she says.
This year   Bauerlein  says  "it's the high-end trees that are really coveted: The Fraser firs out of Oregon that are tougher to find  especially at the height of 8 feet or above."
This year  there is a tree shortage. Most growers blame the tightened supply on the Great Recession  says   [TGT]   who covered the story for The Wall Street Journal .
A decade ago  "we were in a global economic malaise  " Bauerlein  tells NPR's Michel Martin. "And Christmas tree growers couldn't sell the trees that they had cut  and for the price that they had in them  so then they planted less."
Christmas trees  as magical as they might seem  are still an agricultural crop. "Trees grow about a foot a year  " Bauerlein  says. "So eight  10 years later  there's a shortage. There's more demand [now] because the economy's prospering. And there are fewer trees to meet that demand." The total acreage in production has dropped at least 30 percent since the early 2000s  she says.
Even if you've seen plenty of trees in lots or in cut-your-own tree farms around your area this season  you'll likely be paying more the farther you live from the biggest tree-producing states. Oregon and North Carolina now face reduced selection and higher prices   Bauerlein  says.
There is also been a movement of growers exiting the business. In recent years  "you also saw a lot of dropout of growers themselves  especially smaller growers  in western North Carolina â one of the main producers" of trees   Bauerlein  says. "You're also seeing fewer growers and [less] acreage in Oregon  which is the biggest producer; they account for about 30 percent of the market." A lot of growers in Oregon are turning to grapes for wine and  a smaller number  to cannabis amid the booming marijuana industry  she says.
This year   Bauerlein  says  "it's the high-end trees that are really coveted: The Fraser firs out of Oregon that are tougher to find  especially at the height of 8 feet or above."