Supporting those impacted by Helene one Fraser fir at a time
RALEIGH – Nothing ushers in the holiday season like seeing roadside Christmas tree lots pop up across the state of fresh trees outside grocery stores or retailers. The 940 farmers who grow the trees that bring you the nostalgic smell and feeling of a traditional North Carolina Christmas need your help. In a year where many saw the total devastation of the infrastructure around their farms and the loss of thousands of trees, the resiliency of our state’s growers is tremendous.
“We know that some N.C. tree farms lost trees and suffered damage to roads and other infrastructure on their farms, but they do have trees,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Farmers have started harvesting and will be working hard over the next few weeks to bring in this year’s crop and sell not just trees, but also garland, wreaths, roping, swags and decorations for your home. Your support will help them continue to grow the centerpiece of many of our Christmas traditions.”
Ranked second in the nation in number of trees harvested, N.C. Christmas tree farmers harvest over 3 million trees annually, with 22% of the real trees grown in the U.S. coming from North Carolina farms. They are grown on over 33,000 acres, contributing more than $144 million in farm income from the trees alone. This figure does not include value-added items like greenery and wreaths. The top six Christmas tree producing counties are: Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Watauga, Jackson and Mitchell.
“Many have asked how they can support Christmas tree farmers in Western North Carolina,” said Jennifer Greene, executive director of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association. “Be sure to buy a real Christmas tree, preferably a North Carolina Fraser fir, but any real tree helps support what we dedicate our lives to doing.”
Christmas trees are now available at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh, the Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmers Market in Colfax, the Charlotte Farmers Market in Charlotte and the Western N.C. Farmers Market in Asheville. To visit a choose-and-cut farm in Western North Carolina or to find a retail lot near you, visit ncchristmastrees.com.
