WNC’s Christmas Tree Industry Notoriety Helps Balance Inflation Costs
Aug 21, 2024 09:45AM ● By Randee Brown
Cline Church Nursery Owner Amber Scott said Whitehill’s genetics research, along with the NC Department of Agriculture and NC State University, are an important piece of WNC’s Christmas tree industry.
“We all work in partnership, and that’s been a huge driver for our industry,” Scott said. “We owe a great deal of gratitude to our parents’ generation of growers for helping lobby for funds to start programs like these. North Carolina is the envy of the country when it comes to support from Extension services and the Department of Agriculture. They help us cover every aspect of the industry.”
Scott said she has experienced Phytophthora, and Whitehill’s work to address its challenges creates hope for disease resistance. A secondary concern; however, is that pest challenges are discussed in the media, where issues are portrayed in a way that looks like the disease has taken out the entire crop and industry, which is not true. Field scouting and disease management programs are in place for many tree-growing businesses, though inflation has caused pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer costs to increase significantly.
“It’s good timing though, because demand is also high,” Scott said. “Our wholesale prices have also increased, which helps, but there are other production challenges as well.”
North Carolina is one of the top five states leveraging the H2A program, which allocates visas for migrant laborers. As minimum wage for these laborers has increased to $15.81, in addition to supplying housing and transportation, labor is the largest expense of most farms.
Even with this program, availability of labor is a continued challenge. With 14,000 acres of trees in production in Ashe County alone, an estimated 24 million individual trees, finding enough labor to support the seasonal need of the sector is difficult.
“Make no mistake, these laborers are not taking local jobs,” Scott said. “It’s a matter of thousands of extra people that come into just the High Country during harvesting season. With Ashe County’s year-round population of 30,000 people, there are not 6,000 extra workers waiting to fill these seasonal positions.”
Regulatory matters for migrant laborers cause concern for many farming businesses. During the last several years, visa delays translate to delays in planting or harvesting. Significant delays have the potential to put the entire season in jeopardy for many tree farms.
Despite multiple industry challenges, NC’s popularity as a source for quality Frasier Fir Christmas trees is growing. The National Christmas Tree Association, responsible for selecting the White House’s annual Christmas tree, has selected a WNC-grown tree as the competition’s winner multiple times.
“It’s a big deal and a huge honor,” Scott said. “It brings attention to our county and our industry, and as an integral industry to all of Western North Carolina, this helps to put us on the map.”