(The Center Square) – Supply has increased and prices, in some cases, will be less this year for live cut Christmas trees from North Carolina.
The nation’s No. 2 producer – 1 in 5 of all grown in America by more than 900 farmers overseeing 53 million trees on more than 33,000 acres come from the state – won’t be plagued by a hurricane disrupting the industry. The pitch from farmers is the offer of a full-circle earth to earth process untouched by import tariffs.
Sales lots around the state are erecting, many to help benefit nonprofits, faith groups and youth.
“Farmers won’t have lost revenue due to Helene,” said Carrie McClain, CEO of Hart-T-Tree Farms in Grassy Creek. “Like everyone else, input costs have gone up, but the price of our trees should be the same as last year and in some cases cheaper, because the Christmas tree supply has increased.”
A year ago, western North Carolina was in the infancy of recovery from Hurricane Helene – a storm that killed 108 in North Carolina, 237 in the South, and caused estimated damage between $60 billion and $80 billion in the state.
Roads were still getting reconnected, but the traditional harvesting and transporting out of trees in November still filled orders up and down the Atlantic Seaboard. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2024.
Oregon’s Noble and Douglas firs production is annually between 4.8 million and 5 million; North Carolina’s signature Fraser firs are more than 3.2 million. Combined, the states offer half of the industry to America.
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association. The association on its website provides, among other things, contact information for connecting with wholesale farms, choose and cut retailers and mail order wreaths and trees.
“Buying a real Christmas tree supports North Carolina farmers and rural communities, keeps land in agriculture, and helps preserve open space and forests that benefit everyone,” McClain said. “Real trees are renewable, recyclable, and naturally fragrant – not made from plastics or shipped across oceans with import tariffs and a heavy carbon footprint.
“Every tree sold represents nearly a decade of careful tending and sustainable land stewardship. And when the season ends, your tree can return to the earth through mulching or composting — a full circle of life that no artificial tree can match.”
While Helene dumped more than 30 inches of rain onto some areas of the mountains in a matter of 48 hours, the trees were resilient, McClain said.
“Most of the Christmas trees survived Helene just fine,” she said from her Ashe County farm. “Trees are starting to ship now to some of the big retailers – so they will have trees soon. Most garden centers and tree lots will have trees starting Nov. 21.”
