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Two things have led to some Christmas tree shortages

A University of Wisconsin Extension expert and forestry businessman says there are areas experiencing a shortage of Christmas trees.

Jeremy Solin tells Brownfield there are a couple of reasons, including fewer producers as many of the growers have retired. ” It’s a pretty labor-intensive activity so we’re seeing fewer Christmas tree growers in the state, and again, high demand kind of across the country leading to that shortage.”

Solin says another factor contributing to fewer Christmas trees on the market is weather out west. “People may have heard about the kind of crazy high temperatures that happened on the west coast year in Oregon and Washington in particular, who are huge producers, and they lost most of their trees this year because of extreme temperatures.”

Solin says a Christmas tree can take eight to twelve years from seedling to harvest, and most trees are pruned for shape at least six times.