CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s the busiest time of the year for Christmas Tree growers
in West Virginia.
Most operations ramped up the weekend of Thanksgiving
and will be doing a brisk business until Christmas Eve. However, the pandemic is
having an impact. At least two tree farms MetroNews contacted are not open at
all this year due to the Covid 19 virus.
“We just didn’t want to risk
it,” said one grower in Hampshire County.
Others however, have opened
after careful consideration and are allowing for “pick and cut” operations as
long as customers follow strict guidelines.
“We debated the pros and
cons,” said Art Yagl of Yagl Poor Farm in Craigsville. “We were concerned and we
sterilized the saws and mats after every use,”
According to Yagl they
felt okay with allowing customers onto their property since it was outside,
they’re covering six different blocks of trees, all customers wear a mask, and
they limit the number of people who can go into the operation at any one
time.
“My wife and I talked to quite a few people about what to do about
that,” said Matt Heavner who owns Brushy Mountain Tree Farm in Pendleton County.
“We followed some guidelines to make the experience as safe as
possible.”
The “experience” seems to be what people are seeking as much
as the tree. Both Heavner and Yagl said in recent years they’ve noticed a strong
trend of families who want to search out and cut their own Christmas
tree.
“I think families are trying to get back to the old traditional
ways and having family time together. We get a lot of families out there,” said
Yagl whose Nicholas County operation is exclusively “select and
cut.”
Heavner’s farm provides a lot of wholesale trees and includes a
storefront which sells hand crafted wreathes, garland, and other natural
decorations. However, he too said it’s popular to find your own.
“Over
the last couple of years we’ve noticed a lot more families wanting to cut their
own and have the choose and cut experience. So we’ve backed off on the number of
pre-cut trees,” Heavner said.
According to Heavner, his most popular tree
is the Douglas Fir. Yagl said he found people mostly wanting a white pine or a
Canaan Fir–a hybrid tree which is produced in Tucker County, West
Virginia.
Although the 2020 summer was ideal for growing trees, there had
been a string of tough years lately. It takes five to six years for the fastest
growing trees to reach a harvestable size on the Christmas tree market, others
will take up to 10 to 15 years. It’s a huge up front investment for a delayed
payoff.
“Lots of waiting and lots of work,” Yagl said. “That’s why
there’s a shortage of trees and a shortage of tree farms in the state.”