OWASSO, Okla. – Christmas Tree Farm and Berry Owasso are gearing up for Thanksgiving weekend, which is the busiest day of the season. However, the farm here is feeling some of the effects of the nationwide shortage of Christmas trees.
For 40 years, the Owasso Christmas Tree and Berry Farm have been a source of holiday fun for families in the Green Country.
“We’ve always been a fan of real trees,” said Dan DeBell, who is shopping for a Christmas tree with his family at the farm. And, I don’t know, it’s a good experience when you cut your own tree. ”
The tree farm grows its own pine and imports pre-cut fir trees from North Carolina and Oregon.
Owner Bill Jacobs says their relationship with vendors has helped them as the nation is facing a shortage of Christmas trees. However, they are seeing some problems.
“When the shortage started happening a few years ago, they cut down all the big trees,” says Jacobs.
Pine trees planted in Oklahoma take about five years before they are ready to be cut down. Jacobs says it has about 2,500 units this year.
Meanwhile, its North Carolina supplier of fir trees, Fraser, is cutting back. So instead of two loads of trees from there, they only get one. That’s about 500 trees lost.
Jacobs said they’re making up for it with trees from Oregon. But his supplier there is having some trouble growing the trees because of the drought and record heat.
“The man we bought, 15 or 20 years ago, he lost all of his saplings,” says Jacobs. So now he is a year late and he will have to plant again next spring. ”
Even so, Jacobs said they don’t really see a shortage of trees this year. But he also doesn’t expect to see an increase in supply.
Meanwhile, another big issue this year is the cost of getting trees here. It makes their prices go up a few dollars.
“Rates from Oregon and North Carolina have gone up 40 percent,” says Jacobs. “And that has a big impact on the price of the tree.”
Jacobs said the price of seedlings also increased from 8 cents to 50 cents.
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