Christmas trees are a positive impact FARM CROP, not a forest product. Public needs educating.
Hello Rob here from the Flanagan Homestead and esport Christmas Tree Farms today it's a little bit different I'm sitting at my dining room table I Just took my Christmas tree down to be Recycled it's the end of the Christmas Season I'm going to talk about recycling Christmas trees in a little bit but uh What I want to talk about is we as Christmas tree farmers are people that Love real Christmas trees need to start Educating the public about the benefits Of Christmas Tree farms uh I've been Watching comments online that I see from Different people or people in public Saying what a shame you cut down that Chris that tree it could have grown and Been much taller and provided oxygen and All this other stuff and they think Because it's a tree they think of a Forest but this is not a forest product This is a farm this is a crop okay so Yeah we do need forests I know we've Been losing Forest reality River and the Environmentally sensitive concerns That's all good but Christmas trees is a Farm crop just as These flowers are a crop that's planted In the field and raised and then cut and We used one time to decorate our house So is a Christmas tree just as a celery Or broccoli is grown on a farm cut and Used once and it's done it's a farm crop And so are Christmas trees and so
Um we are if we were running around Cutting the millions of Christmas trees That we have every year out of the Forest and preventing them from growing That would be one thing but we are Growing Christmas trees on farms and That is significantly different and Somehow we need to get the public to Understand the benefits of having Christmas Tree farms if you're speaking Environmentally one acre of Christmas Trees is estimated provides enough Oxygen for 18 people and that's Wonderful Um also so Trees take CO2 carbon dioxide and turn It into oxygen for us to breathe and They do this by absorbing carbon and It's also estimated that approximately a Thousand uh pounds of carbon is absorbed Each year but by that same acre of Christmas trees so when we're talking About a carbon footprint having Acres of Christmas trees is a really good thing As far as absorbing the carbon so these Are the types of things people need to Understand also um Oh As far as economic impact I have a very Small Christmas tree farm but on harvest Days I'll have usually eight young men That have a part-time job with me to Help Harvest Christmas trees help my Customers and get them out and it helps
Keep in the local economy going and uh Usually I have young either high school Kids or college age kids that need a Part-time job in the winter and then it Provides for employment for them I think There's the Christmas tree Association Says there's about a hundred thousand Workers that work on Christmas tree Farms in the United States every year And so the same thing in the summer I Have a young men that need flexibility In their schedule but come out and share My Christmas tree so there's a wonderful Impact there so people need to Understand that again this is not Cutting down Force this is a crop that Has grown intentionally for this and Then harvested and used just as any Other crop is the other really nice Thing about uh Christmas trees is when They're done it's estimated that 93 of All Christmas trees are recycled like I Did mine today if there's a place that We drop off in our town and the city Brings a chipper shredder and shreds all The Christmas trees and then it provides Molds which is are wonderful for your Gardens walkways in in many other uses My Horticulture class has been the Beneficiary of this before they've Brought out a truckload of uh mulch wood Chips for us that was all the Christmas Trees that were exhipped and so not only Does the Christmas tree provide oxygen
And filter the air and usually quite Often it's a soil that's not that great A soil to be farmed but Christmas trees Are growing it so it's tying the soil And actually Amending this oil Christmas trees do all That while they're growing up but after They're done they're often mulched and Then used to put back into the soil and Either help grow another crop or just Keep the soil moist and cool Another positive thing about Christmas Tree farming is there's always concern About water consumption and water rights And that type of thing and here in the Pacific Northwest at least God Waters Our trees for us through June and then They start to go into their dormant State so we are typically we typically Don't water Christmas trees in this area They're just planted out in the Natural Area and watered and grow on their own So that's a really positive impact uh When you know if a lot of people's People are switching to artificial Christmas trees and if that's what they Like that's fine but if they're doing it Because they're doing an environmentally Friendly thing they're missing the mark Quite a bit we're using you know Plastics I believe over 80 percent of the Christmas tree fake Christmas trees are Produced in China they lots of chemicals
In the production a lot of plastics and Then it's shipped across the ocean to Get here and so if you think you're Doing a an environmentally friendly Thing by getting a fake Christmas tree Think again you need to be buying a Christmas history that has grown on a Christmas tree farm and is producing Oxygen and stabilizing the soil and the Areas around us so anyway I just wanted To put this out there this is a Beginning step I I'm thinking of doing More research and finding out more good Points and maybe even trying to create a Commercial of my own I'm not really uh Into marketing but uh we need to find a Way to get more good information out There because there's a lot of bad Information going out there So once again thanks for joining me on The Flanigan Homestead where Christmas Trees are my business teaching including Horticulture is my job and outdoor Projects are my passion hope to see you Again soon people be blessed
