Tis' the season, which got me thinking about a different type of farming.
Christmas tree farming is big business in Ontario. A 2001 report stated that there were 8808 hectares planted to Christmas Tree production and annual revenue is $8.3 million in Ontario. The Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario is a non-profit organization that is funded by it's farmers to expand business in Ontario. It's main goal is to educate its growers to in turn grow higher quality product that will maintain prices and consumer loyalty to Ontario grown trees. The organization provides this through correspondence courses, field days and an annual meeting.
Just like growing a field of corn, there are lots of the same decisions to be made when growing Christmas trees. Soil Type, drainage, climate, site preparation, layout, variety selection, seedling quality, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are all things to be considered. However, you'll get your chance to harvest your crop of corn the same year you plant it, with Christmas trees you have 10 long years to wait.
But over those ten years, those trees are doing wonderful things for our environment. Christmas tree farming is the second most environmentally friendly crop production there is, second to a cultivated woodlot. In one year, one Christmas tree can remove up to 13MT of pollutants from the air and release Oxygen back out. And since harvest can only occur after 10 years, most Christmas tree farms only harvest 10% of the farm yearly.
Ontario Christmas Tree growers have a lot of things in common with grain producers. To purchase and apply crop protection products, they must also have a Grower Pesticide Certificate. They pay yearly membership dues to their organization and lobby the government on export issues. They face the same challenges with weather, invading pests and volatile markets.
For more info you can check out the Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario website at:
http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/ctfo/new-grower-information.html
Merry Christmas!
Christmas tree farming is big business in Ontario. A 2001 report stated that there were 8808 hectares planted to Christmas Tree production and annual revenue is $8.3 million in Ontario. The Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario is a non-profit organization that is funded by it's farmers to expand business in Ontario. It's main goal is to educate its growers to in turn grow higher quality product that will maintain prices and consumer loyalty to Ontario grown trees. The organization provides this through correspondence courses, field days and an annual meeting.
Just like growing a field of corn, there are lots of the same decisions to be made when growing Christmas trees. Soil Type, drainage, climate, site preparation, layout, variety selection, seedling quality, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are all things to be considered. However, you'll get your chance to harvest your crop of corn the same year you plant it, with Christmas trees you have 10 long years to wait.
But over those ten years, those trees are doing wonderful things for our environment. Christmas tree farming is the second most environmentally friendly crop production there is, second to a cultivated woodlot. In one year, one Christmas tree can remove up to 13MT of pollutants from the air and release Oxygen back out. And since harvest can only occur after 10 years, most Christmas tree farms only harvest 10% of the farm yearly.
Ontario Christmas Tree growers have a lot of things in common with grain producers. To purchase and apply crop protection products, they must also have a Grower Pesticide Certificate. They pay yearly membership dues to their organization and lobby the government on export issues. They face the same challenges with weather, invading pests and volatile markets.
For more info you can check out the Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario website at:
http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/ctfo/new-grower-information.html
Merry Christmas!
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