National Christmas Tree shortage impacts Selkirk farm

SELKIRK, N.Y. (NEWS10) — With the Rockefeller Tree lit up last night, you may be thinking about hanging lights on a real tree of your own. But that process may be complicated as businesses like Majestic Tree Farm in Selkirk are experiencing a Christmas tree shortage.

According to ABC News, experts say several factors such as drought and the Canadian wildfires are contributing to the shortage. Nanette Mays, co-owner of Majestic Tree Farm, also thinks it’s a generational issue among growers. 

“The growers are aging out, and the younger generation don't really have an interest in continuing them even if your family farms…” Mayes told NEWS10's Zion Decoteau.

Why aren’t young people interested? The farm owner theorizes that the physically taxing nature of tree growing is turning them off. 

“Growing trees is not just planting them in the ground. They have to be sheared… the rows have to be groomed… they have to check for insects and diseases, and they all have to be…do weed control."

Mayes fears that the real tree shortage will make customers buy something truly evergreen—artificial trees.  “Real trees are better than artificial trees for many reasons. They are a sustainable crop. They are replanted. It's not that you're killing trees and not replanting" she said.

Despite the shortage, Mayes says the demand for real trees is still there. She got calls for orders even before her seasonal business opened up on Black Friday. As for what keeps the families coming back? Nanette thinks it’s tradition.

“They have a really good time. The kids go out, they wander through the fields. They find a tree. The children can help cut it down. They are so excited when they come in to have their own tree, and it's just a family tradition that I believe is being rekindled" said Mays. She anticipates the 2023 sales year will be a successful one.