Small Farmers Take Root In Competitive New York City Christmas Tree Market
While local tree farmers have little chance of taking back the city, a locovore-like initiative hopes to facilitate selling, raise awareness, and promote local trees.
By Nicole Puglise ••
Charles Hurd runs a small farm just an hour and 30 minute drive upstate from New York City that sells choose-and-cut Christmas trees. Among the farm's tactics to get people to drive out to the family-owned operation is having Santa Claus skydive onto the farm on Black Friday.
Despite being close to the largest metropolis in the United States, Hurd, 31, has never been able to sell his trees in the Big Apple. Until this year.
“We haven’t gone down because we heard that it was very difficult selling trees in [New York City] and how that works with permitting and that sort of thing,” Hurd said.
NBC/Nicole Puglise
Charles Hurd speaks with one of the volunteers at his Greenmarket stand in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Dec. 12, 2015.
New York City's Christmas tree industry is a curious ecosystem, challenging for newcomers to break into. It functions like a “cartel," according to one retailer speaking somewhat facetiously. The industry is dominated by plants from elsewhere, typically high quality Canadian trees, popular North Carolina Fraser Firs — one grower called them the “Cadillac” of Christmas trees — and the Douglas Fir from Oregon.
The market is particularly challenging for small farmers in New York state. The complicated logistics of selling in the city, costly prices of farmland, and notoriously strong competition makes it difficult for farms from New York to find their niche in the market.
Hurd has been able to sell his trees in the city for the first time thanks to recent initiatives begun by the Christmas Tree Farmers Association of New York (CTFANY) in partnership with Grow NYC and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The NBC 4 New York ground shot of the Rockefeller Center Tree lighting up Wednesday.
While local tree farmers have little chance of taking back the city, the locovore-like initiative hopes to facilitate selling, raise awareness, and promote local trees so that farmers can better take advantage of the lucrative market that's practically in their backyard.
Sourcing Trees Locally
On Saturdays this December, Hurd and his mother Susan have staked out tents at Greenmarkets in Brooklyn Borough Hall and Fort Greene — hauling about a hundred freshly cut Douglas Firs, Concolor Firs, Canaan Firs, Balsams, and Blue Spruces down from their farm in Modena, New York, to split between both locations.
The Greenmarkets, which typically sell locally grown produce and other products from their member farmers, opened their markets in partnership with CTFANY this year to Hurd and another seller, Bob Schoch, who owns Primrose Hill Farm in Staatsburg, New York.
NBC/Nicole Puglise
The Hurd family's trees, sold at two Greenmarkets in Brooklyn, all display tags advertising "Treecyle" -- part of NYC Parks's annual 2016 MulchFest.
This pilot program offers them a four-week time slot in the market to sell their trees and includes paid help from the Youthmarkets program, as well as tents and tables to ease the logistics.
For the Hurd family, this Greenmarket opportunity was the only way to bring their trees down to the city. According to Susan Hurd, it has “tripled” their business. Charles says his mother is an “optimist.”
They sell their trees for the same amount that they would on their choose-and-cut farm upstate, about $50 to $60 each. Prices at other stands vary around the city depending on the seller and neighborhood.
"Fresh and fragrant is what we’re emphasizing," Susan Hurd said about how they market their trees. They cut the trees the night before coming to market. Trees shipped in from other states take longer to arrive after they are cut.
White House Historical Association
President Grover Cleveland was one of the first presidents to have a Christmas tree in the White House, according to the White House Historical Association. The tree pictured here was the first White House tree decorated with electric lights.
White House Historical Association
Visitors to the White House admire a tree in the East Room in 1934, put up during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency.
National Park Service
In this photo from 1953, a Christmas tree sits in the Blue Room during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree. She decorated a tree placed in the oval Blue Room with ornamental toys, birds, and angels inspired by the "Nutcracker Suite" ballet.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1962, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy moved the White House Christmas Tree to the Grand Foyer. Themed the "Children's Tree," Kennedy reused many of the ornaments from her 1961 "Nutcracker Suite" tree, as well as brightly wrapped packages, candy canes, gingerbread cookies, and straw ornaments made by disabled or senior citizen craftspeople throughout the United States.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Pictured here is President Lyndon Johnson adjusting an ornament on the Christmas tree in the Blue Room at a party for underpriviliged children in 1964. Lady Bird Johnson chose a comforting "Early American" theme and decorated the tree with traditional ornaments such as cookies, paper flowers, and strings of berries.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson poses in front of an "Early American" themed Blue Room Christmas Tree in December 1965. The 18-foot fir featured 3,000 small ornaments, strands of nuts and candied fruit, popcorn and cranberry garland, and gingerbread cookies in the shape of snowmen, dolls, and teddy bears.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In December 1966, Lady Bird Johnson continued with her "Early American" theme and reused ornaments from last year's trees such as popcorn strings, fruit, wooden roses, and toy soldiers. This same year began the tradition of selecting the Blue Room tree from the winners of the National Christmas Tree Association's Christmas Tree Contest.
White House Historical Association
In 1969, Patricia Nixon moved the White House Christmas tree to the Grand Foyer. According to the White House Historical Society, Nixon moved the tree "so people going by on Pennsylvania Avenue can see" her American Flowers themed tree.
Library of Congress
In 1970, first lady Patricia Nixon decorated the tree in hues of blue, green, and gold and reused the velvet and satin balls embellished with the flowers of each state from the year before. She also included gold foil fans, handmade by disabled workers in New York, which became known as the Monroe fans because they were fashioned in the early nineteenth century style, when James Monroe was president.
White House Historical Association
In this December 1971 photo, first lady Patricia Nixon and her daughter Julie Nixon Eisenhower inspect one of the state flower balls from the Blue Room Christmas tree. In addition to the state flower balls, the tree featured gold foil angels made by disabled men and women in New York.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Patricia Nixon speaks in front of the Blue Rooom Christmas tree in December 1972. Mrs. Nixon's theme for that year was inspired by two paintings in the White House collection, Still Life with Fruit and Nature's Bounty.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1973, first lady Patricia Nixon chose a gold motif for the official White House Christmas tree to celebrate President James Monroe, whose 1817 White House renovations included the purchase of gilded furnishings and tableware.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Susan Ford, daughter of President Gerald Ford, helps Santa Claus give out gifts at a White House Christmas party for staff children in December 1974. The tree was adorned with handmade crafts and patchwork ornaments featured, celebrating a rural American craft tradition.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
The official 1975 White House Christmas tree featured handmade ornaments made from inexpensive, natural materials. First Lady Betty Ford selected the theme "An Old-Fashioned Christmas in America," also referred to as "A Williamsburg Children's Christmas," for the tree that year.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In December 1976, first lady Betty Ford's theme for the Christmas decorations was "The Love that is the Spirit of Christmas," intended to celebrate the charitable Christmas spirit.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
President Jimmy Carter, first lady Rosalynn Carter and their daughter Amy pose for a photograph in front of the Blue Room Christmas tree in December 1977. The decorations that year celebrated a classic American Christmas and featured handmade craft ornaments created by handicapped Americans.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In December 1978, first lady Rosalynn Carter selected a theme of Victorian antique toys for the Christmas du00e9cor.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In December 1979, Rosalynn Carter chose to celebrate American folk art, enlisting ten fine arts students at a local school to make over ornaments in the colonial style for the tree.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
These Victorian porcelain dolls appeared on the Blue Room Christmas tree in 1980. First lady Rosalynn Carter selected the old-fashioned Victorian theme for the tree.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan pose for a photograph in front of the Blue Room Christmas tree in 1981. For her first White House Christmas, Mrs. Reagan selected an old-fashioned American Christmas theme.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Nancy Reagan joins the volunteers decorating the Blue Room Christmas tree in 1982. She selected an all-American, old-fashioned Christmas theme for the decorations.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1985, first lady Nancy Reagan celebrated an old-fashioned, turn of the century Christmas at the White House.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
For the 1986 Blue Room Christmas tree, first lady Nancy Reagan selected a Mother Goose motif. The tree featured 100 miniature, soft-sculpture geese, made by White House staff and volunteers from the organization Second Genesis, a drug rehabilitation program.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In December 1988, first lady Nancy Reagan returned to the old-fashioned Christmas theme.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
This ornament, depicting the popular children's cartoon elephant Babar, appeared on the official 1989 White House Christmas tree. First lady Barbara Bush, a long time literacy advocate and volunteer, selected a storybook theme for the tree.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1990, Barbara Bush selected a "Nutcracker Suite" theme for the tree, decorating it with 45 porcelain dolls representing dancers the classic holiday ballet.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Barbara Bush chose a theme of gift givers for the 1992 tree, celebrating the many historic and cultural figures said to visit children and leave them gifts. According to the White House Historical Association, gift givers such as Kris Kringle, the Three Wise Men, and Tsai Sen Yeh adorned the tree, which was topped with a Santa Claus figure.
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1993, Hillary Clinton selected an angel motif for the official Blue Room Christmas tree.
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
For the 1994 Blue Room Christmas tree, Hillary Clinton chose a theme based on the classic Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." According to the White House Historical Association, the tree featured ornaments made at art schools across the country and served as, in Mrs. Clinton's words, "a testament to the developing talent and artistry of the next generation."
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In this December 1995 photograph, president Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton pose in front of the Blue Room Christmas tree before a holiday party. Mrs. Clinton based the decorations for the 1995 tree after the popular 19th century poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 1996, Hillary Clinton chose to decorate the tree with ornaments based on the "Nutcracker Suite" ballet, a theme first selected by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, and again by First Lady Barbara Bush in 1990.
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
The official White House Christmas tree of 2001, featured decorations inspired by Laura Bush's theme "Home for the Holidays." According to the White House Historical Association, Mrs. Bush invited each state governor to select artisans to make ornaments representing special local landmarks in shades of white.
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
In 2005, first lady Laura Bush selected the theme "All Things Bright and Beautiful," taken from the name of a children's hymn. The decorations highlighted the beauty of the natural world.
In 2009, Michelle Obama selected the theme "Reflect, Rejoice, and Renew," asking local community groups to redecorate 800 ornaments from previous administrations. The ornaments featured popular local landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore, according to the White House Historical Association.
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pose in front of the Official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room of the White House in 2010. The decorations had the theme "Simple Gifts," and the tree celebrated the "Gift of the American Spirit." The Douglas fir featured prize ribbons from state and county fairs nationwide.
White House Historical Association
First Lady Michelle Obama selected the theme "Gather Around" for the 2013 White House Christmas decorations, celebrating beloved American holiday traditions. The tree paid tribute to military families, decorated wtih greeting cards made by children living on military bases.
White House Historical Association
In 2014, first lady Michelle Obama selected "A Children's Winter Wonderland" as the White House Christmas theme. The tree had a motif celebrating "America the Brave," featuring ornaments made by children living on military bases, as well as thank you cards from children to members of the United States military.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
The Obama Family's 2015 Christmas tree in the White House's Blue Room presents a patriotic theme, with red, white and blue ornaments roped in by golden stars.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The 2016 official White House Christmas Tree sits in the Blue Room of the White House on Nov. 29, 2016. "The Gift of the Holidays" is the theme of the Obama family's last White House Christmas.
For the Trump family's first official White House Christmas tree, unveiled on Nov. 27, 2017, glass ornaments depict the seals of each state and U.S. territory in the Blue Room.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
At 18 feet tall, the official White House Christmas is dressed in over 500 feet of blue velvet ribbon embroidered in gold with each state and territory, on display inside the Blue Room at the White House, Nov. 26, 2018, in Washington, D,C. The 2018 theme of the White House holiday decorations is "American Treasures."
Getty Images
The Trumps' third official White House Christmas tree blossoms with handmade paper flowers paying homage to the official flowers of each state and territory, inside the Blue Room on Dec. 2, 2019, in Washington, D.C. First lady Melania Trump unveiled White House decorates set to the theme of the "Spirit of America" for 2019.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
For the 2020 theme, first lady Melania Trump chose “America the Beautiful.” The 2020 tree was decorated in ornaments from students across the country.
Alex Wong/Getty
In 2021, first lady Jill Biden chose the holiday theme “Gifts from the Heart,” which was inspired by small acts of kindness throughout the pandemic.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
For the 2022 White House Holiday Season, first lady Jill Biden chose the theme “We the People.” The theme celebrated Americans coming together for the holidays each year and drew inspiration from America’s founding documents.
Susan Walsh/AP
The official 2023 White House Christmas Tree arrives at the White House at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. The tree is an 18-and-a-half-foot tall Native True fir from Cline Church Nursery in Fleetwood, N.C.
The effort to bring more New York grown trees into the city isn’t limited to the Greenmarkets.
There is also a push for tree sellers who line so many sidewalks across the city for the holiday season to include New York state-grown trees.
Last year, the state’s “Pride of NY” program began supporting wholesale tree farmers to connect them with NYC vendors and help with promotional materials. According to a release, 2,000 trees labeled as originating in New York were brought into the market.
Greg’s Trees, which sells in locations throughout Brooklyn and Queens, is a prominent retailer of New York state grown trees. This year, their stands had sold out of their New York stock by Dec. 9.
George Nash, who has been selling trees in New York state since the 1970s, said there was an “concerted” push to purchase from New York state growers this year. Vendors personally reached out to him, as did the CTFANY.
Nash, who typically buys trees grown in Canada or North Carolina, is considering adding New York trees to the selection in his 17 stands around the city next year.
“Maybe we’ll do some trees [from New York] and make everybody happy,” Nash said.
United Against Fake Trees
Some customers at Hurd’s Greenmarket stand admit that the idea of cutting down a living thing for just a few months seems to be contrary to environmentalism.
“Last year for the first time we considered ‘Should we be doing this? Is there something we can do with the tree afterwards?’” said Stephen Hoogerwerf, 40, a nearby resident, who purchased a Douglas Fir with Chaneve Jaeanniton, 37. “When you start to think about it, it's kind of like, why?”
Frank Banisi, 35, who travelled from Bushwick with Claire Moyle, 29, initially questioned the sustainability of cutting trees down. The pair traveled out of their way for a locally grown tree after receiving an email from a food radio network that talked about the environmental benefits of real, local trees.
NBC/Nicole Puglise
Claire Moyle and Frank Banisi pose after purchasing their Christmas tree from Hurd's Greenmarket stand in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Dec. 12, 2015.
Hurd is armed with arguments that his trees are beneficial for the environment. He runs his own composting program for unsold trees and from other agricultural waste around the area. Each of his trees at the Greenmarket bear a tag advertising "Treecycle," part of MulchFest 2016, a NYC Parks initiative to turn Christmas trees to wood chips.
Younger trees create more oxygen than older trees, he also said.
“Older trees are just like people in life, they’re a little more sedentary, they don’t respire quite as much, so its good to keep moving them out," he said.
Despite the apparent rivalries within New York City, the other farmers are quick to note that the real enemy in the competitive market is not each other — but artificial Christmas trees.
According to market research by the National Christmas Tree Association, 13.9 million artificial Christmas trees were purchased in the United States, compared to 26.3 million real trees, in 2014. The numbers have hovered at about the same averages for the past six years.
Amber Cline, whose family owns one of the large wholesale farms in North Carolina, said the real versus fake competition is the prime concern for the industry.
"Ultimately our goal as an industry is to make sure that homes have real Christmas trees," Cline said. "So if they come from the retail lot on the corner that got their trees from North Carolina wholesaler or from the choose-and-cutter outside of town, either one to use is wonderful. We just want them to have a real Christmas tree."
Taking Advantage of the Market
New York state is the 8th largest Christmas producing state, cutting about 270,000 trees in 2012, according to the U.S. Agriculture Census. But that’s far behind the giants of Oregon and North Carolina — numbers one and two — which produce over six million and four million, respectively. Trees from these mass-producing states dominate other markets across the country.
According to Dave Morin from the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association, “all of the retail lots in Massachusetts have trees shipped in from from out of state.” He estimates that most trees come to the state from Canada, the neighboring states of New Hampshire or Vermont, or shipped up from North Carolina.
In California, according to Sam Minturn, executive director of the California Christmas Tree Association, 90 percent of trees in the state come from elsewhere. Growing in California is difficult for similar reasons as New York -- high land prices and the fact that most farms are small choose-and-cut operations. Trees come mostly from Oregon, which is the largest producer of Christmas trees in the country.
Based on these industry trends, Dave Weill, one of the few New York state farmers who grows tree wholesale, says the tree stock in New York state realistically wouldn't be enough to sustain the New York City market anyway.
"I’m one of the largest growers in the state and I’m only supplying seven vendors in the city. That’s a teeny-tiny amount," Weill said.
As the major New York City retailers mainly deal with wholesalers and large quantities of trees, small farms like Hurd's are less than ideal to purchase from. Nash, for example, deals with roughly 15,000 trees a season, which is more than the entire stock of most tree farms in New York state.
For a retailer like Nash, the decision to buy trees is based on long-term relationships, prices, consistent quality, and changing trends. That's why he typically deals with trees from Canada or North Carolina, even though New York farms also grow some of the same varieties of trees.
"The problem is that nobody has a Fraser Fir like the North Carolina people do," Nash said.
The New York state farmers admittedly have a different perspective. Weill attributes the Fraser's popularity to an "aggressive PR campaign," and Mary Jeanne Packer calls the buyers' bypassing of small farms a "misconception."
"We have some growers who would be glad to sell all their trees at one time to one buyer," Packer said. "The buyer doesn’t want to make that commitment."
As a small farmer making his own way into New York, Hurd has faced his own difficulties in taking advantage of the market. He and his mother like meeting customers and being part of the community, but with a 3 a.m. wake up call, fuel costs from hours of driving, and $120 in tolls, he's questioning whether the trek is worth it.
"I'm not sure we're going to do it again next year," Hurd said. "It's a lot of work for what it is."
When asked if they would come back next year, his mother Susan, however, answered a resounding "yes."
