With all the beautiful summer weather sticking around, Christmas is not exactly top of mind for most folks — except for those who make their living growing one of the most beloved holiday traditions: Christmas trees.
For those farmers in New Jersey, the long-lasting drought this summer has killed thousands of trees in the state and the outlook is bleak.
But what does that mean for those who will be in the market for one of the holiday trees, with the big day less than four months away? Will there be a new holiday tune, "No Christmas tree, no Christmas tree?"
Allen Patterson sure doesn't hope so. He and his family have been farming their land since the late 1700s. Once a dairy farm, it has since evolved, and Christmas trees have been a substantial part of that growth since 1987.
But growth is not something that Patterson has seen a lot of from some of his trees this year. It usually takes eight to 10 years to grow the average Christmas tree, but this summer has been anything but usual for farmers.
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"They just didn't make the growth that we normally see, you hope for a foot a year. This year they just kind of maintained," he said. "Not only did newer trees not grow, but we saw more losses in the smaller trees."
There is a tract of land on the farm that is not irrigated, and Mother Nature hasn't delivered on much-needed rain for some time. Because of that, needles have turned brown and brittle, and some trees have just outright died — forcing Patterson's greenhouses to focus attention and water on flowers and vegetables, a.k.a. items that bring immediate income.
"You gotta take care of what’s gonna keep you going until next year," Patterson said.
Even the trees that are grown and look healthy are suffering from the lack of precipitation. Ones that look like potential Christmas trees are dry and haven't retained any moisture, meaning the needles will fall off easily.
So what do farmers recommend? Get the tree later in the season, and wait to put it up a bit later on as well. Also, don't blame them — blame Mother Nature.
Lincroft Christmas Tree Farm is dealing with the same problem, as none of the three varieties of trees grown at the farm are growing like they should.
"These last two months, July and August, have been horrendous really. Feels like Phoenix, and they don't grow Christmas trees in Phoenix," said Bill Kohl, who runs the Monmouth County farm. "The color isn't as deep as it should be, a little deeper green ... we need a good spring rain, a couple days then every other day would be really good."
Where Kohl's farm is, the dry weather started even earlier than most other areas, and conditions have hit "severe' status, according to the U.S. drought monitor.
Kohl said he wants to see how (or if) the trees will recover when rain eventually does come. But the bottom line: Christmas trees will likely cost more this year, and could be harder to find.
"We have our Christmas tree growers summer meeting coming up next week, so I want to go speak to the farmers and see how they're faring," Kohl said.
Without about 5 to 10 percent of the crop lost, purchasers can expect to pay that much more to bring one home come December. And it could go beyond just this year as well.
"They’re smaller and shorter, so its not just a one-year effect on Christmas trees, like the hay. It will be future years too," said Patterson.