Northwest Iowa — As people are taking down their Christmas trees for this season, some northwest Iowa Christmas tree growers are concerned that damage done by the drought could limit their supply in the next few years.
Country Pines Farm owner, Justin Pritts, says last year’s lack of snow led to a loss of 100 fully grown Christmas trees at his operation in Marcus — and he also lost around a third of the saplings this year to drought.
Pritts says it takes around seven years for his trees to mature. He says the farm may have to rely more on getting trees from places like Michigan and Wisconsin where drought isn’t as pervasive. Robin Miller operates T&S Christmas Tree Farm near Hawarden. She says they usually lose around 25 percent of trees planted — but the drought pushed that number up to 90 percent.
Miller says she’s especially worried about the supply of fir trees, which have taken the biggest hit. She fears she won’t be able to stock that popular tree type in the future following the drought losses.
(By Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)
