10/31/2022
Sharing some very real information !!! See you all on the
Update for 10/30/2022
It is time to address the pink elephant in the room. This will be my State of the Union Address.
Problem: The Christmas tree industry is in a tough spot. Some of the industry leaders are afraid to use the word “shortage”. You can call it anything that you want but the demand for Christmas trees is substantially larger than the supply. In years surrounding 2012, The Christmas tree industry was experiencing very little annual growth. The supply and demand of Christmas trees was somewhere near average, so farmers planted a average amount of seedling trees in 2012. With an 8 year growth cycle, the dollar invested compared to the dollar returned in the Christmas tree industry was not strong. Land appraisers use the term “highest and best use” when setting land values. They never use the words “Growing Christmas trees” and “highest and best use” in the same sentence in CT. No one was starting new Christmas trees farms or switching farm land into Christmas trees. Certainly nobody could have predicted what happened in 2020.
Fast forward to the year 2020, the world was facing a global pandemic. Families were staying close to home and reestablishing old-fashioned traditions. The demand for Christmas trees skyrocketed. The math is simple, the industry sold more trees in 2020 than it planted in 2012.
The cost of everything has greatly increased in the past several years and certainly the cost to grow a Christmas tree has increased exponentially. Consumers should expect a price increase across the board.
Solution: Contact your local Christmas tree farm and find out what their supply of Christmas trees is looking like. Some farms have a stronger inventory than others. Find out what their hours of operation are going to be. Some farms are announcing limited times or days when they will be open. Some farms are going to an online appointment system. Like everything else you try to buy, try to be an educated consumer before leaving the house.
Our solution: We have a fair amount of medium sized trees growing in the field. Our customers always cut the trees closest to the parking lot first. Unfortunately, our best supply of trees this year is in the back corner of our farm, so you’ll have to be prepared to walk a little for the best selection. We have made arrangements to bring in 3 tractor trailer loads of trees to supplement our supply of trees. We plan to be open our normal schedule until our supply of trees is low (Open Sat Nov 19th, 9a-4p, 7 days a week). Last year, by mid December we were forced to finish out the month by closing during the week and only being open on the weekends. We plan to increase our price this year but we are struggling with the very fine line between covering our expenses and making a Christmas tree unaffordable during these difficult times. We will be setting a price per tree soon and for the first time ever we will be offering a discount if you pay by cash or check. We are looking to pass the savings on to you if you choose to save us the credit card processing fee.
From our family to your family, our pledge is to be as open and honest as possible during these difficult times. In 2020, we started a new customer service policy. If you left us a negative comment on Facebook, we gave you my cell number. If you had concerns about our price increase, we gave you my cell number. If we did not meet or exceed your expectations, we gave you my cell number. Most customer service concerns can be solved with a simple conversation. We will get through this together.
Honesty is the best policy. Benjamin Franklin.
Thank You. John Dzen, Jr
