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Family traditions help sustain Siouxland tree farmsDAVE DREESZENddreeszen@siouxcityjournal.com Sioux City Journal
Here is a listing of Siouxland tree farms, <a href=http://danubia.se/moncler/moncler-jackor-sverige-713.php>Moncler Jackor Sverige</a> according to the Iowa and South Dakota Christmas Tree Growers Associations. Read more
HAWARDEN, Iowa | Brian and Teresa Driesen celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary Wednesday with a trip to T S Christmas Tree Farm.
The couple braved snow- and ice-covered roads and bitter cold temps to pick out a 7 1/2-foot-tall Frasier Fir for their Alcester, S.D. home.
"This is our present," Teresa jokingly said as the tree was loaded in the back of their pickup. "I made (Brian) take off work early and bring me here."
An excursion to the picturesque farm in northern Plymouth County has been part of the Driesen family holiday tradition for three decades. Brian and Teresa started bringing their four children when they were young. Today, their grandchildren are sharing in the fun of finding a live tree, taking it home, and decorating it.
"I love the togetherness," Teresa said. "You're getting a real life experience. You're also getting a part of the earth."
Watching families like the Driesens return year after year is one of her favorite parts of Christmas, <a href=http://butiklillanisa.se/canadagoose/rosa-canada-goose-jackor-558.php>Rosa Canada Goose Jackor</a> said Sue Muth, who started T S with her husband, Terry, in 1985.
"It's just heart warming for us," Sue Muth said. "Those are memories that they are going to <a href=http://miljoklon.se/uggs/uggs-discount-price-911.php>Uggs Discount Price</a> carry with them forever."
Like T S, Siouxland families have been flocking to Country Pines Tree Farm for two and even three generations, said Marie Bork, who has operated the farm near Marcus, Iowa, with her husband, Neal, since 1995.
Last weekend, 20 members of one Sioux City clan met at Country Pines for an afternoon of fun.
"They came out and had one heck of a time," Bork said. "It was a fun thing to see."
"Everybody loves to be out here. The kids are all gleamy-eyed and excited about getting their Christmas tree home."
Sales at area tree farms are off to a fast start this year.
In the three days after Thanksgiving, the Borks sold more than 250 cut-your-own or pre-cut trees, the most during the holiday weekend in 15 years.
More than 650 families crammed the T S farm during the three-day weekend, Muth said. In a typical season, the farm, located southeast of Hawarden along County Road D-12, and about a 40-mile drive from Sioux City, sells about 1,000 trees.
Unseasonably warm temperatures helped swell this year's post-Thanksgiving crowds.
"Saturday was absolutely beautiful," Bork said. "There was no wind and people were out here in light sweatshirts."
Much colder <a href=http://butiklillanisa.se/canadagoose/kop-canada-goose-online-742.php>Kop Canada Goose Online</a> weather was forecast for this weekend, with high temps only in the teens, and wind chills below zero.
An estimated 24.5 million people in the United States purchased farm-grown Christmas trees in 2012, <a href=http://danubia.se/moncler/moncler-jackor-outlet-467.php>Moncler Jackor Outlet</a> according to the National Christmas Tree Association. That was down from about 6 million from 2011.
Last year, 83 percent of U.S. households displayed an artificial tree, compared to 18 percent who had a real tree, according to a American Christmas Tree Association study. As their sales have dwindled, cut-your-own tree farms also have faced increased competition from big-box stores that carry cut Christmas trees.
In Iowa, farms devote more than 1,500 acres to Christmas tree production, and harvest about 39,500 Christmas trees each year, contributing $1 million in economic benefits, according to the state Agriculture Department.
Many growers are nearing retirement. At age 62, Marie Bork said she and her husband are "probably some of the younger people in the tree business."
Sue and Terry Muth recently retired and moved to the Ozarks region of Arkansas, and are in the process of turning over T S Christmas Tree Farm to their son, Adam, and their daughter, Robin Miller.
Few younger people are entering the profession, which requires year-round maintenance and work for a part-time like income.
"It's not really that lucrative," said Tom Brady, who has operated a Christmas tree farm four miles east of Yankton, S.D. since 1987. Brady supplements his business by also selling landscape trees and offering tree and landscape services.
Because it takes about seven years for a seedling to grow to the desired height, the Christmas tree business is a long-term commitment. In addition to the costs of plants, fertilizer, tractors and other equipment, farmers also face threats such as pests, diseases and bad weather.
Tree farms like Brady's near wooded areas also have to fend off herds of hungry deer, who can strip tender trees. Bucks also ruin trees by rubbing on them, Brady said.
The summer before last, the Borks of Marcus lost all of their seedlings to one of the worst droughts on record.
Timely rains in the spring and early summer are essential, Marie Bork said.
"If we get rain to the first of July, we're good with our scotch pine," she said. If the weather gets too hot, though, the firs tend to struggle, she said.
Farmers say seeing all the smiles on the faces of their customers makes the hassles worthwhile.
For those who make it a tradition of selecting a live tree, there's no substitute.
Brian Driesen said he once reminded his wife of the extra work involved with a live tree.
"I asked her, <a href=http://miljoklon.se/uggs/uggs-australia-stockholm-847.php>Uggs Australia Stockholm</a> 'Are you ready for an artificial?' " he recalled. "She said, 'No it just wouldn't be the same.' "
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