Christmas tree farms in Ohio saw a big jump in demand this past weekend. But it may not be for the reason you think.
Matt Mongin, the president of the state’s Christmas Tree Association says at his farm in southern Ohio, sales were up about 15 percent from last year for the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend. Could it be due to pent up demand in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? “Well, there may be a touch of that – I certainly wouldn’t dispute that.”
But Mongin says it’s mostly down to people rushing out to get a tree as soon as they can, since there’s been less supply in recent years. “We don’t have as many growers. Many have retired. I would love to get the word out to younger people – [in their] 30s and 40s – we really need additional growers.”
Mongin adds that the number of people who preferred to cut their own tree – as opposed to buying pre-cut – is also up. In his opinion, that’s because they prefer experiencing the outdoors. “We bring in some wholesale trees for the handful of people who don’t want to cut their own, but we sometimes have a hard time selling them. People really want to come out and have that experience. They want to walk the farm and run and play and eventually cut a tree and go through the whole process.”
Mongin says that’s a trend he’s been seeing for several years, though there may be an added attraction since people can cut a tree while staying socially distanced.
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