I am a choose and cut tree farmer in south MS and my sales have dropped the last two years. I have stayed in a fair price range over the last twenty two years. Some farmers have let greed take over and are pushing people toward the china made trees. Sad thing is there will be a lot of children that will not get to experience running through a field and finding the perfect tree.
@WoodsTreeFarm41 минут бұрын
Nailed it. Anyone can complain about the price of trees, but I see a lot of people spend a lot of money on fairly pointless things like cars, toys, tech, and dining out. Unfortunately, few put value on experiences.
@ProductiveRecreation28 минут бұрын
A lot about artificial trees in the comments. The tree farm closest to me does booming business. Trees there are $70 unless over 8ft. The weekend after Thanksgiving they are so crowded it backs up traffic on the road. People wait hours. I was recently at a medical office and the tech was trying to find a nice tree farm to cut a tree from and was having trouble, so there is demand in my area. I figure when the trees I have in the ground are salable, pricing will be around $100 and be pretty reasonable. I know some people would be willing to pay a little more to avoid the big crowds at the farm down the road. I certainly would. I love the reservation idea for cut your own. I would (will?) operate by appointment/reservation to start for sure. Control the pace of the day and number of trees cut a lot easier that way. We only have 180 trees in the ground now, but that will increase by 160 this coming spring. I’ve been trying varieties and seeing how they do. Canaan fir seems to be a strong grower. I have Balsams and Frasers too. Fralsam is also becoming popular here in NH, but planting stock for that is harder to get.
@jamesmisener30062 сағат бұрын
Side products now and a seasonal store eventually that has baked goods, local canned goods like jam & preserves, maple syrup, etc. A seasonal Christmas tree maze.( maybe), and the imagination takes over. Diversify within your environment. Depend on local sources and enjoy. Oh, and work your guts out, but you knew that!! Cheers 🇨🇦
@Occams_RazzorСағат бұрын
We used to get a real tree, but went artificial for price, safety, cleanliness, and hassle. Real trees became too expensive, can't recall the exact price but it was enough to push us away. After we got the fake tree I realized I didn't have to check the water levels all the time, and sweep every day. By the time Christmas was over it was a dried up fire hazard. Spent $60 for a fake 7ft pencil tree. No driving to get it, sets up in minutes and has lasted 5 years with no problems. I get that its cool tradition, but we don't miss it one bit.
@palmsexoticsuk21947 сағат бұрын
I agree the economic argument doesn’t make sense, unless you’re happy with a cheap fake tree. I hope that next year is a better one for you. Will you be considering an increased marketing budget?
@T-Mo_2 сағат бұрын
I'm not a fan of artificial because of all the chemicals in them. And when thrown out they are going to sit in a landfill for basically forever. Plus i love the smell of a real tree, especially compared to new plastic smell from overseas.
@bradleygraves59154 сағат бұрын
I've had artificial for YEARS. But no pre-lit. That just adds unneeded cost and problems. LED lights are so cheap if they fail after a few years, replace them. One quality artificial tree will last many, many years unless you have pets or kids that damage it.
@jamestrimble56808 сағат бұрын
With the prices we have seen around here, we ended up with the smallest tree we have ever had. We saw trees for as much as $280. At that kind of price a fake tree starts to make sense. We hate the fake trees so always get real trees but the prices are getting a bit crazy.
@WoodsTreeFarm8 сағат бұрын
@@jamestrimble5680 that's a lot. I'd hope that price was for an exceptionally nice and large tree.
@WildcatWarrior154 сағат бұрын
We bit the bullet and went artificial this year finally. Spending $200 for a mediocre real tree year after year finally wore us down. I also got absolutely sick of the hassle. We got a 9' beautiful pre-lit tree for $350. It will have already paid for itself next Christmas.
@danradtke16639 сағат бұрын
Smart thinking. Ever think of selling to landscapers during the year out of your farm for home transplants? Or in container trees? How were fire wood sales by your customers? Always think out of the box. Great job in regards to the decision on quality of trees to your customers. Do you add your trees to your pond for fish habitat? That could be another idea for an activity for your customers. Catch and release fishing? During the year on special weekends. Just trying to think how to do things that won't cost much additional output to accomplish. Hope these ideas help and time to rent a good shredder for nice pine mulch. Just another idea for that continued snell in people's gardens. 🤔 Have a great Christmas and great job once again.
@WoodsTreeFarm9 сағат бұрын
I might get into selling live trees down the road. I know it can be good business. I'd need additional supplies and equipment I don't have currently. I'd also need state inspections and a nursery license.
@danradtke16639 сағат бұрын
How was fire wood sales during Christmas tree sales?
@WoodsTreeFarm6 сағат бұрын
@@danradtke1663Sold some bundles and small stacks. A couple hundred $$ worth, nothing huge.
@KevinHarvey-qw5mj5 сағат бұрын
We never much luck getting good trees since friends family closed there tree growing operation so we got a artificial tree cause people price themselves out of business my tree is ten years old and looks brand new and haven't even had to replace a light bulb in the strand use to love to take kind out to get a tree but since his operation closed wasn't the same my opinion good luck like they said hook up with nursery and sell to them only thing is can you give a warranty and for how long not knowing if people will water it and take care of it
@nelsonridgefarm6 сағат бұрын
Phil, seems we’ve had similar comments from farmers across Tennessee, so far. -Brad
@WoodsTreeFarm6 сағат бұрын
@@nelsonridgefarm the online groups I follow echo the same. Some who have said they always sell out still have trees left over. The consumer response appears to be widespread.
@schradertreefarm2 сағат бұрын
Hey Phil, wondering if some of the tree sales went to Trees cut from your field. I only increased my order by about 10% this year.
@WoodsTreeFarmСағат бұрын
I don't know. We only did 50 from the field. Most of them were new customers who probably would have gone to a different farm rather than getting one of our precuts. We pushed for ~25% growth and missed the mark. Can't with them all.
@schradertreefarmСағат бұрын
@ yeah Iam ALWAYS worried when I write that check to the wholesaler. I think we are pretty close to our max precuts we can do. I might do 10% more next season but that’s probably it. We have a couple years til we can cut thinking about year 7
@larrykluckoutdoors82275 сағат бұрын
I hope it worked out ok for you
@mikebroadbent77159 сағат бұрын
Sorry if I missed it, but what is your average price/tree?
@WoodsTreeFarm9 сағат бұрын
I didn't discuss pricing and intentionally shy away from some details that I think should remain private. We stocked the full range of precuts from $50-$200. I think the problem some people have is they recall getting a nice 8ft tree for $70 and now $70 gets you a 5ft tree.
@brianjonker5104 сағат бұрын
@@WoodsTreeFarm This is a fair summary without giving out your income statement/tax returns
@a-verybasic218 минут бұрын
Yes, after 30 years of buying real trees the cost simply doesn’t make sense anymore. Sorry, Never going back