Expect to pay more for that perfect fir, pine or spruce compared to last year
In the spirit of holiday cheer, here’s the good news first: Christmas tree farms say this year’s harvest looks good and they don’t expect shortages. But here’s the reality check. . As with so many products lately, blame inflation. Tree farms’ operating costs — from labor and raw materials to shipping trees to retailers —have also risen over the last year.
But while consumer price inflation is hovering above 8%, farmers’ production costs are skyrocketing much higher as fees for labor, fuel, seed and fertilizer continue to rise. “Agriculture inflation has far surpassed consumer inflation,” said Bob Shaefer, CEO of Noble Mountain Tree Farm, a 4,000 acre wholesale farm in Salem, Oregon, that produces half a million trees a year. Shaefer said Noble Mountain expects its wholesale prices to go up 8% this holiday season from a year ago.
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