‘Just bursting for Christmas’
Tree farms anticipate increased demand this season
“We’re just going to do the best we can and try to keep everybody happy, healthy and have a wonderful holiday.” Donna Cackler Cackler Family Farms in Delaware
For central Ohioans concerned about, and weary of, the coronavirus pandemic, the Christmas season promises a welcome respite. Yet, with indoor gatherings strongly discouraged by medical experts and the governor, and live performances of holiday staples such as “The Nutcracker” canceled, families might be seeking activities that are both festive, as safe as possible and outside of four walls. h Perhaps cutting your own Christmas tree could add some sparkle to your season. h Sensing a trend, numerous area tree farms are expecting high demand this year. h “That’s what we’re being told through the industry,” said Donna Cackler of Cackler Family Farms in Delaware, which opened Saturday. Customers are asked to make reservations ahead of visiting. “We’re just going to do the best we can and try to keep everybody happy, healthy and have a wonderful holiday.”
This week, Cackler Family Farms lost five workers who had to quarantine following coronavirus exposure among them. Donna Cackler, who has hired three replacements and plans to hire two more, hopes that she and the other members of her own family remain healthy so that the farm can stay operational during the holiday season.
“If anything happens, then that wipes us out,” Cackler said. “We are taking all precautions necessary with the cleaning and the masks and everything, ... but all you have to do is slip up once.”
Cackler said she’s already had interest in trees because she has been fielding requests from customers since early November – a bridge too far for the longtime tree purveyor.
“The thing is they’re not going to be happy with me,” Cackler said of customers who want to cut trees too early (and thus risk the trees not holding up for the duration). “Your Christmas tree is the centerpiece of your home during the holidays, and you want it to look good through Christmas.”
Even so, Cackler Family Farms is one of several area tree farms to open a bit on the early side. The Messerall Family Tree Farm in Alexandria also opened over the weekend.
“I think people are just bursting for Christmas,” said owner Tom Messerall, whose farm typically opens on Black Friday. “They’re going to be out early, and, of course, typically it’s an outside activity. They can do that with social distancing. Families are just looking for something they can do.”
Stan Haas of Christmas Tree Junction in Delaware put it bluntly: “People have been sort of pent up, so to speak.”
The demand for Christmas trees is being seen nationwide, said Tim O’connor, the executive director of the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents over 700 farms. He said that member farms are experiencing “unprecedented” levels of early contact by consumers eager to pick their tree.
“People have ratcheted up their time schedule this year, and they’re thinking about their Christmas tree much earlier,” said O’connor, who attributes some of the extra demand to families anticipating a holiday season spent in their own home.
“For some people, if they knew they were traveling, they wouldn’t put up a tree,” O’connor said. “If they’re home, they’re likely going to put up a tree.”
Shoppers have been demonstrating an eagerness to get on with any sort of holiday celebration at least since the
fall, said Ben Smith of the Sugargrove Tree Farm in Ashland, set to open for Christmas tree sales on Friday.
“On the other end of the business, ... we have greenhouses, farm market and fall festival pumpkin patch and corn maze, and we have seen an increase in
all of those things,” said Smith, who expects Christmas trees to move quickly this month and next.
Despite the demand, families who make the trek to cut their trees should expect social distancing requirements and other public health measures (such as sanitizing indoor surfaces). There are some precautions being taken that could be considered unique to the industry: For example, the Saum Family Farm in Lancaster is cleaning wagons and saws after each use.
Several farms have also curtailed family activities that could be considered risky during the pandemic.
“One of the things we’ve always had that was a big draw has been our free cookies and hot chocolate – we’re going to eliminate that this year,” said Smith, adding that horse-drawn wagon rides to the fields have also been axed because of the rides’ popularity.
“What we’ve noticed is folks will happily wait in a large group to ... get on a horse wagon,” Smith said. This year, by contrast, “All the wagons are just tractor-drawn wagons.”
To avoid a glut of shoppers, Messerall recommended skipping the Thanksgiving weekend buying and instead consider heading out for tree-picking on less busy Fridays.
Some farms are taking extra precautions to ensure customers maintain distancing. Before visiting Cackler Family Farms in Delaware, patrons are asked to reserve time on its website, cacklerfarms.com.
“Our reservation system allows for eight families,” Donna Cackler said. “Every 15 minutes, it will open up for eight more families. The thing is to avoid the lines we’ve had in the past and hopefully to keep everyone safe.”
Most tree farms report having sufficient stock, but if some end up being short on trees this year, eager area families won’t be the only ones to blame. “Wholesalers can’t get trees, really – they’ve been calling us from Maryland, from Pennsylvania, from Indiana,” said Jack Crosley, owner of Crosley’s Tree Farm in Chillicothe. “All we have left is for our local customers.”
Because Christmas trees take about eight years to reach the height at which they can be marketed, farmers have to guess about future demand – and no one could have foreseen consumer behavior this season.
“Eight years ago, ... the economy was not good, and people were not buying as many trees, so farms didn’t plant as many trees,” Messerall said.
Regardless of how the season shakes out, Christmas tree farmers hope to give central Ohioans a reason to celebrate at the end of a difficult year.
“We want to make your Christmas memory not be part of the bad things that have happened in 2020,” Cackler said. “We want to be the good part.”
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Where to go for a tree
These central Ohio tree farms are open for business or will be soon. Please call ahead to verify COVID-19 practices and hours of operation.
• Albert Family Tree Farm, two locations in Amanda; 614-837-1667 or 740969-4245, albertfamilytreefarm.com; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 23
• Beck’s Christmas Tree Farm, 190 Rainbow Drive N.W., Lancaster; 740653-6454; open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Nov. 27 through Dec. 19
• Cackler Family Farms, 4971 Cackler Road, Delaware; 740-524-5311,
cacklerfarms.com; open Nov. 25, 27-29 and Dec. 4-6 (reservations required)
• Christmas Tree Junction, 430 Willey Road, Delaware; 740-363-9105, christmastreejunction.webs.com; open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Nov. 27 through Dec. 24
• Country Cabin Tree Farm, 3600 Wilson Road, Sunbury; 614-832-9345, countrycabintreefarm.com; open Nov. 28-29, Dec. 4-6
• Crosley’s Tree Farm, 2862 Polk Hollow Road, Chillicothe; 740-775-6134 or crotree@horizonview.net; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 24
• Heartland Orchard, 13029 Laurel Hill Road, Thornville; 740-787-1353; open Nov. 27 and weekends through Dec. 13
• Heimbush Farms, 21590 Northwest Parkway, Marysville; 937-2435314; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 24
• Hickory Ridge Tree Farm, 3600 Johnston-alexandria Road, Alexandria; 740-924-5054, hickory-ridge.com; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 24
• Lands Christmas Trees, 22796 Ringgold Southern Road, Stoutsville; 740-474-5884; open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Nov. 27 through Dec. 20
• M&M Tree Farm, 4127 Loudon St., Granville; 740-587-3492; open Nov. 27 and weekends through Dec. 13 and weekdays by appointment
• Mcglone Tree Farm, 2323 Winchester Southern Road, Canal Winchester; 614-833-0039; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 22
• Messerall Family Tree Farm, 4634 Hardscrabble Road, Alexandria; 740924-8495, messeralltreefarm.com; open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Dec. 13
• Morrison’s Green Valley Tree Farm, 11555 Green Valley Road, New Concord; 740-872-3068; open Saturdays and Sundays Nov. 28 to Dec. 13
• Rush’s Tree Farm, 22239 Route 347, Raymond; 614-570-0446; open Nov. 27 through Dec. 6 (call for days of operation)
• Saum Family Farm, 4675 Hamburg Road, Lancaster; 740-969-2058; open Nov. 27 until the trees sell out
• Scheetz Tree Farm, 2297 Cambridge Road, Coshocton; 740-622-3656, facebook.com/scheetztreefarm; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 18
• Sugargrove Tree Farm, 1619 Township Road 1455, Ashland; 419-282-5151, sugargrovefarm.com; open Wednesdays through Sundays Nov. 27 to Dec. 19
• Timbuk Farms, 2030 Timbuk Road, Granville; 740-587-2178, timbukfarms.com; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 20
• Ron and Kelly Walsh Christmas Tree Farm, 6826 Fairmount Road S.E., Newark; 740-323-4885, ronschristmas trees.com; open Nov. 27 and Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 20
• Walsh Christmas Tree Farm, 9068 Eden Church Road, St. Louisville; 740745-5040, walshchristmastreefarm. com; open daily through Dec. 20
• Whiteside Evergreens, 18875 Boerger Road, Marysville; 937-243-3771, whitesideevergreens.com; open daily Nov. 27 through Dec. 23
• Woodridge Tree Farm, 801 Baker Road, Utica; 740-3982121, woodridgetreefarm.com; open Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 4-6