Every day since the trees are planted is a roll of the dice.
Unlike commodities like corn and soybeans, which Mr. Wyckoff on the other 90 acres he owns, there’s no good way to insure Christmas trees against damage caused by extreme weather, or the effects of a foreign war or a pandemic that freezes supply chains. , he added.
“Farmers are the biggest gamblers out there,” said Mr. Wyckoff, 57. His family has been growing Christmas trees in Belvidere, NJ, about a 90-minute drive from Midtown Manhattan, since his grandfather started the business in the 1950s.
Christmas trees grow slowly, about 12 to 14 inches a year, and can take 10 years to go from seed to harvest. Most of the trees he planted were 3 to 5 years old at the time he bought them from nurseries.
To keep up with costs, Mr. Wyckoff raised the price of his trees this year to $15 a foot, or $105 for a seven-foot tree, from $14 a foot last year. A decade ago, similar trees sold for $10 a foot, he said. Among the trees he sells are the famous Fraser fir, the Norway Spruce and the Canaan and Douglas firs.
Despite the risks, trees remain Mr. Wyckoff’s most profitable crop. He expects to sell 7,000 this year, up from 5,000 last year.
“We are currently in a boom period,” said Tim O’Connor, the executive director of the National Christmas Tree Association. Supply was tight before the pandemic, and then demand increased for trees that customers could pick and cut themselves outdoors.
Nationwide, there were 15,000 Christmas tree farms with sales of more than $376 million in 2017, according to the latest available federal data. Bert Cregg, a professor of horticulture at Michigan State University and industry expert, says farmers can make a 50 percent profit per tree. Mr. Wyckoff said his income was closer to 20 percent of a tree.
Some costs have increased significantly for Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm. Almost all of Mr. Wyckoff’s equipment runs on diesel fuel; he paid $4.70 a gallon this year, up from $2.36 in 2018.
Climate change increases the risk of him losing large areas of trees. Of the 10,000 he planted this year, 5,500 were lost to drought and flooding. That costs at least $27,500. In an average year, he may lose 5 to 10 percent of his new trees.
The work is relentless. The farm has three full-time employees but a rotating cast of up to 40 seasonal workers during the busy season. Three large mowers ($20,000 each) cut weeds each season, trees are pruned twice a year and pests and diseases are monitored daily.
Mr. Wyckoff said he saved money by hiring high school students, getting help from local hunters and hiring family members. His wife, Leslie, does accounting, his aunt Judy likes to mow and his 23-year-old son, Johnny, also works on the farm.
Family trees have won awards in national competitions and graced the White House, Mr. Wyckoff said. The family has met Michelle Obama and former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife.
While Mr. Wyckoff and industry experts have some concerns about the risk of another downturn if demand falls, business is good so far.
Hector Ruiz, 75, recently drove from Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan to look for a Fraser fir. He left with a tree 5 feet tall. Most of the larger ones have already been sold.
“But I’m going back for those trees over there,” he said, pointing to the firs still in the ground and destined for next year.
Made by Eden Weingart, Andrew Hinderaker and Dagny Salas. Progress through Gabriel Gianordoli and Aliza Aufrichtig.
