November 28, 2000

Christmas tree farming
a tradition for Iowa family

Stephanie Mutert
digital iowa staff reporter
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa -- O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree ... every year 68,000 Christmas trees are sold in Iowa, according to Rebecca Alter, a statistics specialist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Families operate some of the 68 Christmas tree farms that produce the 68,000 trees.

The Miller family in Runnells has owned the Miller Tree Farm since 1954, according to Jack Miller. In 1954, they planted their first seedlings, and seven years later they were selling to the people of Iowa.

"Beth (Miller's wife) and I grew up in Iowa farm families. We just decided to do Christmas trees, and it has become larger than we ever thought it would. We started planting the trees in 1954, but you can't start selling them for at least seven years. After seven years, the trees are big enough that people would want to buy them. But the bigger the tree, the longer it has been growing. We sell trees up to 20 foot, and we have about 30 acres in trees. Every year we have about 1,000 families come out to harvest trees," Jack Miller said.

Alter said nine different varieties of Christmas trees grow in Iowa. Of these nine, the Millers grow five different types.

"We have five different types of trees: concolor fir, white pine, Scotch pine, Douglas fir and Frasier fir. The most popular this year is the concolor fir," Jack said.

The Christmas tree farm involves the whole family for the Millers. "We have four children, and they all come out on the weekends. They help us cut and harvest the trees. It's a family business. We are all involved," Beth Miller said.

Most of the Christmas tree farms in Iowa are family-owned, according to Alter. Christmas tree farmers all belong to the Iowa Christmas Tree Growers Association. Some 190 families are members, and 100 of those families own tree farms, according to the Iowa Christmas Tree Growers Association Web site, http://www.iowachristmastrees.com . The association formed in 1963 so growers could learn from each other's experience. Their experience ranges from years in the business and annual sales of trees, to those who haven't started their farm yet. Most families own around five to eight acres of trees. And the land is used for customers to find and harvest their own trees.

The Millers have an area where customers can harvest their own trees, but they also have some trees that have already been harvested. "You can buy our trees already harvested, or you can go harvest your own. The main field where you can harvest your own is called Deer Ridge. We give you a saw, and you go cut your own. A lot of families with children come and harvest their own tree, but there are some harvested trees at the house where all you have to do is pick it out and load it up without having to go through the field," Jack Miller said.

For some Iowa families, it is a family tradition to cut their tree the weekend after Thanksgiving Day. They pick out their own tree and take it home with them for the holidays. Jeannette Davis and her husband Paul have been coming to the Millers' farm since their children were little.

"Our children are older, and have families of their own, but when they were younger we always came down here as a family tradition on the first weekend after Thanksgiving Day," Jeannette Davis said. "When they were between the ages 5 and 10, they played hide-and-seek around the trees. The older two would gang up on the younger one, and some time during the day one of them would end up in tears. But going and getting the tree for the house is something they have always remembered, and now they do it with their families. Paul and I are so used to real trees that we still keep coming even though the kids aren't with us."

The Millers acknowledge that families have made their tree farm a part of a tradition. "We have some families that come to harvest their own tree that are third generation. Their families have been coming here for years to get their Christmas trees. It’s a tradition for them, and we are happy to be a part of their tradition," Beth Miller said.

The Millers also have some traditions of their own at the tree farm around Thanksgiving Day. They add to the family aspect of Christmas tree farming when they have over their family for the traditional meal, but after dinner their Thanksgiving Day differs from most Iowa families.

"We start cutting the trees on Thanksgiving Day. All of our family comes over for dinner, then after dinner we get out all of the trucks and saws. Then we all work together to harvest the trees. It makes our Thanksgiving Day special, and it is a tradition every year. It's just one of those family traditions we have every year," Beth said.