11/8/06 Christmas Trees Heading to Market

Christmas Trees heading to market. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Okay&I know we haven't even carved the turkey yet but if you haven't noticed, the holiday season is rapidly approaching. One of the first signs of the holiday season is here. The harvest and shipping of Oregon Christmas trees is in full bloom this week: MC ANINCH: Over the next four or five or six weeks, the Christmas tree growers will be frantically harvesting their trees and getting those cut and ready to ship to market. Right now, our inspectors are just starting to inspect shipments that are going primarily to foreign countries now. Gary McAninch (MACK-uh-ninch) supervises the Oregon Department of Agriculture`s Nursery and Christmas Tree Program. It will be hectic for ODA inspectors as they check trees bound for shipment and issue phytosanitary certificates that show the trees are clean: MCANINCH: Oregon Christmas tree growers have a reputation for shipping high quality, pest and disease-free trees, and this is part of the equation that gives it that reputation. As the nation`s leading producer of Christmas trees, Oregon growers ship to several international markets as well as other states. Mexico continues to be the top export destination, accounting for 13 percent of Oregon`s harvested Christmas trees last year. Already, several trees have been shipped this fall primarily to Asian markets. McAninch says growers and inspectors are busy for the next several weeks inspecting and certifying trees bound for the export market: MCANINCH: Mexico shipments are starting this week. We`ll send about ten percent or so of the trees we harvest in this state to Mexico this year. Trees are going to a lot of other countries around the Pacific Rim. McAninch says not only does Oregon grow more Christmas trees than any other state, it has a reputation for a high quality product: MCANINCH: We are fortunate we live in a climate, in an area that doesn`t have a lot of diseases and pests that other parts of the country do have. So we`re able to inspect and certify trees that are very clean. Look for Christmas tree location to start popping up around your town in the next couple of weeks. Since Thanksgiving is typically the official start of the holiday season, many families spend Thanksgiving night putting up the Christmas Tree. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.