Friday, December 24, 2021
CapitalPress.com 9
Tree: Nordmann, Turkish firs have gained foothold in Oregon
Continued from Page 1
Brown was captivated by
the “outstanding foliage” of
Nordmann and Turkish firs,
as well as their resilience.
Over time, the species have
proven themselves among
farmers, he said. “They’re a
very grower-friendly tree.”
As for the newcomer, the
Trojan fir, the jury is still out
regarding its promise as a
commercially viable species,
Brown said. “A lot of time,
there’s a lot of hyperbole
with something new. Only
time will tell.”
Breeding and risk assess-
ment are long-term pro-
cesses in the Christmas tree
industry, as it takes most of a
decade for a tree to become
harvestable or to produce
cones.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Tyler Heater of Silver Mountain Christmas Trees in Sub-
limity, Ore., cuts down a 30-foot Nordmann fir that
was donated to Oregon State University. The tree was
meant to memorialize OSU’s longtime cooperation with
the Christmas tree industry.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Breeding better trees
The Westwinds Farm near
Dallas, Ore., was founded by
Ken Brown and is now oper-
ated by his son, Bryan. Its
seed orchard is now largely
focused on improving Nord-
mann and Turkish firs.
“What we’re trying to
do is choose the best genet-
ics and cross them,” Bryan
Brown said. “A lot of the
time it’s just throwing things
against the wall, but some-
times that’s how it happens
in the real world.”
The farmers are confident
betting on the future of these
species due to their combina-
tion of aesthetic beauty and
agronomic hardiness.
Noble firs are also cham-
pioned for their visual appeal
but many farmers can’t grow
them due to their susceptibil-
ity to root rot and need for a
1,000-foot-plus elevation.
“I think the Nordmann
and the Turkish are going
to be a growing part of the
marketplace over time,”
Bryan Brown said, noting
that they’re also desirable for
insect resistance. “We’ve not
needed to spray since we’ve
had the Turkish and the
Nordmann.”
Within the America’s
172,000-acre Christmas tree
industry, which generates
more than $350 million in
annual sales, the Black Sea
species are still relatively
minor players.
Nordmann firs are grown
on about 7,000 acres and
generate $15 million in sales,
while production of Turkish
and Trojan firs isn’t specified
in the USDA’s 2019 Census
of Horticultural Specialties.
However, Nordmann and
Turkish firs have gained a
solid foothold in Oregon, the
biggest Christmas tree-grow-
ing state in the nation.
More than 250,000 trees
of the two species worth $9
million were sold by Oregon
farmers last year.
The two species, which
Kathy LeCompte, owner of Brooks Tree Farm in Salem, Ore.
are grouped together in a
2020 USDA report on Ore-
gon’s industry, are in third
place behind Noble firs and
Douglas firs.
They are a distant third,
though.
About 1.7 million Noble
fir trees worth $65 million
were sold last year, while
Douglas firs generated sales
of 1.4 million trees and $29
million.
Nordmann and Turkish
firs still have a lot of catch-
ing up to do, but growers
say they’ve got momentum
behind them while Noble and
Douglas firs face headwinds.
Changing the mix
Noble Mountain Tree
Farm, a major grower near
Salem, Ore., historically
devoted about 6% of its pro-
duction to Nordmann and
Turkish firs, compared to
50% for Noble firs and 40%
for Douglas firs.
Now, the share of Nord-
mann and Turkish firs has
risen to about 30% while
Douglas firs have slid to 20%
and Noble firs have remained
stable, said Bob Schaefer, the
company’s general manager.
A major factor in the
change is the “keepabil-
ity” of Nordmann and Turk-
ish firs, which are easier for
people to maintain after har-
vest, he said. That’s particu-
larly crucial for trees that are
exported to warm climates.
“They hold their needles
like iron. It’s a very consum-
er-desirable tree,” Schae-
fer said. “You can abuse it
as a consumer and not have
to worry about it losing all
its needles. Most consumers
don’t do a very good job of
caring for the tree once it’s in
the house.”
Demand for Nordmann
and Turkish firs is rising year
over year among buyers,
whose demand for Doug-
las firs is eroding, Schae-
fer said. Meanwhile, Christ-
mas tree acreage is feeling
the squeeze from expand-
ing hazelnut production in
Oregon.
“The popularity of Doug-
las fir is continuing to dimin-
ish, so what are we going to
replace it with?” he said.
That’s not to say the
native tree should be counted
out yet.
Compared to Douglas firs,
the Black Sea species don’t
grow as quickly — which
means farmers must wait
longer for a return on their
investment. The three newer
cultivars also don’t emit the
coniferous scent that many
consumers associate with the
holidays.
“It’s kind of a deal breaker
for people who want that tra-
ditional Christmas smell,”
said Kristi Scholz-O’Leary
of the Snowshoe Evergreen
farm in Orting, Wash.
Another potential hin-
drance is the tendency of
Nordmann and Turkish firs
to break bud early, making
the new shoots vulnerable
to frost, said Dan Kintigh of
Kintigh’s Mountain Home
Ranch near Springfield, Ore.
“That’s a disaster out here
because the new growth will
freeze and make a mess out
of the tree,” Kintigh said,
adding that he’s mitigated the
problem by breeding Turkish
firs to break bud later.
Since some consumers
seem “stuck” on Noble firs,
the staple species isn’t going
anywhere soon, he said.
“If you’ve got really good
Noble ground, you’re prob-
ably going to keep growing
Noble.”
Even so, production of
Nordmann and Turkish firs
will likely overtake Noble
firs next year at the Brooks
Tree Farm, a conifer nurs-
ery near Salem, said owner
Kathy LeCompte.
A major reason for the
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
A tray of Trojan fir seed-
lings. The species is the
latest addition to several
types of Black Sea trees
which have gained popu-
larity among growers and
consumers.
Cal Landgren, Oregon State University Extension Christ-
mas tree specialist, examines a tree at the university’s seed
orchard in Aurora, Ore. The university established the or-
chard to make improved seed available to farmers.
shift is that Noble firs need a
higher elevation, which isn’t
an option for many farmers,
she said. The tree species
from around the Black Sea
are more tolerant of heat and
soil moisture.
“We needed something
that grew in a wider range,”
LeCompte said.
The nursery has also
begun experimenting with
Trojan firs. While LeCompte
said she has “high hopes” for
the species, it’s not certain to
gain the same level of accept-
able as the other Black Sea
cultivars.
“Do growers really want a
third species that’s very sim-
ilar?” she asked. “Does it
have some features the oth-
ers don’t?”
There was once a great
deal of enthusiasm for a tree
variety known as Canaan,
which was a cross between
Fraser and Balsam firs,
LeCompte said. However,
the two species crossed in
such a narrow geographic
range that seed production
was insufficient for commer-
cial production.
“There have been other
trees that were new and inter-
esting that never panned
out,” she said.
Trojan tests
Researchers from OSU
and other universities col-
lected Trojan fir seeds in
Turkey a decade ago and
have since been testing their
progeny. High-quality spec-
imens were grafted onto
rootstock at OSU’s seed
orchard in Aurora, Ore.,
where they will be used to
produce seed once they’ve
matured enough.
Landgren, OSU Exten-
sion’s Christmas tree spe-
cialist, said he was quickly
impressed with the species.
“It turned out it was one
of the fastest-growing exotic
trees we’ve tested,” Land-
gren said. “We haven’t seen
any downside — except
deer like to eat them.”
His appreciation for Tro-
jan firs deepened after the
“heat dome” that brought
temperatures of 116 degrees
Fahrenheit to Oregon’s Wil-
lamette Valley in June.
“These trees have hardly
seen any damage from the
heat dome,” Landgren said,
adding that some Noble firs
at the seed orchard were
visibly harmed.
Growers view the Black
Sea species as a niche, but
that may not always be the
case, he said. “If we keep
having heat domes, that
may be different.”
Judy Kowalski, an OSU
bioscience
researcher,
noted that Trojan firs are so
durable that one even sur-
vived being backed over
by an excavator at the seed
orchard.
“It pretty much crushed it
and it’s doing OK,” she said.
“They’re tough.”
Snowshoe Evergreen is
growing 3,500 Trojan firs
as part of an experiment but
hasn’t yet seen the trees dis-
tinguish themselves from
the other Black Sea culti-
vars, said Ken Scholz, the
company’s founder.
“It’s hard for us to know
the difference between the
three species,” he said.
“They’re so closely related,
it’s difficult for even a
trained eye to tell.”
The experiment is none-
theless worthwhile, since
finding trees that are broadly
adaptable is a worthwhile
goal for the industry, said
Kristi Scholz-O’Leary, his
daughter.
“It just means more
Christmas trees for more
people,” she said.
Reindeer: ‘I wish people understood more about the species’
Continued from Page 1
to Northern Fennoscandia
— Northern Finland, Swe-
den, Norway and Northwest
Russia — circa 800 A.D.
For many cultures, reindeer
have served as an import-
ant source of meat, hide and
“draught” work, meaning
pulling carts or sleighs.
Today, the semi-nomadic
Dukha people of north-
ern Mongolia still rely on
domesticated reindeer for
milk, leather, transportation
and, occasionally, meat.
So, how did a herd of
reindeer end up in Oregon?
In the 1990s, Murdoch
and her late husband read an
article on reindeer. Delighted
by the species, they started a
farm in 1999.
The couple began by res-
cuing two reindeer and later,
through breeders, added
others.
Raising reindeer was
a learning curve. Mur-
doch worked with Purina to
develop a special feed and
Oregon State University vet-
erinarians to understand the
species’ health needs.
“I wish people under-
stood more about the spe-
cies,” said Murdoch.
Both male and female
reindeer have velvety ant-
lers, which they shed and
regrow annually.
Each reindeer has its own
personality. Dancer, one
of Murdoch’s reindeer, has
even learned to play “soc-
cer.” Murdoch kicks the
ball; Dancer returns it with
her antlers.
Murdoch has turned the
operation into a business.
Throughout most of the
year, the reindeer wander the
barn or hillsides. But during
Christmastime, they’re busy
travelers. Murdoch takes the
reindeer to Christmas fes-
tivals, educational events
and retail stories, includ-
ing Coastal Farm & Ranch
Supply.
According to Dennehy
of ODFW, Murdoch’s rein-
deer must be transported
under strict requirements,
ensuring “safe and humane
treatment.”
Nevertheless, the farm
has faced opposition from
PETA, an animal rights
group. Due to PETA’s recent
efforts to shut down the
farm, Murdoch no longer
publishes her address.
Murdoch plans to con-
tinue growing her herd.
Since Oregon no longer
allows importation of live
cervids, Murdoch is work-
ing with a veterinarian to
artificially inseminate her
females.
“I hope we get another
generation,” she said.
Cindy Murdoch, center, at a Christmas display with the
reindeer at the Woodburn, Ore., Coastal Farm & Ranch.
Chestnuts: Trees should remain productive for another 100 or more years
Continued from Page 1
Then chestnut blight, a
lethal fungus infection from
Asia, hit around 1900, wip-
ing out nearly the entire
population. Although the
Northwest has been blight-
free since the 1930s, the
industry collapsed.
The chestnut industry
continued strong in Europe
and Asia.
In the 1990s, with USDA
grant funding, Oregon State
University worked to re-in-
vigorate America’s industry
— perfect timing for Porter,
who benefited from OSU’s
research.
But Porter didn’t realize
what a challenge growing
chestnuts would be.
“I guess I was very naive
about it,” she said.
According to OSU,
chestnut trees don’t begin
to bear nuts until four or
five years old, and Porter
said the trees didn’t reach
peak production until year
12. The trees should remain
productive for another 100
or more years.
The trees don’t drop their
chestnuts all at once and
the chestnuts must be gath-
ered shortly after dropping,
meaning harvest can last
from September through
mid-November.
“The trees are very indi-
vidualistic,” said Porter,
walking among her 173
trees. “I sort of know them
all now, but they still sur-
prise me sometimes.”
The chestnuts are mul-
tilayered: milky kernels
inside brown hulls buried in
spiny burrs.
Because kernels have a
moisture content upward of
49%, according to the Uni-
versity of Michigan, they
must be stored in a cooler.
Annually, Porter sells
3 to 5 tons of large chest-
nuts, including to the Cor-
vallis Farmers Market and
retail stores. She sells at
$3.50 per pound whole-
sale and $6.50 per pound
direct-to-consumer.
The smaller chestnuts
she feeds to her livestock.
She sells her pigs as “chest-
nut-finished pork,” a finish-
ing process that sweetens
the meat.
Chestnuts, Porter said,
mildly sweet and nutty,
can be eaten many ways:
with pot roast, buttered
and baked with rosemary,
ground into flour, coated in
brandy and powdered sugar,
dipped in rum and choco-
late or plain-roasted.
“There’s
something
about them that’s very
endearing,” said Porter.
Though the work has
been hard, Porter said she’s
glad she did it.
“If nothing more, it’s a
conversational piece: ‘You
do what?’”
Porter’s niece and
nephew are interested
in carrying the chestnut
business forward, so Por-
ter has a succession plan
to pass on the farm, keep-
ing Oregon’s industry
alive.