8
T he C olumbia P ress
December 21, 2018
Oregon is king
when it comes to
Christmas trees
B y B Rian R ooney
Oregon Employment Dept.
Oregon is the No. 1 Christ-
mas tree producing state in
the nation, according to data
from the Pacific Northwest
Christmas Tree Association.
Roughly $90 million in
wholesale sales and 5.2 mil-
lion trees were harvested in
2016. Most of the trees were
noble fir at 54 percent and
Douglas fir at 32 percent. This
year, the U.S. Capitol Christ-
mas tree, an 82-foot noble,
came from Oregon’s Willa-
mette National Forest.
About 92 percent of North-
west Christmas trees were
exported with 45 percent
headed to California and 16
percent headed to Mexico.
The balance were sent to oth-
er U.S. regions.
A lot goes into getting Ore-
gon Christmas trees to market
as fresh and green as possible.
It starts with wholesale sales,
then a tight harvest window,
and then transportation to
market. However, count-
ing employment in Oregon’s
Christmas tree industry is
difficult since production and
selling are included in sever-
al broad industries with other
commodities.
Christmas tree growing
likely creates the most jobs
in the industry, especially
during the harvest, which oc-
curs just before the holidays.
Since Christmas tree growers
are required to have a license
from the Oregon Department
of Agriculture, it provides a
rough idea of the magnitude
of the industry. There are
382 licensed Christmas tree
growers in Oregon cultivating
42,000 acres.
In 2017, employment grew
into spring and summer and
spiked with the harvest in
November at roughly 1,300
workers. Annual average em-
ployment was 469 and annual
average pay was $32,969.