171250_VCTGA_WinterNL_2019_PROOF

VCTGA News Journal ‒ Winter 2019 VCTGA News Journal – Winter 2019 “The rain really with the saturated ground made working very difficult, scheduling work very difficult for a lot of farmers just trying to get into the fields,” John Carroll, the Vice Presi- dent of the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association, said. Carroll’s family runs Claybrooke Farm in Louisa County. ecutive Mansion. An eight foot Con- color Fir will be placed in the Ladies Parlor of the Executive Mansion. RICHMOND, Va. -- Two trees in a white pick-up truck came all the way from Page County to Richmond. It was a special delivery for Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam- ela Northam before Santa Claus comes to the Capitol. From his green tie to his day to day job, Dave Thomas is a Christmas tree guy. “I went to school for forestry and there was a fellow who, near Harri- sonburg, had a Christmas tree farm… At the time, he was getting up there in age and he said he would probably be retiring before long,” Thomas said. “If you do, let me know I might be in- terested.” Thirty years later, Thomas is still out on the land taking care of 10,000 trees. From saplings to 8-footers. “There’s a lot of work that goes into taking care of Christmas trees,” he said. Thomas and his family are gearing up for their busiest weekend of the year, the first one in December. “It depends on the weather. Today’s not a great day to pick a tree and cut it down,” Thomas said. The rain poured as Thomas helped pick up the tree for the Northam’s. It’s been a wet season all around. There’s been about 5 feet of rain so far this year in Richmond, according to the National Weather Service. Some ar- eas saw higher amounts.

roping, centerpieces and tree stands. Some offer special touches for a memorable family experience such as hot beverages, holiday treats, hayrides and Christmas shops. Con- sumers should call ahead to confirm availability and hours of operation. VDACS encourages everyone who buys a real, Virginia Grown Christ- mas tree to help spread the word by posting images of their decorated tree on social media using the hashtags #VaGrownChristmas and #Virgini- aGrown . Virginia has more than 500 Christmas tree farms located throughout the state. The Virginia Christmas tree in- dustry ranks seventh in the U.S. by to- tal trees harvested, eighth in the U.S. by total acres in production and ninth in the U.S. by number of operations with Christmas tree sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The size of Christmas tree farms in Virginia range from less than one acre to as large as several hundred or even 1,000 acres. They are a valuable and aesthetically pleasing addition to the land and can be planted on barren slopes and difficult spots where other crops will not grow. Virginia’s rich soil and moderate climate are ideal for growing a wide variety of Christmas evergreen trees including white pine, Scotch pine, Norway spruce, blue spruce, Douglas fir and Fraser fir. For every Christmas tree harvested, an- other two to three seedlings are planted in its place. Freshness is an important feature of every Virginia Grown tree. Fresh-cut trees retain their needles and stay fra- grant longer than trees brought in from out of state, which may be cut as much as a month or more in advance. To encourage consumers to choose a Virginia Grown tree, Ralph Northam today proclaimed December as “Vir- ginia Christmas Tree Month” in the

Commonwealth of Virginia. The an- nouncement was made during the Vir- ginia Christmas Tree Growers presen- tation of a Christmas tree and wreath to Governor Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam for Virginia’s Exec- utive Mansion. Christmas tree grow- ers Dave and Barbara Thomas of Val- ley Star Farm in Page County pre- sented this year’s official Christmas tree and Kelly Raymond of Midlo- thian presented this year’s official wreath. Valley Star Farm and Row- land are this year’s Grand Champion award winners of the Virginia Christ- mas Tree Growers Association’s An- nual Christmas Tree and Wreath Con- test. They were joined for the presen- tation to the Governor and First Lady by Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring, VDACS Commissioner Jewel Bronaugh, fam- ily, friends and additional Virginia Christmas tree growers. Contact: Michael Wallace, 804.786.1904 Tree/Wreath Presentation at the Executive Mansion

Governor and First Lady Northam welcomed the Executive Mansion Christmas trees from Valley Star Farm and wreaths from Kelly Ray- mond on November 26, 2018 This year the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association has selected Valley Star Farm to present the Exec- utive Mansion with holiday trees. A ten to twelve foot Fraser Fir will be displayed in the center hall of the Ex-

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