The History of the Mt. Anthony Tree Farm

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  Interview with Jim Horst         The Mt. Anthony Tree Farm

        For more than 30 years, Jim Horst has been in the Christmas tree business.  It was no surprise when Jim became a tree farmer, he has been involved with farming his whole life. 

    He grew up on the Horst Dairy farm which was owned and operated by his father and uncles.  The dairy farm started out as mixed agriculture with various animals but eventually became a dairy farm. Jim started planting trees in the early 1970's as a hobby but this hobby soon turned into a full time business in the mid 80's.

   The Mt. Anthony Christmas Tree Farm began as both a wholesale and retail tree farm.  This means that trees were sold to individuals as well as in bulk.  Currently, the Mt. Anthony Tree Farm is strictly a wholesale tree farm. 

This is the Horst residence at 569 Pleasant Valley Road.                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                 This is the office where Jim does his work.

 Christmas Tree Farming

        It takes a lot of patience to grow Christmas trees.  On the average, trees take ten years to grow the desired height of six to eight feet tall.  While the trees are growing, it is important to keep an eye on them because of the different diseases and insects that could hurt the tree.  To help prevent the infestations, insecticides and fungicides are sprayed over the tree lots.  

        When the Christmas tree reaches about half the height it should be, the process of sheering begins.  This process shapes the tree into the desired shape.  When the trees are ready for harvest, colored ribbons are placed on the trees so it is easy to differentiate between the different types of trees. 

Christmas Tree Facts

Real Christmas trees are an all-American product, grown in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Most artificial trees are manufactured in Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource. Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and metals.

The top selling Christmas trees are: balsam fir, Douglas-fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, and white pine.

For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.

There are about 1 million acres in production for growing Christmas trees. Each acre provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.

There are about 15,000 Christmas tree growers in the U.S., and over 100,000 people employed full or part time in the industry.

There are approximately 5,000 choose and cut farms in the U.S.

It can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree of average retail sale height (6 feet), but the average growing time in 7 years.
The top Christmas tree producing states are Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, California, and North Carolina...and Virginia is gaining fast!