This year’s Christmas Grinch is the state’s extreme drought. Christmas Town, a tree farm in Tangipahoa Parish, announced it will not open for business this year. Owner Lisa Miller says drought and extreme temperatures have destroyed harvest for the 2023 season.
“Just the heat itself possibly killed the trees. Not so much the drought. And just the extent of heat possibly got them as well.”
Tangipahoa Parish is classified as being under exceptional drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The farm, which offers customers the chance to cut down their own trees, has been in business for 14 years. Miller says a large portion of her harvest could not handle this year’s dry heat.
“I haven’t got out there and counted them yet. I don’t want to. Cause every day I go out there more and more so I don’t know if it’s finished yet.”
It takes seven to nine years to grow a 6-foot to 8-foot marketable size Christmas tree. She hopes to preserve the tradition next Christmas.
“Everybody keeps asking, will they recover? No, it’s a dead tree. It’s not coming back. We’re not going to count our losses. We’re just going to file with the Lord and understand he’s got a plan for us and we’ll recover next year.”
The Southern Christmas Tree Association says the Christmas Town farm is the only one they know of that will not be open this season. Other farms have lost trees but not to the extent of Christmas Town.
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