National Marketing Campaign Needed Desperately!

For many generations, the Christmas tree has been associated with a long tradition of joy and Christmas cheer, of holiday spirit and religious celebration.  However we live in a fast moving society which wants everything instantaneously,  which chooses fast food over home - cooked family meals and which has begun, in some circles, to view Christmas trees as too much trouble and too messy.   A growing number of consumers are skipping the tradition of having a tree altogether or opting for a fake tree.   

Every time Christmas tree growers have come together to show the public the wonder, beauty and joy of having a real Christmas tree in their home, the sales have gone up dramatically.  When sales go up, demand goes up and prices go up and the grower eventually gets back much more than what was invested in doing a national campaign.

There is a feeling that growers are approaching a tipping point and must make their case and win the hearts of future consumers if their industry is going to grow in the future.  These growers have come together in a powerful way and are very close to agreeing to a check-off program where growers will be assessed for each tree grown in order to win the battle for the hearts of consumers.  The check-off program has been extremely successful in growing the market of every commodity group that has used it. 

Cool Springs Nursery is very much for the program; we feel that there is strength in numbers and that we will have a much brighter future with a national program. Cool Springs Nursery also hopes that any growers who are currently not for the program will take a look at the bigger picture.  We need a National Marketing Campaign that will tell our story to the public.  We have a great product that is, to a large degree, a living sculpture and a powerful symbol of love and joy.  We cannot let this die.   

 

30 March 2009:

It’s that time of the year!  We have begun the fertilization process on our trees this week due to the good weather and optimal conditions.  This week we were spreading Nitrogen in order to continue bringing you the greenest, healthiest trees possible.  

Here is a short clip of our field manager, Phil, spreading Nitrogen with our state-of-the-art fertilization machinery.

“Perfect Storm Hits Fertilizer Market, Fertilizer prices down by 50%”

This is the big news of March 2009.   Since last September, wholesale prices of fertilizers have declined dramatically.  In September, fertecon (www.fertecon.com) reported that wholesale prices of anhydrous ammonia at the Gulf of Mexico were over $800 per ton.  In early January, anhydrous ammonia prices were below $200 per ton.  Similarly, diammonium phosphate (DAP) at the Gulf was over $1,000 per ton in September and about $350 per ton in early January.

What happened?  How did wholesale prices fall to a price that was only 25% to 30% of what they were a year earlier?  What happened, of course, was an economic crisis that has pushed down commodity prices, including fertilizer and has tightened credit markets to the point that South America could not purchase fertilizer in many cases.  Also because of the high prices, use of certain fertilizers was down 50% last year, building up inventories in the fertilizer pipeline which also helped to push down prices.  So currently we have prices which are lower, much, much lower than a just one year ago.

But what about the future?  Economic and credit problems will hold back the price somewhat but there are two factors that could push up fertilizer prices in the future.  First, fertilizer costs for planting corn and soybeans will be much lower and this may stimulate farmers to plant much more and as a result push up a demand for fertilizer.  Second, Russia and the Ukraine are making moves to cut back the supply of natural gas to Europe.  If this happens, there is a good chance that natural gas prices and thus nitrogen prices will go up. 

In summary, things are bad economically now and this has driven down the fertilizer prices to where they were two years ago. But there is definite upside risk that the storm will fade, and that additionally, new factors such as government action in the carbon area, will result in driving prices higher. 

How does this effect growing North Carolina Fraser Fir Christmas trees?  It is a good time to try to meet your phosphorus needs, don’t forget to incorporate the fertilizer.  Unfortunately potash is still at an all time high.  Don’t give up on trying to meet your nitrogen needs with clover and other nitrogen - fixing ground cover.  Happy Spring planting. 

 

 

How to make an evergreen Christmas Wreath

 

 

 

 

 

To make a Christmas wreath you will need a few supplies and some imagination.

 GATHER SUPPLIES:

·          a wreath ring (store bought or home-made)

·          wire to tie the greenery on (most like florist wire)

·          clippers for cutting greenery

·          clippers for cutting wire

·           A  large amount of greenery