Sen. Ron Wyden addresses need to protect Oregon's Christmas tree industry

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wants to introduce a bill to fund agricultural research to protect Christmas trees for years to come. 

Various species of Christmas tree suffered this year through abnormally dry seasons and some record hot days across the state. Seedlings and smaller trees were among the most susceptible to damage. 

Growers are cultivating Christmas trees on about 300,000 acres nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oregon and North Carolina produce the most trees, with Clackamas, Marion and Polk counties producing the most trees in Oregon.

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Wyden visited Silver Bells Tree Farm just outside Silverton on the edge of Silver Creek Canyon Sunday to get a sense of the issues plaguing the industry. 

Farm owner Casey Grogan said while mature trees on the farm suffered minimal damage from this year's "heat dome," the wholesale farm is likely to feel negative impacts in the years to come. 

The summer of 2021 was the hottest on record both in Salem and statewide, exacerbating the state's existing drought conditions. The average temperature in Salem for June, July and August was a record-breaking 71.7 degrees, the warmest since records began in 1892, according to the National Weather Service in Portland. 

Grogan estimated he lost about 75% of the new plantings and seedlings due to the heat. On average, the farm plants about 80,000 seedlings per year.

Grogan and his wife purchased the farm in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic but had been managing it for the past decade. A little over 400 acres of Silver Bells is dedicated to growing Christmas trees; the remaining few hundred acres are timberlands. 

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The family sells blue noble and Nordmann firs. Their customers are mostly independent retailers, garden centers and small chains across the country, though the majority of their trees go to California. 

It takes about eight to 10 years for the noble firs to mature. 

The heat's impact on this year's harvest was less severe because mature trees are more resilient, Grogan said. Some trees were browning and scorching, but the impact was elevation-dependent. The fields at 500 feet were hit harder by heat than those at 1,200 feet, for example. 

The weather has impacted other areas of Oregon's $1.2 billion dollar agriculture industry as well, Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said.

The historic wildfires, ice storm, heatwave and drought over the past two years have resulted in a $250 million loss for Oregon's agriculture industry, Stone said. 

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Grogan said the state needs funding for Christmas tree industry research — specifically seedling survivability amid climate change and severe drought conditions — ahead of natural disasters. The state currently has one researcher for Christmas trees. 

Researchers have found coarse woodchips piled around seedlings' bases and shade cloths to be an effective strategy at mitigating heat and water loss. But Grogan and Stone agree more research needs to be done on how to preserve young trees. 

Wyden said he plans to draft a bill that funds tools to help Christmas tree farmers in times of disaster and keep Oregon a top producer and exporter of Christmas trees. He said they are still working to determine the best policies to assist in that. 

"People don't understand what is happening with respect to heat and drought," Wyden said. Policies aimed at natural resources "would be an opportunity to send a really big message about the ramifications and impact of what we're going through." 

Register-Guard reporter Adam Duvernay contributed to this story.