FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2019
CONTACT:
Laurel Cavalluzzo, Marketing Advisor
laurel@madisonmc.com, 703-629-5693
One Month Until Christmas: TDA Podcast Features Interview with Wisconsin Christmas Tree Farmer Greg Hann
Madison, WI – This coming weekend will be the busiest of the season for Wisconsinites who choose to cut and buy a real tree this Christmas, according to Greg Hann, owner of Hann’s Christmas Farm in Oregon, Wisconsin and president of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association. Hann is the featured guest on the latest episode of TDA Wisconsin’s On the Go podcast.
“For choose and cut, a lot of young families and young people at heart want to come earlier in the season for the experience, meaning to choose and cut their trees. Mostly the busy weekends are the weekend after Thanksgiving and then the next weekend,” said Hann. “If you go to a lot, many of those lots are busier the following weekend too.”
This year’s buying season will be compressed, said Hann.
“This year is a short season with Thanksgiving and Christmas so close together, so we really only have four busy weekends this year,” Hann said.
The Christmas tree industry is a vital part of Wisconsin’s economy, with nearly 1,000 farms, growing trees on more than 23,000 acres and selling trees here and across the United States.
“Wisconsin is the fifth-largest state in exporting and growing Christmas trees,” said Hann. “We’re just kind of a nice cornerstone, we’re not the largest, but we’re definitely not the smallest.”
Hann provides a handy tip for those who purchase real Christmas trees for their homes and offices, including those who cut down their tree.
“Even if you do our choose and cut where you’ve gone and cut it, as soon as you get it home, do another fresh cut,” said Hann. “Those cells that are on the outside of the tree will sap up very easily and very quickly. They’ll seal up just like when you clip a little branch off your tree, you’ll see the sap start running to it instantly. So, when you get a tree, either from a lot or choose and cuts, the first thing you should do when you get it home, is actually cut another two inches off and then get it right into water.”
Of course, keeping your real tree watered adequately is the key to prolonging the safe interior display of your Christmas tree.
“Some of these trees, if they’re nice and fresh, will drink up to a gallon a day,” Hann said.
In this episode, Hann also talks about the environmental benefits of a real tree and what he and others in the industry are doing to enhance the experience for those who come to purchase real trees on their properties.
Hosted by TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson, On the Go explores issues surrounding transportation infrastructure and investment in Wisconsin and across the nation. The podcast is available on all popular podcasting platforms and via this link: https://tdawisconsin.org/on-the-go-podcast/.
About Wisconsin’s Christmas Tree Industry
According to Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom:
• Annual Wisconsin Christmas tree sales: $16.2 million
• Christmas trees harvested in Wisconsin annually: 1.8 million
• Number of wreaths & garland made each year in Wisconsin: more than 600,000
• Acres of Christmas trees in Wisconsin: 23,651
• Christmas tree farms in Wisconsin: 868
• Wisconsin is ranked 5th in the number of trees harvested across the nation following behind Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
About TDA
From the buses in Racine to the Port of Green Bay to the rail lines in Superior to the Waukesha County Airport to the roads we use every day, Wisconsin’s transportation network is the key to connecting goods to market and people to jobs.
Founded in 1971, the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin promotes the vitality and safety of the state’s transportation system, including public transit systems, public-use airports, railroads, commercial ports, and roads. TDA’s members include businesses, labor unions, citizen groups, units of government and individuals.
Contact us at: www.tdawisconsin.org and Twitter handle @TDAWisconsin