Last December, we ran a story about Seekonk Tree Farm in Alford (10 minutes from the center of Great Barrington), just as the lots were filling with fresh trees and eager customers. (Scroll down for the original article.)
This year, while there’s still time to get your holiday icon, we checked in to see how the tree farm and Christmas tree demand were faring this year. While you might worry the extended warm, dry fall or an uncertain economic climate could have caused a few ruffled needles, fear not. Seekonk is alive and thriving!
In fact, sales are strong this year—“up robustly overall so far,” according to Pete Sweet, Jr. “Our preseason sales, with tagging beginning in October and opening up the weekend before Thanksgiving, were almost double,” he notes. “People seem to be starting earlier every year,” he adds, noting the shorter season with Thanksgiving being five days later this year. “It’s hard to forecast how the season will play out, but it’s trending higher, with a lot of new customers,” he says.
Despite a lot of talk about the fall drought and its effects, he states “The mature trees are healthy and weathered the season just fine. Dry weather affects us more with planting new trees and helping them survive without irrigation,” he acknowledges, “but season plantings are doing great.” They did see a little loss of late-season plantings, but that is nothing new for someone who’s been in the tree business so long. “It’s one of the factors we deal with yearly with growing trees,” he points out. “We always plan on some loss and plant extra trees to compensate for that.”
[Editor’s note: The following Spotlight by Robbi Hartt was originally published on December 4, 2023. We are reprising it because ’tis the season to be thinking again about Christmas trees.]
“The Sweet Family has been calling Great Barrington home since the 1880s. Peter Sweet Sr. started his Christmas Tree Farm as a hobby in 1978. Today, Peter and his two sons, Pete Jr. and Chris, work together with their families to maintain over 40,000 trees on 21 acres.”—Seekonk Tree Farm website
“This farm has been a part of my life for so long—I want and need to be here,” Peter Sweet Jr. (who goes by Pete) admits. But it wasn’t always so. “When my dad first said ‘Come help us plant trees’ back in my high school years, my reaction was, ‘No, I want to hit golf balls around the yard.’”
Of course, he caved in (as most teenagers do), helping out in high school—and coming home from college on weekends during the busy holiday season. After graduating from The State University of New York (SUNY) College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill with an associate’s degree in Landscape Development and earning a B.S. in Landscape Architecture Contracting from Mississippi State University, he started Sweetscapes Landscape Contracting. And, after running that business for 30 years, he turned his complete focus to the tree farm.
“Everybody thinks it’s seasonal work,” he points out, “but between prepping, fertilizing, mowing, spraying, shearing, maintaining equipment, and ordering seedlings for the following year, plus two months of set up and sales, any downtime you might think you have gets filled.”
The western Berkshires tree farm is ideally located just 2.5 hours north of New York City and 2.5 hours west of Boston. With three lots on 21 acres (including some leased land), it hosts about 40,000 trees.
Lot 1, run by Pete and his wife Kelly, includes a large selection of pre-cut trees (available at all three lots) and “tagged trees”—larger trees that can be selected during October and November and then picked up (ready to go) a month or two later. It is also home to the Christmas Tree Farm Stand and Shop, built in 2020 and expanded over the last few years to include everything from wreaths, kissing balls, roping, and centerpieces to lights and decorations, puzzles and gifts, calendars and wrapping paper. “We also have an assortment of antique Christmas items that my grandfather collected over the years, like vintage skis, sleighs, and snowshoes,” Pete’s daughter Danielle adds.
Lot 2 is where you’ll find “cut your own” trees, as well as sharpened saws and carts to use and return. Chris Sweet, his wife Jill, and children Kayla, Colby, and Bethany oversee those operations.
Lot 3, the original piece of property Peter Alden Sweet Sr. purchased in 1978, is where he and wife Carol Joan Wright started the business in 1979. It has cut-your-own trees, precuts, and extras and is currently run by Danielle.
Establishing Berkshire roots
Peter Sweet Sr. grew up in Great Barrington and was friends with the Durlack boys, whose parents owned and ran the dairy farm that the current tree farm is on. “There were two old tree farms within a few miles of there that [Dad] also became familiar with,” Pete explains. “While they may have planted a small seed, he decided to become an industrial arts teacher at Searles Middle School—a position he held for over 25 years.” Danielle adds, “He also built custom furniture and the home he lives in.”
He started the business with seven acres (previously an apple orchard) that he bought in 1978, gradually adding more acres over the years. In addition to Fraser fir (with the silvery blue undertone) and Canaan fir (dark green, shed-free needles)—the two most popular varieties—they grow Concolor fir (longer needles and a citrus smell), white pine (the fluffy, round pine), and Meyer spruce (similar to Blue spruce, but less prone to disease).
As a child, Pete saw this incredible valley and had visions of expanding the tree farm, but much of the land had been purchased by sprawling residential estates—a practice that drives up the land values and tax rates. This trend has been highlighted in relation to the workforce housing crisis, but it has impacted farmers, too. In Massachusetts, farmers can take advantage of a tax break under Chapter 61A (Assessment and Taxation of Agricultural and Horticultural Land); the APR (Agricultural Preserve Restriction) can also be a big help. However, only a few local farms still exist.
While Pete would welcome the chance to add more acreage, he notes the price of land has risen too high, so leasing is the only feasible option. So he stopped growing hemlock, Norwegian spruce, and pine trees to sell to landscapers/homeowners for screening several years ago to devote all of the land to Christmas trees. “Now the focus is solely on preserving this business,” he says.
The Sweet family was able to build a beautiful gift shop/workshop in 2020 with the help of a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (an APR Improvement Grant designed to give business planning and technical assistance to commercial farms that have land already protected through MDAR’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program). Pete has applied for additional funding through the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) since then, including several grants intended to protect wildlife and butterflies/pollinators, as well as improve soil. These grants help producers who want to take their conservation efforts to the next level through “enhancement” activities.
The cost of sustaining business
Each Christmas season, between 35 and 40 million trees are sold in the United States alone, according to Blue Moon Acres (with farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania). An average tree farmer plants around 2,000 trees, of which only 750 to 1500 survive to harvest, they note.
Other factors play into the bottom line. “Due to inflation, the cost of everything in our supply chain has gone up,” Pete says. “We try to price our trees comparably to other growers and stay below the national average of $120 a tree.” Although trees are often more affordable in some rural areas, the number and value of second homes throughout the Berkshires negates that expectation.
“It takes 10 years before you see any return on your investment,” Pete points out. Cut-your-own trees run about $10 per foot, but taller trees, which require a longer growing period, higher maintenance costs, and more manpower to process, cost more. Most larger (10-foot-plus) trees run $18 to $20 per foot. “Wholesale market prices have increased along with shipping costs, which in turn have driven up the cost of the pre-cut trees that we supplement our own stock with to keep up with demand,” he explains.
An epic year with high sales—and consequences
What is the biggest challenge they’ve faced over the past decade? The answer is COVID, according to Kelly Sweet, who was asked by Farm and Ranch Living to keep a daily diary documenting that record season. “We have never seen it so busy!” she wrote in one entry. By December 12 (just three weeks into the season), they had sold the same volume they usually did in a full season, and 65 percent of their customers were first-time visitors to the farm.
Due to the recession of 2008 to 2009, when many farms reduced their plantings, tall trees were already in short supply. With the overwhelming number of new families sheltering in place in the Berkshires and fresh-cut trees selling for up to $2,500 in New York City, demand grew higher than ever. Overcutting to fill that need created a shortage for the following years. “We sourced trees from Vermont, New York, and Belchertown (Mass.) to fill the void,” Pete notes.
You may have read or heard some hype about a current shortage of Christmas trees. According to Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board (a government research and promotion program), Christmas trees are not in short supply overall, but news stories have focused on specific areas with fewer than usual to “put a scare out.”
Pete admits there aren’t a lot of tree farms close by (Ioka Valley Farms in Hancock, Bob’s Trees in Albany, and Angevine in Connecticut are the ones that come to mind). Still, he says the perceived shortage in our area is mainly tied to small farms or nursery-based sales that offer trees as an add-on. “Some are only open one or two weekends—they are not typically offering the ‘family experience’ that we try to offer,” he notes.
“This is what we do,” Danielle emphasizes—“we stay open to sell trees throughout the entire season. We know families that have been coming here for years. They cut their trees, take family photos, and want those traditions to continue.” Some specifically come on Christmas Eve.
The benefits of real vs. fake trees
People may perceive that buying a fresh-cut Christmas tree is bad for the environment. On the contrary, even a little research can disprove that idea. According to The Nature Conservancy, around 10 million artificial trees are purchased in the U.S. each season. Nearly 90 percent are shipped from China, increasing carbon emissions and resources, and most are not recyclable and end up in local landfills.
In addition, real trees help fight climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. Plus, before your Christmas tree is cut down, it provides an essential habitat for countless species. “To ensure ongoing sustainability, we replant thousands of trees each year, usually right next to the stumps of the ones we cut that year,” Pete notes.
State Department of Agricultural Resources commissioner John Lebeaux traveled to Seekonk Tree Farm two years ago to celebrate “Green Friday” by cutting a Christmas tree. Noting their eco-minded efforts, he reiterated the many other benefits tree growers provide—like “adding $3.5 million to the state’s economy each year with the sale of about 83,000 trees, providing a renewable source of energy when burned, producing biomass, and providing stable refuge for wildlife” (as reported by iBerkshares.com).
Increasing climate challenges
But climate change is causing new problems for tree growers. The Massachusetts Christmas Tree Growers Association specifically addressed the “Effects of Climate Change on Firs” at its September meeting. Two current challenges are steadily rising temperatures and erratic fluctuations in weather patterns. “When it’s 90 degrees in February, the buds pop, making trees susceptible to frost damage when the cold temps return. The Meyer spruce and Concolor fir in particular got hammered this year with a late frost since they break bud early,” Pete explains. “In general, when there’s more rain, there’s more disease or even drowning. Some crosses [or hybrids] may be more adaptable as we go forward,” he adds.
Ongoing education is more important than ever, which is why Seekonk Tree Farm belongs to state Christmas Tree Growers associations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. “We don’t use any chemicals on our trees; instead, we use a natural horticultural oil smothering technique like they use on fruit trees for pest control and a natural lanolin-based deer repellent to reduce deer browsing and rubbing,” he shares.
“Equally important, we work on air control by proper spacing and weed control by mulching. Root rot—a familiar enemy for many home gardeners when the soil stays too wet—can be devastating. Some fellow growers’ inventory got wiped out late summer because of this.”
Bringing in the next generation
Most businesses rely on outside help to expand, but Seekonk Tree Farm remains a “just family” operation. “We pull in as many family members and friends as we can get at Christmas,” Pete notes, including his daughter’s boyfriend and best friend and his nephew and nieces’ friends. Everyone appreciates the much-needed day off on Monday and reduced hours during the week (12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday) to ramp up for the long haul on Saturday and Sunday (9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). “We like being in one place, and people love coming here,” he acknowledges.
Danielle remembers being involved at a young age (12 or 14 years), helping her grandmother decorate and count trees (before they added a computer system). Like her father, she went to college to pursue other interests (studying architecture and design at UMASS Amherst) and started her own business (Danielle Sweet Interior Design, LLC). Although Danielle continues to run her own company full-time, she also works at the tree farm six hours a day during the peak season from November 1 to December 24. “I prepare for this season in advance so I can be available to help out with making wreaths, kissing balls, and mailbox huggies,” she says (this is the first year they are making all those items in-house). She also runs Lot 3 with her grandfather.
Chris and Jill’s three kids are becoming more involved as they grow older and will help carry on the family tradition. “They are at the stage I was at when I wanted to hit golf balls around the yard,” Pete says. “Let them enjoy that period in their lives as they decide their career path.”
Does Pete have any regrets about going into the tree farm business? “Only that we should have had more children,” he jokes.
Memory-making kept real
Long-lasting memories of the Christmas tree tradition have clearly survived the test of time. Highlighting his joy in “running into” many of the roughly 3,500 students he taught over the years, Peter Sweet Sr. (in an interview with New England Public Media) noted his gratitude for those who bring their families to the farm and tell him “thank you for all you do.” “Those are powerful words,” he admits.
If you’re new to the area and looking to start—or continue—a holiday tradition with your family, Seekonk Tree Farm (just 10 minutes from Great Barrington’s center) is worth a visit. The smell of fresh-cut fir, the sound of the mechanical shaker, and the feel of the soft needles between your fingers will rekindle a childhood memory or two and give your children some to carry into their future.
In addition, buying a real tree will help keep tree farms like Seekonk in business—and, in turn, keep local land covered with the healthy forest habitats our dwindling wildlife populations need to survive. After you’ve enjoyed your holiday tree, why not bring it to a nearby goat farm so these cute critters can enjoy it some more? They’ll devour the whole thing, needles and all.
