Fall 2014 - California Christmas Tree Association

the bulletin
CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS TREE ASSOCIATION
Fall 2014
No 228
IN THIS ISSUE:
Annual Tree Expo Contest Winners
Choose and Cut Farm Setup
Trees and Wreaths Made in America
Maui Wowie
Trees for Troop Program
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
2
the bulletin
CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS TREE ASSOCIATION
Fall 2014
No. 228
Published by:
CCTA • Hilmar, CA 95324
Fax/Phone: (209) 669-6668
http://www.cachristmas.com
The Bulletin is a membership publication of the California Christmas Tree
Association, a non-profit organization,
by and for its members. The Bulletin is
published four times a year in January,
April, July, and October. The deadline
for advertising material and other copy
is the 15th of the month preceding publication. Members and others are encouraged to submit articles, announcements, photographs, drawings, news
and views concerning any aspect of the
California Christmas tree industry. Submit all materials for publication to the
CCTA office. The Bulletin staff and the
California Christmas Tree Association,
however, assume no responsibility for
accuracy and validity of claims in advertising and editorial reports. Opinions
expressed by writers in by-lined articles
are their own and not necessarily those
of this publication or the CCTA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OFFICERS
Ginger Armstrong, President
Jeri Lynn Seifert, Vice President
4
Executive Director’s Report
5
Welcome New Members
5
NCTA Executive Director’s Report
6
2014 Trade Show & Tree Expo
8
Keith Garlock, Secretary
Choose and Cut Farm Set-Up
10
Ted Seifert, Treasurer
News From the North End (So. Sec. Report)
11
Old Summit Anecdotes
12
Trees and Wreaths Made in America
12
Flatland Facts & Fables
13
CCTA Calendar of Events
13
Maui Wowie
14
Trees For Troops
16
BOARD OF DIRECTORS*
District 1
District 2
District 3/4
District 5
President’s Message
At Large
Jeri Lynn Seifert
Keith Garlock
Bill Krelle
Ginger Armstrong
George McKenzie
Ed Battaglia
Don Cameron
Nancy Roatcap
Ted Seifert
SECTIONS
Bill Krelle, Petaluma
Chair, Northern Section
Nancy Roatcap, Santa Clarita
Chair, Southern Section
Stacie Link, West Point
Chair, Central Section
STAFF
Sam Minturn, Executive Director
Betty Starr, Publications Manager
*See page 5 for director contact info
Front Cover: Sam Minturn, CCTA Exexutive Directors, holds center stage at this
year’s Trade Show and Tree Expo .
3
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
In keeping with our quest to bring
CCTA and its information into the 21st
century, our Bulletin and other CCTA
information will be on our web site in
2015. It does feel like a quest as we
adventure into new territory. Most of
us don’t even understand some of the
vocabulary of this wonderful new technology but since 10 years ago we didn’t
even know what “Contacts” were or
how to find them on our phones, there
is hope. As time and money allows
the Board will decide on the priorities
of other entries. We want the world to
know who and what we are.
Our meetings for 2015 are already
in the planning stages with the Annual
Meeting in Placerville and the Trade
Show in Sonoma. Look for dates early
in 2015. The Board decided to continue with our Annual Meeting and Trade
Show, but the June field meeting will be
held in each section.
Board elections are in March. Jeri
Lynn Seifert, Ginger Armstrong, and
Nancy Roatcap are up for reelection.
If you are interested in serving on the
Board, please contact Sam and put
your name in the hat.
The Board took a look at our dues
structure. The dues Information sheet
will be revised to be clearer and it was
decided that a non-profit category will
be added. Non-profits will pay by the
number of trees sold minus $40 and the
new membership fee will be waived.
There will be a dues cap for members
in more than one category.
Now for my soapbox:
President’s Message
by Ginger Armstrong
The power of the internet can’t be
argued. What is arguable is whether
we will choose to take advantage of it
and grab ourselves by the collar and
JUST DO IT or just carry on as usual.
To give you some inspiration, last season on Facebook we posted several
pictures with captions before and during the season.
1. If you haven’t done it before
you can begin by getting a personal account and build up all your “friends.”
2. Then get a business account
and ask your friends to “like” your business page.
3. Most simple of all is to get a
young person with good judgment (no
they are not necessarily mutually exclusive) to take on the project.
4. No young people in your life?
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The Bulletin • Fall 2014
4
How about contacting someone in your
church or local high school computer
club?
5. We took a whole passel of pictures over one weekend and then we
posted them several days a week. All
your “likes” are notified every time you
post. Great advertising, very little investment.
6. We got a satisfying amount of
responses both on Facebook and at
the sales window.
Every year I send out a newsletter
using Constant Contact. It is quite inexpensive and produces a great product. Customer support is magnificent
and the young people answering your
plaintive calls are very kind and patient
to us old geezers. If you don’t have an
email list yet, it is easily generated at
the sales window and will be available
for you next year.
Don’t forget to ask your happy customers at the sales register to “like”
you on Facebook or text or tweet their
beautiful tree and what a great time
they had at your farm. They can post
an Instagram of their tree with the family gathered around. You don’t have to
understand any of this because your
customers do and will.
Lastly, we have had outstanding
results from coupons. We put them
on Facebook, on our website, and in
our newsletter. The customers that we
don’t have an email address for get a
coupon on a postcard. Our local small
newspaper ad also has a coupon on it.
Changing the wording or arrangement
on the coupons helps you track them
to see what gets your customers’ attention.
Finally, have a great season! May
the rains and snows come but only during the week. May your employees
love you and their jobs and give your
customers big smiles and service. May
your trees look gorgeous including the
“wall” trees. And may your love of this
industry shine through in everything
you do.
Happy Halloween! Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! Happy New
Year!
See you in March!
CCTA BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
District One
Jeri Seifert, Vice President
[email protected]
Dixon • (707) 678-4300
Keith Garlock
[email protected]
Sebastapol • (707) 328-5143
District Two
Bill Krelle
[email protected]
Petaluma • (707) 773-4702
Ginger Armstrong, President
[email protected]
Long Barn • (209) 586-4336
Districts Three & Four
George McKenzie
[email protected]
Saratoga • (408) 867-5693
Ed Battaglia
[email protected]
San Martin • (408) 683-4730
District Five
Don Cameron
[email protected]
Simi Valley • (805) 527-6412
Nancy Roatcap
[email protected]
Santa Clarita • (661) 255-6943
At Large: Ted Seifert, Treasurer
Dixon • (707) 678-4300
[email protected]
So. Section: Nancy Roatcap, Chair
[email protected]
Santa Clarita • (661) 255-6943
Central Section:
Stacie Link, Chair
[email protected]
No. Section: Bill Krelle, Chair
[email protected]
(707) 773-4702
NCTA Director: Joe McNally
Paradise • (530) 872-0165
RESEARCH
Bill Krelle (707) 773-4702
Don Cameron (805) 527-6412
MEMBERSHIP
Position open - please call CCTA
Office if you can volunteer
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR’S
REPORT
by Sam Minturn
Deja vu. Remember the “good ‘ol
days”? I’m not talking about when CCTG
had 600 members (most of those were
looking for tax breaks and dropped out
when the 4 letter word “WORK” got to
them) but I’m reminiscing back to when
I was President sometime in the previous century and I’d write my Bulletin
articles while fact-finding in Maui or
Vancouver Island. So I’m writing this as
I sit on the west coast of Maui and stare
at Molokai and Lanai Islands. The good
news from here is that Warren McCord
(and possibly his wife Helen) has invited you to visit his Christmas tree farm,
coffee plantation and Kula Botanical
Gardens as a group.
Back home in Hilmar, CA, a nearby election for mayor has caught my
eye with a slogan of “Clear Vision and
Bold Leadership.” I’m wondering why I
haven’t heard of this candidate’s bold
leadership before now but I’m hoping
this slogan fits CCTA as our Board is
trying some new things to make your
membership more valuable and keep
our costs down. You’ve already received
a letter about the Bulletin being available on our Website (www.CaChristmas.com) from now on. For those of
you that prefer a printed copy, starting
in 2015 there will be a $25 charge to
cover printing and mailing costs. If you
would like computer help, we did that at
our Trade Show in Reno and will do it
again at our Annual Meeting in Placerville the first of March 2015.
Another big change on our website
is a chance for you to get free publicity
for your business by sending us your
favorite picture which will be part of a
Slide Show on the home page. We’ll
put 6-10 of these up every 2 weeks on
a first come, first served basis. Send
your picture by email to Iva Kringle, our
webmistress at: [email protected]
And the 3rd big website change is
we’ll be adding a CCTA Facebook page
and we encourage you to send us your
favorite facebook comment from your
customers and we’ll post these on our
Facebook page and then choose the
one we like best at the end of 2014
and send the winner a check for $100.
Again, send them to IKringle@hotmail.
com If you’re like me and clueless about
posting on Facebook, find a young relative, employee, high school or collegeage student and ask them to do it for
you. Our President, Ginger Armstrong,
has good things to say about Constant
Contact and how they can help your
sales.
My spies tell me that wholesale
prices are going up this year (there is
no longer a surplus of trees), so we
suggest you raise your prices this year
to cover that and also so you can come
with us to Maui in May. May this be your
best selling season ever. Mahalo!
CCTA Signs For Sale
Welcome New Members
• Santa Cruz Host Lions Club
Linda Amameda
Santa Cruz, CA; CCTA’s first
Non-Profit selling mainly
Nobles and Doug-firs
• Dave Matthews
Grass Valley, CA; Doug-fir
• Mark & Bea Scheberies
Alhambra Creek Ranch, LLC
Martinez, CA; Doug-fir
5
If you missed your chance to buy
CCTA signs at the Trade Show, they
are also always available through the
CCTA Main Office. Call (209) 669-6668
or email: [email protected].
• Membership sign - metal - $25
(must be Tree Fresh Certified)
• Help Me I’m Thirsty - metal - $30
• Tree Fresh Certified - plastic - $20
size: 32” x 48”
• Breathe Deeply - plastic - $20
size: 32” x 48”
• Hats with logo - $15
Sales Surveys Available
Sales Surveys are available at the
CCTA Main Office. These surveys can
be helpful in setting tree prices and for
settling insurance claims.
Leave a message at: (209) 6696668 or email to [email protected].
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
National Director’s Report
By Joe McNally
In July an NCTA board meeting
took place in Kalamazoo, MI. Then, a
two-day summer meeting, hosted by
both the Mid America Christmas Tree
Association (MACT) and the Michigan
Christmas Tree Association, was held at
Petersen’s Nursery in nearby Allagan,
MI. Within just a few miles of the meeting site were numerous Christmas Tree
farms and nurseries. The meeting had
about 450 attendees featuring a huge
vender tent, catering kitchen located inside a large building that provided four
swiftly moving self service buffet lines
and a near by barn allowed for presentations, lunch and awards dinner tables.
Weather was perfect, puffy clouds with
bright blue sky with midwestern green
grass and trees. For you flying public
I noticed that Southwest’s free Wi-Fi
was taken advantage of by numerous
folks on my flight. iPhone, tablets and
laptops were very present.
NCTA held Thursday committee
meetings in the morning, then a long
board meeting in the afternoon, fol-
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
lowed by the continuation of committee
meetings. and individual networking.
I attended the “Protection” committee
meeting and the general board meeting. At the board meeting, minutes of
the last official full board meeting could
not be found as it had been so long ago
and so many internal changes had taken place. So official minutes were not
approved. I had never experienced a
situation with no minutes to approve or
correct.
I’ve volunteered to participate on
a committee to rework the tree contest
rules so anyone with issues, please
give me your feedback. Check Off
board members still have not been
picked so marketing and promotional
activities are stifled but National is the
only entity capable of doing business
for our industry on a large scale. Efforts funded by voluntary contributions
to the Real Tree Advocacy Fund are still
needed. I’ll be glad to have the Check
Off board picked, so our industry has
clarity of program funding.
6
Again this year the Trees for Troops
program will take place with the help of
Fed Ex.
National Tree and Wreath contest
winners for this year: a Douglas Fir
from PA was Grand Champion; a True
Fir from WV was Reserve Champion
and the Best Decorated and the Best
Undecorated Wreaths came from NC.
Special
announcements
from
the meeting: Betty Malone of Sunrise
Tree Farm in Philomath, OR was recognized with the Outstanding Service
Award. Tommy Buetell of Wolf Creek
Tree Farm in Tuckasegee, NC was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Friday and Saturday activities consisted of the MACT/MI summer trade
show. Highlights for me included judging the Christmas Trees (as one of 6
industry experts), great food and networking opportunities along with equipment demonstrations, nursery and farm
tours and a cover crop presentation by
Michigan State University personnel.
The cover crop presentation was mostly lecture using power point/lecture but
Continued on next page
National Director’s Report
(Continued)
also an outside demo where precise
samples of soil, (bare ground, bare
ground with straw cover, tall grass,
mowed grass and (a chemically treated
area) samples were displayed in a controlled apparatus so that precise rainfall could be applied to all samples at
the same rate and containers showing
runoff and soaking through the sample
were measured. The “ah haw” moment
was observing the bare ground with
straw applied three inches thick on top,
which had surprising water clarity and
little runoff on the straw covered sample.
Next years summer joint meeting is
planned to take place at the Richardson operation near Chicago, observing the same regional meeting/farm
location format as this summer. If you
have anybody you need to visit in the
Continued on page 15
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7
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
2014 Trade Show & Tree Expo
By Ginger Armstrong, CCTA President
So there we were in beautiful downtown Reno – the
“Biggest Little City in Nevada” enjoying the wonderful and
unique Silver Legacy and if you weren’t, we missed you!
The trees were gorgeous, the best of the best; the suppliers
enthusiastic and well equipped; and the company excellent.
What more could a tree farmer, broker or supplier want?
The day began with a great presentation by Iva Kringle
our web mistress on how to negotiate the various forms we
fill out so that she can put our C&C, wholesale, and tree lot
info on the web. She navigated us through our web site
helping those of us who are still getting the hang of turning on our machines as well as showing the beginner+ folks
all the facets of our site. She took questions and will apply some of our suggestions. We are going to add pictures
to the banner on top and she NEEDS PICTURES TO DO
THAT. PLEASE SEND YOUR MOST APPEALING PICS TO
HER. Email is best [email protected]. She would also
like to use pictures from your farm or lot to put on your listing.
It makes it so much more eye-catching. Let her know if she
can use pictures for both.
Cedar Winner - Jeri Lynn Seifert
once a week beginning November 1. It takes only seconds
to make a post. That one post gets passed on from “friend”
to “friend” without you doing anything. Remember to ask all
your customers this season to “like” your farm’s Facebook
page. Don’t forget to add to your email list this season or
Grand Champion - Red Fir Winner - Bill Krelle
There was generous time to vote on the trees, visit and
buy from the vendors, experiment with our computers. Following lunch, Ted Seifert, with the help of Ana Anderson
and other members, gave us a great intro to Facebook and
its use for your farm. Those of us who already use it have
found it to be a powerful tool. With the App “Facebook Pages Manager” you can take a picture with your phone and
post it to your Facebook page at that time. No need to go
through your computer. There was time to experiment with
out laptops and phone as the hotel provided free Wi-Fi. We
heard from various members about how they use Facebook
without it taking a lot of time. One member takes several pictures at the farm on one day. Then the pictures are posted
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
8
Monterey Winner - Bob Larson and grandson Richard
Schmitt
start one. It’s easy to do it at the time of sales. The best
suggestion of all is to hire one of your young relatives or an
enthusiastic high schooler to take care of it for you. When it
is part of your life then it takes very little time. The gal I hired
to do it last season did my social media and her other full
time job.
White Fir Winner - Liz Phelps
Sierra Redwood Winner - Joe McNally
Each vendor made a presentation about their products
and what was available at the meeting or available in their
catalogue. The variety included toys for you gifts shop, supplies for your lot or tree farm, tree stands, products to dip
seedlings in before planting and for preservation spray for
wreaths, adorable (for all the women) reindeer, sign makers,
and products to answer the concerns about the hassels of
Christmas – keeping the cut truck from sealing, biodegradable tree bags and bowls, and a product to put in the water
bowl to make adding water mess-free. What a selection of
products! Kudos to the vendors for schlepping their displays
to the meeting room and for arranging meeting spots to load
purchased products. Thank you.
There was time available for the exchange of ideas and
skills with members helping members. The competition element is not present and we all freely exchange ideas, questions, skills, and love for this business.
In honor of Mother Nita Warren an impromptu raffle began with a contribution by Jeri Lynn & Alberta. Then the excitement built and all the vendors began contributing something from their product line until we had a wonderful table of
goodies. Ticket sales were brisk and our Research Fund is
happy. Monies are being spent now on information to put on
our web site.
The day ended with our delicious awards banquet Emceed by Joe McNally. Many thanks to Joe Weiner & Liz
Chesterman for hosting the Sunday farm tour at Little Bear
Tree Farm in Alta complete with fishing tournament.
Wreath Winner Decorated - Jerilynn Seifert
Wreath Winner Undecorated - Joe & Liz
9
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
Choose and Cut Farm Setup
By Paul Illingworth
One of the things I enjoy doing when visiting a Choose and
Cut Christmas Tree Farm for the first time is to try to figure out
how the grower has set up his farm for sales. Does the farm have
a large parking lot where customers park their cars, walk out into
the fields; and after cutting and loading the tree are free to congregate in the parking area and partake in activities, games, and
visit a gift shop? Or does the farm have a network of roads cut
through it that allows customers to drive into the farm, park along
the road , and cut and load the tree right on the spot.
In visiting C & C tree farms over the last 30 years, I have
noticed that the setup of all farms fits into 1 of 3 systems: The
Road Setup, The Parking Lot Setup, or a combination of the two.
When starting a Christmas tree farm, before the seedlings are
planted and before the soil is prepared, the first thing to consider
is how will the farm be set up for sales. There are many things to
be considered in this decision. How big is the farm, do I want to
sell extras and have extra activities, what do my customers want
when they come to the tree farm, and what image do I want to
project to the customers?
The Road Setup (Fig. 1) is probably the most efficient and cost
effective of all three systems. The customer is greeted as they
come in the gate, given a saw, and instructed to park along the
road, cut down a tree, load it onto the car, and pay on the way out.
This system is used in most big C & C farms (10+ acres), especially in irregularly shaped farms because the customers need to
drive to get close to the trees. There are advantages and disad-
vantages to this system. It is cost effective, requiring a
minimum amount of salespeople while getting the most
amount of people through in a short amount of time,
which is very beneficial on busy weekends. It is also
very convenient for the customers because they can
drive very close to the tree, cut it, and load it onto the
vehicle in a short amount of time. However, this system
tends to be more impersonal and less “homey”. The
grower is limited to selling trees and waterstands and
has no opportunity to make more profit by selling extra
items or providing added attractions that tend to make
families return to the tree farm year after year.
The second sales system is the Parking Lot Setup
(Fig. 2). The customer comes into the farm and parks
in a large parking lot. He is given a saw at some point
and walks into the trees, cuts a tree and brings it back
to the vehicle for loading. This system is usually used
in smaller tree farms, is less efficient than the Road
Setup, requires more sales help, and can sometimes
be inconvenient if the customer must go a long way to
cut and drag the tree. However, there are benefits to
this system. It tends to be more “homey” and allows
the sales staff to have a more personal contact with the
customers. The grower can also set up extra attractions for the customer (jumpy rooms, Santa Clause,
etc) and he can make extra money on Christmas related items because of the ”captive” audience in the
parking lot. This systems requires a lot of organization,
a big sales staff, and the parking can get very crowded
and hectic during busy times.
Continued on next page
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
10
News from the North End…
. . . of the Southern Section
by Nancy Roatcap
www.nancysranch.com
By and large the weather has been
accommodating here in the parched
Southwest. You could call this a “cool”
summer with very few days breaking
into three digits. (I know I will have to
eat those words before the cool weather arrives.) This is good for the Southern Section growers, maybe conserving a little water over last year’s totals
and keeping those pine trees in growing mode. Those of us with pumpkins
welcome a cooler clime since a whole
field of pumpkins can burn on a hot
desert day, even with water!
Everyone is feeling the pressure
of the season coming up… getting
our inventory orders in, equipment out
and advertising explored. We had a
great session at the meeting in Reno
with our webmaster advising us how to
take advantage of the internet advertising options on the California Christmas
Tree Association’s website. This is one
of the best reasons to join the association, the other being the opportunity
for sharing, networking and socializing
with the great people who grow and sell
Christmas trees.
The Southern Section hopes to meet
again this fall at Don Lugo High School
for a work day to help the students get
the trees ready for sales. As of this writing we don’t yet have confirmation of a
date. Keep your eyes open for a Southern Section meeting notice that will
come both in the mail and as an email.
We are currently handling our business
both ways and hope to someday join
those who have tossed paper aside and
rely on their laptops, desktops, notebooks and smart phones to keep them
informed. I have been relying on paper
since I picked up my first Crayola, and
as one of the earliest baby boomers,
that makes it a long habit. Over the
last 10 years I have come to trust digital media so I think I am ready for that
leap, and I hope the rest of us are too.
In fact the Bulletin is now coming out
through email and the picture quality is
excellent compared to the print media.
The inspector from the Ag commissioner’s office showed up at my farm
yesterday. My front gate is open when
we are there and he walked in and
wandered a bit looking for me. The
dog barked and alerted me to his presence so I walked out to meet him. As
he came closer my sweet little rescue
poodle (and, incidentally, rabbit killer)
went on the attack! The closer I got to
the inspector the more ferocious he got.
He was protecting me from dangerous
uniformed strangers! After this exciting
event I took Kobe home as I needed
to run some errands. Luckily, he wasn’t
around to attack the uniformed stranger
from animal control who arrived later in
the afternoon. I did not have proof of
Kobe’s rabies vaccination with me so
he issued a citation and I have to go to
court! He also gave me a legal notice
advising that the gate has to be closed
if Kobe is going to be running around
the farm unleashed. And he gave Kobe
10 days of quarantine because he
broke the skin on the inspector’s shin.
(Sad face here.) What I learned from
this encounter? Close the gate, put a
bad dog sign up and you won’t have
any ag inspectors wandering around
on your property.
Farm Set-Up
recognize which system they are using
and try to bring the positive elements
from the both systems into operation to
make the tree buying experience more
desirable. For example, I have a Road
Setup system at my farm in Castro Valley, but I have also set up an area at
the exit where customers can pull over
and picnic or pickup free hot chocolate
and cookies. In a Parking Lot setup it
would be good to have a method where
customers do not have to carry their
trees too far, and maybe use carts or
a hayride to carry the trees. Whatever
system we use for sales, it is important
to always be on the lookout for ways to
make our tree farms more efficient and
more desirable to the tree cutting public
during the selling season.
(Continued)
Some growers employ a combination of both systems; where they have
a parking area where customers gather
but also have a road system through
the farm where customers can drive
and cut their trees. This system is
usually employed on larger farms and
takes advantage of the best of the other two systems. However, this system
requires that a lot of space be taken up
with parking and roads and thus less
space can be devoted to producing
trees.
For experienced growers who are
already selling trees and have a sales
system in place, the challenge is to
11
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
... ideas
... opinions
... anecdotes
Jim Beck
The nation’s leading Christmas tree producers are
Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan and Washington, in that
order... and while experts differ on the numbers, the total is
probably 25 to 30 million trees annually ... 6 million or more
from Oregon alone.
The Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association. (OR
& WA) holds an impressive “Tree Fair” every September
in the Portland area to promote and help coordinate the
upcoming harvest. This year was no exception with 300-400
people attending and 49 booths filling the exhibitor hall. The
program was extensive with University experts and industry
leaders speaking on their areas of interest; albeit with much
repetition from prior years’ material.
In the face of much enthusiasm it is impossible to escape
the feeling in the air ... it is an industry in decline from a
lack of new ideas to combat the growing American Wal-Mart
mentality and influx of fake plastic trees.
The experience was a bit reminiscent of the 1950s when
railroads failed to recognize that they were in the transportation
business - not the railroad business ... meanwhile of course
the 1980’s brought IBM seeing the writing on the wall and
announcing the PC which would revolutionize the way we
live our lives.
Will the giants of the REAL Christmas tree industry be
replaced by Alibaba and www.Made-In-China.com, the same
way companies like B&O and Southern Pacific have been
replaced by Lufthansa, United and Cathay Pacific Cargo
... will the NCTA finally yield to the pressure of the Chinese
backed “American” Christmas Tree Association ... anyone
see any new ideas or bold strokes that would change the
market trend of past decades?
... oysters and anecdotes - some got pearls ... some don’t.
Trees, Wreaths, and Other Things Made in America
By Jim Beck • www.OldSummit.com
The wreath pictured was entered
in the contest at the Reno meeting.
While it didn’t win the prize, it makes
an important marketing point. It goes
to the importance of things made in
America and California in particular
- red Holly from Santa Cruz County,
white Cotton from Fresno County,
and blue lavender from Santa Clara
County, along with local native greenery. It could easily have used red
chili peppers, white beach sand and
blue Zinfandels, or any other natural
things that come from your area.
While there is no denying the vigor
of the Wal-Mart mentality within our
customer base, increasingly we see
people opting for “natural” things.
The “buy local” and “buy American”
idea seems to be gaining strength in
our area, albeit slowly. Similar ideas
might work for you at your retail locations.
REAL tree buyers are usually also
interested in REAL other stuff, particularly if it is “local”, and that is the
drive behind the Old Summit line of
Biodegradable, Made-In-USA Christmas tree related products.
Oddly enough the demand for ket wherever buyers look beyond the
these has developed faster in the convenience of plastic from China.
When customers experience them for
East and Midwest but there is a marThe Bulletin • Fall 2014
12
the first time they keep coming back and
asking for them. We like it whencustomers keep coming back!
FLATLAND FACTS AND FABLES
by Don Cameron
[email protected]
Weather, Weather ever changing.
Thunderstorms and cloud bursts in
Riverside, Hemet, Elsinore, and Forest Falls. Even Las Vegas has had
more than its usual share of heavy
rainstorms. Those of us in the coastal
belt have just suffered through 6 days
of 100 degrees plus heat instead of
the mid 80’s that we should be having
this time of year. So far eleven tropical storms/hurricanes have brewed up
in the 90 degree waters south of Baja,
California and mostly headed northeast. Arizona and New Mexico usually
get monsoon moisture from the Gulf of
Mexico but this year most of their summer rain came from the pacific side.
On Sunday August 24, Marilyn and
I struck out east across Nevada from
our Fall meeting in Reno. Almost immediately we noticed the desert was
way greener than usual. We continued
on through Lovelock, Winnemucca and
Battle Mountain and spent the night in
Elko. The desert kept getting greener
with lots of good looking alfalfa fields
too. At Wells, before the Utah border,
we struck north toward Twin Falls, Idaho.
Southeastern Idaho had lots of water-full canals and many fields of alfalfa
and corn. Our destination was Marilyn’s
grandfather’s homestead ranch near St
Anthony where over an inch of rain had
fallen the day before. Over four inches
of rain had fallen in August. The harvest
had not been finished and both wheat
and barley were starting to sprout in
the head. This area usually gets almost
no rain in August. We had a great time
touring the ranch on 4 wheelers. Marilyn even saw a herd of elk in a wooded
canyon.
Next we struck north through green
lush western Montana to Butte and
Missoula before heading west over the
continental divide to Lewiston, Idaho
where things became dry again. Washington and Oregon were also dry with
Host Help Needed
Joe Weinert & Liz Chesterman from
LIttle Bear (but big trout) Tree Farm in
Alta for hosting our First & Last Annual
Fishing Derby after our Trade Show in
Reno. Do you notice a pattern yet?
But here’s my “stickey wicket.” We
need someone near Placerville to volunteer their farm for a visit on March
8th after our Annual Meeting on March
7th at the Best Western Placerville Inn.
The problem is we need to book 15 or
What makes CCTA so great? In my
humble opinion it’s the following people
in 2014: Paul Weubbe and his mother
Star for hosting both the Northern &
Central Sections in April at their Organic Certified Farm in Wilton; Craig & Auraly Dobbs and her dad, Fred Farnk, for
hosting our Field Day in June at Hidden
Springs Tree Farm in Atascadero; and
above average temperatures. So the
intermountain west has benefited from
tropical moisture this year while most of
Washington, Oregon and California are
exceptionally dry.
On the home front our trees are
mostly staying alive on our 1 gal/week
of drip irrigation and have even grown
a little. But the trees are so dusty we’ll
have to hose them down if we don’t get
a bit of rain in October or early November. At least our dry winter and spring
didn’t allow much gall rust to form.
One thing that has helped us a
lot this season is placing about 2 gal
of wood chips on top of our drip emitters that are located close to each tree.
Paul Illingworth showed us the value of
surface mulches at his farm during our
June meeting last year. I haven’t been
able to get enough chips for more complete coverage yet but hope to in the future. The chips suppress weeds, retain
soil moisture and seem to improve soil
health and fertility.
Best wishes for a strong sales season and I’ll see you at our next meeting.
Monterey Pine Replants
Don Cameron • [email protected] • (805) 501-0874
more roons on Saturday night at the
motel to get the meeting room comped
at no charge - otherwise we have to
pay $800 for the room for Saturday’s
meeting. Does anyone want my job?
I’m counting on one of you to email
me soon and offer your farm and help
keep my blood pressure down and help
me to start enjoying life again. This
will guarantee you’ll be a 2015 CCTA
HERO.
CCTA Calendar of Events
Annual Meeting, March 7th, 2015
Best Western Placerville Inn in Placerville, CA
Trade Show, August 1st, 2015
Garlock Tree Farm in Sebastopol, CA hosted by Keith & Becky Garlock
CCTA Field Trip to Maui
May 7 - 13, 2015
NCTA - Annual Meeting
Chicago - Summer 2015
13
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
Maui Wowie
You are invited to join fellow CCTA
members for a “Fact-finding” trip to
Maui next May 2015 from Tuesday the
7th through Wednesday the 13th.
Here are several highlights you’ll
experience.
• fill your Gift Shop at the world famous
Seabury Hall Craft Fair on May 9
• tour the world famous Kula Botanical
Gardens, Tree Farm & Coffee Planta-
tion hosted by fellow CCTA members
Warren & Helen McCord;
• attend a CCTA Meeting and have
lunch there with a million dollar view
• laugh for 2 hours straight at the world
famous Warren & Annabelle’s Magic
Show in Lahaina
• attend a Hawaiian Luau
• go on a beautiful Sunset Dinner Cruise
out of Lahaina Harbor
• shop and dine in the historical whaling
FREE
AD SPACE
ON CCTA
WEB SITE
DougLAS firs
for sale
Dave Matthews
The On-Line Bulletin Board is free to CCTA members. Let us help you with your purchasing, selling,
trucking, cultural, etc. needs. Call (209) 669-6668 or
e-mail to CalifCTA @aol.com to have your information
posted on this web site.
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
capital of Maui
• many other optional activities available as time and finances permit such
as Road to Hana, sunrise at the top of
Haleakala, helicopter tours, Iao Needle,
windsurfing, sugar cane train, etc.
Suggestions: form groups of 4 for
savings on rental cars and 2 bedroom
accommodations. Email semi world famous Sam & Jan Minturn at JMinturn@
aol.com if you are interested in going
on this memorable trip.
Grass Valley Tree Farm
(415) 898-1281
email: [email protected]
14
National Director’s Report
(Continued from page 7)
Chicago area, consider catching this
new meeting format.
As of Bulletin deadline, the new
Check Off program’s board members
have not been selected. 54 applicants
have applied for the twelve board positions. I believe the White House has
vetted those persons and the names
passed on to the USDA for final selection, but the USDA has asked our
industry to be patient. A “notice of
occurrence of assessment” is to be
published in the Federal register before
the program can move forward with
assessments from growers, remember you can count on government to
be very slow. I believe the new board
will be selected soon and then an executive director chosen, and a program
initiated by the new board. When the
Check Off does move forward try to be
patient and trust the board members.
As in baseball, a 300 batting average is
pretty good, even though that average
means the batter only got a hit 3 in 10
at bats.
I’ll close this column with the announcement that Hal Schudel died
this summer. Many of you will associate his name with founding the largest
Christmas tree growing company in the
world, Holiday Trees. I’ll say that Hal
was very supportive of our industry.
Several decades ago I called Hal on
the telephone to ask for advice regarding dealing with the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service program sold
Christmas trees at less than retail price
to consumers in direct conflict with the
Forest Service Handbook. Local venders were providing those same trees.
Eventually, the situation was handled
by eliminating the rule from the Forest
Service handbook (eliminating blatant
disregard for policy). That’s all water
under the bridge but I’ll always remember Hal offering his advice when asked.
Thanks Hal.
Have a great selling season and be
careful with fire.
Cal Sierra Tree Farm in West Point, CA
500 each White Fir, Douglas-fir, Incense Cedar,
and Silvertip (Red Fir)
Sizes up to 50 feet
Phone: Yolanda Buller at 209-770-6854
manufactured by
LIL’SHAKEE
• Perfect for retail lots
• 3/4 HP “Farm Duty” motor
• Heavy-duty construction
• Foot switch operated
• Shown with optional tree holder
SHAKEE 250
• 3 power options
• 5.5 HP Honda direct drive engine
• 540 rpm PTO driven
• 1 HP “Farm Duty” electric motor
with foot switch
• Shown with optional wheel kit:
SD 400
DUAL SHAKER
• Dual cones mounted 5’ apart
• 540 rpm PTO powered
• Dual tree holders
• Gear box and belt drive
• 330 lbs.
Trees for Troops Program
Participation forms for 2014 are
available by contacting Paul
Battaglia at
[email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT RES EQUIPMENT L.L.C.
(503) 634-2242 WOODBURN, OREGON
15
The Bulletin • Fall 2014
the bulletin
FALL 2014
No. 228
CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS TREE ASSOCIATION
GUIDE TO ADVERTISERS
CAL SIERRA TREE FARM
pg. 15
DON CAMERON - REPLANTS
pg. 13
DRAKE’S CROSSING
GRASS VALLEY TREE FARM
HOLLOWAYS SEEDLINGS
KEELSON PARTNERS
KELCO
pg. 2
PG. 14
pg. 4
2014 Trees for Troops Program
California tree growers and retail lot operators are
invited to be part of the team that has donated over
140,000 trees since the program began in 2005.
Below are ways that you can participate:
pg. 11
• Trees for Troops Weekend
Friday Dec 5 – Sunday Dec 7
FedEx Trailer Drop
pg. 7
KIRK COMPANY
pg. 13
KLM TREE FARM
pg. 14
OLD SUMMIT
FOREST PRODUCTS
pg. 12
• Battaglia Ranch Trees for Troops Donation Program
SHAKEE (RES EQUIPMENT)
pg. 15
• Trees for Troops Sponsorships
SILVASEED COMPANY
pg. 7
TIM MITCHEL’S
YULE STAND SYSTEM
pg. 6
TREE TECK
• Grower Tree Donation Program:
Please fill out the participation form and return it to Paul Battaglia
(408) 683-4955 (fax), or by e-mail [email protected] or by
US Mail at P. O. Box 270, San Martin, CA 95046
pg. 10
CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS TREE ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 401 • Hilmar, CA 95324
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Notice: In accordance with the laws governing non-profit organizations, advertising revenue generated
by this publication helps to offset the cost of printing and distribution. No profit is realized to California
Christmas Tree Association for the advertisements accepted in this magazine.
2014 Trees for Troops
Official Participation Form
Name:_________________________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________________
City, State & Zip Code:____________________________________________________
Phone #:___________________ Cell #:________________ E-mail_______________________
Please Check the Appropriate Boxes
A. I would like to participate in the Trees for Troops Trailer Drop Weekend Program.
Registration fee $150 plus $5 per tree with 100 tree minimum guaranty per location.
B.
I will participate in the Grower Tree Donation Program:
I will deliver _______ trees to Battaglia Ranch in San Martin, CA, an official FedEx location.
C.
I will participate in the Battaglia Ranch Trees for Troops Donation Program:
Please provide: _________ Noble fir (Special 6/7’) @$27.00 each. *
Please let us know, ASAP, an approximate number so we can plan accordingly.
Enclosed is a check payable to Battaglia Ranch in the amount of $ ________
Your check will be deposited after trees are loaded.
Please Charge my Visa or Master Card in the amount of $_____________
Your card will be charged after trees are loaded.
Credit Card # ________________________________________________________
Code ___________________
Expiration Date:________________________
3
digit # on reverse of card
Signature __________________________________________
* Price includes $5 donation to Christmas Spirit Foundation.
D. I will Solicit Tree Sponsorships from my Customers and local Businesses $5 sponsors 1 tree. Many businesses
donate between $500 to $1,000 annually to the sponsorship program. $5 does not purchase a tree, but helps offset
operating costs. For more information: www.christmasspiritfoundation.com.
For more details, call Paul Battaglia 408 221-6274, or [email protected]
Mail to Battaglia Ranch, P.O. Box 270, San Martin, CA 95046, or Fax to (408) 683-4955
2014 Trees for Troops Program
California Christmas Tree Growers and retail lot operators are invited to be part
of the team that has donated over 140,000 trees since the program began in 2005.
Proudly display the Official Trees for Troops Banner. It’s great backdrop for
media interview, and to tie in to customer awareness of regional and national, TV
and Radio coverage.
Below are ways that you can participate:
A. Trees for Troops Weekend, Friday Dec 5 – Sunday Dec 7. FedEx Trailer Drop.
Your customers will have an opportunity to purchase an extra tree or two from you, and load it
onto a FedEx trailer spotted at your location. FedEx will pick up the trailer and deliver the trees to
our troops. Cost is $150 for the registration fee, plus $5 per tree (100 trees minimum) for each tree
purchased from you and donated to the Trees for Troops Program. Minimum cost is $650, and agree
to remit $5 per tree donated to CSF no later than December 27, 2014.
B. Grower Tree Donation Program:
Growers may donate their own trees, and deliver them to an official FedEx Trees for Troops pick up location.
Trees should be Premium or #1 quality, should be between 5 and 8 feet tall, must be shaken or cleaned out
to remove all dead needles, debris and insects, and then baled or netted. Trees should have good keepability characteristics, and will ship and hold up well. Tags identifying your tree farm or the names of donors
should be attached to each tree.
C. Battaglia Ranch Trees for Troops Donation Program:
If you grow trees that do not ship well, or if you do not have the time, or if it’s too far to deliver your own
trees to an official pick up location, Battaglia Ranch Christmas Tree Farm will provide them for you. Similar
to last year, all you have to do is let Battaglia Ranch know that you are interested in participating, and how
many trees you would like to donate.
Here is how it works! Battaglia Ranch will do the following:
1. Provide 6/7 ft Noble firs at $27.00 each.
2. Attach tags identifying you as the donor.
3. Turn in a list of names of all donors to the Christmas Spirit Foundation, the National Christmas Tree
Association, and the California Christmas Tree Association.
4. Provide the list of donors to all media contacts.
5. Load all trees donated onto the FedEx trucks.
6. Remit $5 for each tree donated to Christmas Spirit Foundation.
D. Trees for Troops Sponsorships:.
Collect donations from individuals, customers, business, and corporate entities to help get the trees to the
troops. $5 sponsors one tree, and $100 will help make the holidays brighter for 20 military families. $5 does
not purchase a tree, but helps offset operating costs. Please remit all money collected to the Christmas Spirit
Foundation’s Trees for Troops Program by December 27, 2014.
Please fill out the participation form and return it to Paul Battaglia (408) 683-4955 (fax), or by e-mail
[email protected], or by US Mail at P. O. Box 270, San Martin, CA 95046.