vctga news journal fall'11

VCTGA News Journal – Fall 2011 | 1

Experience

RealTreea

www.VirginiaChristmasTrees.org

produced by your

Volume 1, Issue 3 Fall 2011

Inside this Issue:Marketing Materials - 2

Order Form - 3VCTGA Board - 4

Presidentially Speaking - 5Steps for Change - 5

VCTGA Good Things - 6Neel Receives Awards - 6

Minutes Highlights - 8Scholarship Recipient - 9

Sponsor Thanks! - 9Meeting Survey - 9

Memories-Fred Wagoner - 10Virginia Farming - 14

Mt. Rogers Seed Orchard - 15Improve Farm Marketing - 15

Becoming a “Fan” - 17Good/Bad Tree? - 18National Updates - 20Trees For Troops - 22

What’s “TIP” - 26Contest Winners - 27

AdvertisersKelco - 7

Christmas Hill - 7Strathmeyer Forests - 10

Tree Teck - 12Riverside Enterprises - 12

Alpha Nursery - 14Bosch’s Countryview

Nursery - 17Tim Mitchell - 22Cherokee Mfg. 26Fraser Knoll - 28

VIRGINIACHRISTMAS

TREEGROWERS

ASSOCIATION

VCTGANewsJournal‐Fall2011 Page1

VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS

TREE GROWERS

ASSOCIATION

Inside this Issue:

Marketing Materials - 2 Order Form - 3

VCTGA Board - 4 Presidentially Speaking - 5

Steps for Change - 5 VCTGA Good Things 6

Neel Receives Awards - 6 Minutes Highlights - 8

Scholarship Recipient - 9 Sponsor Thanks! - 9 Meeting Survey - 9

Memories - Fred Wagoner - 10 Virginia Farming 14

Christmas Tree Month - 14 Mt. Rogers Seed Orchard - 15 Improve Farm Marketing - 15

Becoming a “Fan” - 17 Good/Bad Tree? - 18 National Updates - 20 Trees For Troops - 22

What’s “TIP” - 26 Contest Winners - 27

Advertisers

Kelco - 7 Strathmeyer Forests - 9

Tree Teck - 11 Christmas Hill - 11

Riverside Enterprises - 11 Alpha Nursery - 13

Bosch’s Countryview Nursery - 16

Tim Mitchell - 21 Cherokee Mfg - 25 Fraser Knoll - 28

News Journal for Virginia Grown Christmas Trees

Published by the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association Volume 1, Issue 3 Fall 2011

2 | VCTGA News Journal – Fall 2011

2 VCTGA News Journal ‐ Fall 2011

Marketing Materials for

VCTGA Members

Ad with photo thumbnails, bro-

chure covers, new logo

“Experience A Real Christmas”

Consumer Brochure promoting

real trees and space on the back

panel for a label with your farm in-formation. Great to give out at civic

meetings, farm tours, fairs, con-

sumer events, etc.

“Experience a Real Christmas”

18”x24” sign with grommet holes

and an “H” wire stand for display in

the open.

Color Photos used in the marketing

brochures/signs to use in your mar-

keting info or on your website.


Marketing Materials for

VCTGA Members

Ad with photo thumbnails, bro-

chure covers, new logo

“Experience A Real Christmas”

Consumer Brochure promoting

real trees and space on the back

panel for a label with your farm in-formation. Great to give out at civic

meetings, farm tours, fairs, con-

sumer events, etc.

“Experience a Real Christmas”

18”x24” sign with grommet holes

and an “H” wire stand for display in

the open.

Color Photos used in the marketing

brochures/signs to use in your mar-

keting info or on your website.

Child/Star/Tree

How Bout This One

Family/Buy/Tree

Couple/Baby/Tree

Trees/Snow Kids Running

(See front cover)


Firm/Company Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Farm Phone: Phone: Email:

Check Preferred

Type Web/Low Resolution

Print/High Resolution

Member Price

Non‐Member Price

Quantity Amount Total

PHOTOS: Free $150.00 1 Photos Hi/Res All zipped Free $150.00 1 Child/Star/Tree Free $150.00 1 Couple/Baby/Tree Free $150.00 1 Family/Buy/Tree Free $150.00 1 How Bout This One Free $150.00 1 Kids Running Free $150.00 1 Trees/Snow Free $150.00 1 VCTGA Logo Print Free N/A 1 VCTGA Logo Web Free N/A 1 PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS Brochure Consumer $15/100 $30/100 Brochure Buyer/Seller $15/100 $30/100 Banner Only 3x6’ $75@ $150.00 @ Banner & Retractable Stand

$695.00 $995.00

Banner & Retractable Stand

Loan for consumer events, fairs, club meetings

$48.00 Shipping to

you & return

1

Sign 18” X 24” “H’ wire stand & grommets Front/Back sign

$10 @ $20@

Christmas Tree Tags $11.00/100 $20.00/100 Farm Sign $25.00 N/A

TOTAL $

Plus Shipping/Handling $ Make Check payable to VCTGA Check # Credit Card # Expires (Req.) Circle One Visa Mastercard AmExpress Discover Security # (Req.) Signature: Mail to: VCTGA 383 Coal Hollow Rd Christiansburg, VA 24073‐6721

Questions Call: 1‐540‐382‐7310

Or fax with credit card info to: 540‐382‐2716 Email: [email protected]

4 | VCTGA News Journal – Fall 20114 VCTGANewsJournal‐Fall2011

Officers

Virginia Chisholm Carroll, President 207 Fairway Drive, Louisa, VA 23093-6522 (H) [email protected] 540-967-1076 home 540-872-3817 Farm 540-872-8027 Cell Tim Williams, Past President Spruce Rock Farm 1104 Morningwood Ln Great Falls VA 22066 Phone: 540.543.2253 [email protected] Greg Lemmer, Vice President Boy’s Home Christmas Tree Farm 306 Boy’s Home Rd Covington VA 24426-5518 PH: 540-965-7700 Fax: 540-965-7702 [email protected] Jeff Miller, Secretary/Treasurer VCTGA Newsletter Editor Horticulture Management Associates LLC 383 Coal Hollow Rd Christiansburg VA 24073-6721 540-382-7310 (Office) 540-382-2716 (fax) 540-250-6264 cell 540-382-7575 Home [email protected] www.VirginiaChristmasTrees.org Horticulture Management Associates LLC [email protected]

Directors

Derick Proctor, Director 1 yr. Pott’s Creek Tree Farm 5923 Old Cheney Hwy Orlando FL 32807-3639 321-217-3170 [email protected] Charlie Conner, Director 1 yr. 970 Snider Branch Rd. Marion, VA 24354 [email protected] home 276-783-7732 Cell 276-685-2392 Robert O’Keeffe, Director 1-yr. Scholarships Rifton Farm & Nursery 240 Rifton Lane Pilot, Va. 24138 [email protected] Home 540-651-8440 Cell 540-580-3528 ---------------------------------------- Jocelyn Lampert, Director 2 yr. Crazy Joe’s Christmas Tree Farm 18028 Carrico Mills Road Elkwood VA 22718 Home: 540-423-9020 [email protected] Dave Thomas, Director 2 yr. Valley Star Farms 390 Almond Drive Luray VA 22835 Home: 540-860-8040 [email protected] Donna O’Halloran, Director 2 yr. Glengary Christmas Tree Farm PO Box 503 Rixeyville, VA 22737-0503 540-937-2335 (Nov-Dec) 540-937-3021 Home 540-937-7529 fax [email protected]

Ex-officio Directors Sue Bostic, Grants Director 5110 Cumberland Gap Rd Newport VA 24128 [email protected] 540-544-7303 Fred Shorey, Ex-officio Dir. 1 yr. Tall Tree Farm 154 Way Station LN Kents Store, VA 23084-2126 804-305-6760 Home/cell [email protected] Sherrie Taylor, National Director Severt’s Tree Farm 500 Comers Rock Rd Elk Creek VA 24326-2551 276-655-3969 Office 276-982-3819 fax [email protected] Danny Neel, Industry Advisors VDACS, Marketing Specialist 250 Cassell Rd Wytheville VA 24382-3317 Phone: 276-228-5501 Cell: 804-477-4113 Fax: 276-228-6579 [email protected] David Robishaw, Industry Advisor VDACS, Marketing 900 Natural Resources Dr Ste 300 Charlottesville, VA 22903 434-984-0573 phone 434-984-4156 fax 804-357-3014 [email protected] Kyle Peer, Industry Advisor VA Tech Dept of Forestry PO Box 70, Critz VA 24082-0070 Phone: 276-694-4135 [email protected]

VCTGA Officers & Board of Directors 2012 VCTGA Officers & Board of Directors 2012


VCTGANewsJournal–Summer2011 Page5

President Shares “Tale of Penguins”

O.K., so I’m back on a “book kick” again! First, there were some per-sonal favorites of mine, such as Who Moved My Cheese? and Fish. Then, there was The Big Moo. After The Big Moo, the whole thing came along with the M & M’s and Moon Pies. If you haven’t been reading my articles, my apologies, you won’t have a clue as to what all this is about.

At any rate, I now want to share some thoughts on a new favorite- Our Ice-berg Is Melting by John Kotter from Harvard Business School and Holger Rathgeber. This bestselling little book shares some great insights into “changing and succeeding under any conditions”-information that might be useful to us as an organization and as an industry.

First, let’s take a quick look at the book. This super little fable intro-duces us, the readers, to an emperor penguin colony in Antarctica and a huge problem that they must face. We see that this colony had been doing quite well for years. Suddenly, they, the penguins, were called upon to face the reality of a BIG problem in an ever-changing world. It quite obviously was not an easy time for the penguins. These happy, set in their ways colony members had to face the prospect of a melting ice-berg (that’s their home). The book takes us through the difficulties the colony encounters. First, there’s the whole thing of accepting the reality that there is, in fact, a problem. The problem had to be identified, veri-fied, and researched properly. Then, if there was in fact a problem, solu-tions had to be envisioned and con-sidered. What could be done about IT!

Along the way in the story, the fa-ble, we’re introduced to a cast of some great characters, characters who had done quite well living without substantial change for many, many years. That cast of characters includes penguins with names like Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Pro-fessor (no we’re not on Gilligan’s’ Island and there’re won’t be a Skip-per, Mary Ann, a millionaire, and a movie star), and NoNo. While we are getting to know these guys we begin to see that they might remind us of some people we know. Obvi-ously, it’s no surprise that in a situa-tion where change is looming, there’s bound to be resistance to change, but there’s also heroic ac-tion.

To make a short story shorter, this tale points us to eight steps (check out the side bar) that can help us along the way; steps that can help us to charter a new course- a course which will allow us to better succeed or even survive in an ever-changing world. And that’s why I’m excited to share my passion for this book. Of course, it’s a great penguin story (a story for all ages by the way), but more importantly, it is a story gives that us the tools to change and to succeed under any conditions.

I think we, the VCTGA and the Christmas tree industry, could learn a lot from this easily digested book and the eight simple steps outlined. We have some very real problems and obstacles to overcome. Our suc-cess depends on how well and per-haps how quickly we can identify the problems, challenges, and obsta-cles facing our industry. Once we’ve identified them we can then deter-mine what course to take and act upon that plan - how to change and handle them.

Presidentially Speaking… The Eight Step Process of

Successful Change (Taken from

Our Iceberg Is Melting)

Set the Stage 1) Create a Sense of Ur-

gency (Help others to see the need)

2) Pull Together the Guiding Team (leader-ship, credibility, & communication skills are needed)

Decide What to Do 3) Develop the Change

Vision and Strategy

Make it Happen 4) Communicate for Un-

derstanding and Buy In 5) Empower Others to

Act- Remove obstacles 6) Produce Short-Term

Wins- Everyone likes to win & be rewarded

7) Don’t Let Up- Persist

Make It Stick 8) Create a New Culture-

Hang in there Virginia Chisholm Carroll,

VCTGA President

Available on Amazon.com


6 VCTGANewsJournal‐Fall2011

These problems and obstacles, in-clude everything from consumer fears and concerns about the messi-ness, freshness, allergy risks, and fire safety of our product to whether or not we use chemicals in produc-tion, and, of course, the ever present question as to whether or not are we or are we are harming or benefitting the environment. How are we going to deal with these and other issues and once we’ve come up with the solutions how can we better com-municate these facts to consumers and retail buyers alike. Are we will-ing to remain informed about the advantages of using social media and other, yet to be created, forms of cultural communication and are we willing to use these?

In closing, consider getting a copy of this insightful little book as a gift for someone else or maybe yourself (Christmas Is Coming!) Thanks for reading, next time; I might be shar-ing my thoughts on “agripreneurs”!

Virginia Chisholm Carroll,

VCTGA President

VCTGA Check List It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Christmas tree business and to be a part of Virginia’s flagship Christ-mas tree organization, VCTGA. Ob-viously, as well, we’re approaching “our season”. The most wonderful time of the year!

Here’s a check list of some of the good things we’ve got going for us . That’s right a list of what we’re do-ing right!

Attractive new logo and promo-tional materials (Contact our secretary Jeff Miller if you’re in need of brochures, etc.)

New look for our new journal VIRGINIA EVERGREEN

Renewed commitment to market-ing, facilitated by a grant from VDACS

Partnering with VIRGINIA FARMING and our “on air friend of the industry” Jeff Ishee

Stronger commitment to strengthening the working rela-tionship with the Mt. Rogers Christmas Tree Growers Associ-ation

Great VCTGA staff support from our capable and professional as-sociational secretary Jeff Miller and his wife Sandy

Great support from VDACS and marketing specialist Danny Neel.

Stronger ties with Virginia Tech and the resources the university can provide our industry

A new slate of officers and direc-tors, both old and new, who are bringing a combination of expe-rience and expertise to our or-ganization along with the focus and perspective of a couple of our newer members

A commitment to strong annual meeting with worthwhile in-formative program options – We’re already working on the 2012 meeting in Waynesboro where we’ll Meet in the Valley

Proclamation from Governor’s Office designating December as “VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS TREE MONTH”

These are just a few of the good things we might list.

You could probably supply a few items of your own. Here’s to a

great “selling season”! -provided by Virginia Carroll

Neel Receives VCTGA President's Award

Danny Neel, Marketing Specialist with the Virginia Department of Ag-riculture and Consumer Services, requires no introduction to VCTGA members and this year we were able to thank him in a tangible way for his work with our organization by awarding him the VCTGA Presi-dent's Award.

At the Annual VCTGA Meeting in Blacksburg in August, Danny was presented with a plaque that read "in recognition of his outstanding initia-tive, support, and service to VCTGA and to the Virginia Christmas tree industry".

(l-r) Danny Neel receives VCTGA

Award from Commissioner of Agricul-ture, Matt Lohr and VCTGA President

Virginia Carroll Danny has been and continues to be an integral part of the work of our industry working closely with our board as an advisor and has contrib-uted greatly to advancing the cause of promoting and selling Virginia Grown Christmas trees. Danny is well know to both the growers of VCTGA and the Mt. Rogers Christ-mas Tree Growers Association and, indeed, the entire Southwest Virgin-ia area. It was especially good to have had Commissioner Matt Lohr on hand at the meeting's banquet to assist with the presentation of the award to Danny.

(l-) Danny Neel receives VCTGA Award from Commissioner of Agriculture, Matt Lohr and VCTGA President Virginia Carroll.



President, Virginia Carroll expressed her personal gratitude to Danny for his ongoing involvement with the organi-zation and the industry. Carroll openly shared that he has been a key part in supporting the association and the industry during her tenure as presi-dent. Danny remains abreast of the market and works to keep up with innovations being put in place for growers and buyers alike. His positive involvement and the job he does in helping to better connect the associa-tion to the resources available to us through VDACS provides a tremen-dous boost to our work and that of the Christmas tree industry in Virginia.

Virginia Carroll, VCTGA President

Danny Neel helps Virginia Farmers

Market their Products WYTHEVILLE, Va. — People in Southwest Virginia who have farm products to sell and those wanting to buy those products know who to ask about the marketing of those goods. His name is Danny Neel, marketing specialist with the Virginia Depart-ment of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).

Early in August, the Virginia Christ-mas Tree Growers Association found a way to say "thank you" to Neel for what he has done in helping them sell the real Christmas trees grown across the state. VCTGA President Virginia Carroll presented Neel with the group's President's Award at the growers' annual convention in Blacks-burg.

Christmas trees are just one of the Virginia crops Neel works to market

across the states. Working to sell fruits and vegetables and processed foods is also part of Neel's work for VDACS."I love working with grow-ers," Neel said. "I've developed a good relationship with buyers. I love to work with them." His job entails working both with the people who grow and process the foods to find markets and with the people who want to sell them.

The morning he was interviewed he was busy putting together an assort-ment of promotional materials for a major chain store interested in selling locally grown Virginia foods. The colorful posters developed by VDACS use the “Virginia Grown” slogan and logo and identify products "Fresh from the Farm Fresh to You."

In Blacksburg, Carroll and Neel intro-duced the new marketing materials he has worked with the VCTGA to de-velop to help market real Virginia Christmas trees. These feature a new logo and the slogan "Experience A

Ad - Kelco Ad - Christmas Hill



Real Tree." The "Virginia Grown" logo is also an important tool for Neel in the work he does. "The good thing about the state of Virginia is we've got the support of the governor, the secre-tary of agriculture and forestry, the commissioner and those all the way down," he said. "It's a team effort."He pointed out that the governor always takes along some agriculture folks when he goes overseas.

Neel is a native of Tazewell County, Va., where he grew up on a dairy and beef cattle farm, so his roots are in agriculture and the work it takes to make a living. He earned an associate degree in business management, but started working even before he fin-ished his studies. In those days, the state had what was known as the Crop Reporting Service, and he began working part time for them. Jim Shel-burne, an experienced livestock ser-vice grader, knew Neel and asked him to come to work in the Livestock Grading Service in 1978, Neel re-called. He worked part time for Shel-burne until 1983, when he became a full-time livestock grader. "In 1988," Neel said, "this position was created. "I applied." He got the job. "I changed careers in September 1988," he said. "The state set up six regular market managers across the state of Virginia and I was one of them."

"The biggest thing I have worked with the Department of Agriculture (in cre-ating) is the farmers market in Hills-ville," Neel said, referring to the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market at Exit 14 off Interstate 77. It was up in running in 1995 and is one of the most important farmers markets in the state. The market offers both wholesale and retail components, according to its website. The retail market gives ven-dors a year-round venue to sell "their farm fresh produce, produce-related items, in season plants and area arts and crafts," the site states. The Whole-sale Warehouse is also a year-round operation. It distributes local produce to grocery market chains and is equipped with cooling, packing and grading capabilities.

Things have changed since Neel start-ed his job 23 years ago. He recalls that back then many of the Christmas tree growers he worked with had most of their trees sold by July or before. As this industry has grown, he has seen it become more competitive, especially with growers in other states. As a re-sult, the need to become more savvy marketers has grown as well. He sees the growth in marketing skills as part-ly a combination of demand and "of our people getting innovative." He pointed to an innovation discussed at the VCTGA meeting where a grower told of putting tags on all his trees showing who grew them and where. The tags also tell how to care for a real Christmas tree to make it last and keep it safe.

One bit of advice Neel offered the tree growers probably applies to all the producers he deals with in his line of work: "Return your calls," he urged. He said he gets calls from potential buyers who have tried to reach a pro-ducer by leaving a message on a tele-phone answering machine and never get a return call. The same goes for e-mail.

Neel also works with the Virginia Pumpkin Growers Association, which had scheduled its annual Summer Tour/Field Day for Sunday, Sept. 11, in Riner, VA. Allen Straw gave a presentation on production issues and crop status, and participants got a look at variety trials, herbicide trials, fungi-cide trials and other production con-cerns. The tour was held at the Brann/King Farm and Sinkland Farm.

By Jane W. Graham Virginia Corre-spondent, The Mid-Atlantic Grower

Highlights from the Board and Annual

Membership Minutes Marketing Grant Updates – Jeff reported that some grant funds had been spent on the work by Tom Kegley Communications on the new logo and the new brochures and there will be more grant expenses in Au-

gust. Expenses are in line with the grant budget and he will start filing for reimbursements from VDACS for the grant this month. He noted that copies on the new Buy/Sell Brochure and the “Experience a Real Tree” marketing brochures were available at the regis-tration desk and the new display ban-ner was setup. All the graphics are owned by the VCTGA and members are encouraged to use these graphics in their marketing programs which will help tie in local marketing. There may be a one-day winter marketing meeting this upcoming winter.

"Helping Virginia Farming" pro-gram, by Jeff Ishee, was reviewed by Virginia Carroll. The program consist of opening and closing ad spots on his program, a spot during the program and he will use the VCTGA as a resource for infor-mation, interviews and links on his website. The investment for two years would be $2,000 and would come out of the current marketing grant.

Robert O’Keeffe and J.B. Snelson

Scholarship –

Robert O’Keeffe re-ported that the

2011 scholarship had been awarded to J.B. Snelson, a graduate student at Virginia Tech and he had helped conduct the tours at the Hahn Gar-den on Thursday evening and was also at the BBQ dinner. He recom-mended that this year’s scholarship auction to be in memory of Fred Wagoner who passed away last week and had been a supplier, friend and mentor to many in the Christmas tree industry. A motion was made to approve this, seconded and passed. To review a complete set of the minutes

from the VCTGA Board Meeting on August 3 or the VCTGA Annual Meeting on August 5, contact the VCTGA office

at 540-382-7310 or [email protected]



Thanks to our Sponsors!

Kubota

Crop Production Services Farm Credit of the Virginias

FarmBureau – Floyd VA Farm Bureau Federation

Landscape Supply Power Zone

Southern States Cooperative Sign A Rama

Reliable Sources – Jim Rockis

The Scholarship Auction & Raffle raised over $2,500

for the Scholarship Fund!

Survey of Growers Attending 2011 Annual

Meeting

The reaction of members attending the 2011 annual meeting was very positive.

A number of growers commented personally to me that the meeting was outstanding. A couple said they thought the program was the best of the meetings they had attended.

All registrants had a survey form in-

cluded in their packets. Only 11 sur-veys were returned. That is probably another indication that the meeting was a success.

Growers were generally satisfied with the program content. Several commented positively on the Road-side Marketing in a Digital Age. Oth-ers appreciate the Pesticide Recerti-fication component.

Suggestions for future program sub-jects included:

experience of growers with var-ious tree species

what is selling in shops organic tree growing summaries of research on vari-

ous cultural practices hands on wreath-making shearing pines more on fungal problems exotic species show and tell on modified tools

by members

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Four Generations ofQuality Evergreensand Nursery Stock

255 Zeigler Road PO Box 70 Dover, PA 17315 717-292-5683 800-345-3406 Fax 717-292-4129

www.strathmeyer.com

Bareroot Seedlings, and TransplantsCut Christmas Trees

Balled & Burlapped Trees

Strathmeyer Ad VA CTGA 7.5 x 5.pdf 1 8/19/2011 2:07:00 PM



Most commenters thought the cost of the hotel was reasonable with a couple suggesting that it was bit high-especially the food.

Generally, it appears that growers attending the meeting were highly satisfied. But there is always room for improvement and I am sure our Board will continue to work to or-ganize a great meeting for 2012.

Provided by Steve Satterfield, 2011 Annual Meeting Chair

Enjoying at networking break

at the Annual Meeting

Judges grading trees in the VCTGA Tree Contest. See the winners of this and the Wreath Contest on page 27.

My Memories of Fred Wagoner

Fred Wagoner at the 2010 VCTGA

Annual Meeting, Waynesboro

By Tommy Naylor The Christmas spirit and the Wag-oner family seems to be synony-mous with each other. However, it did not come that way- it was hard earned for the love and labor Fred and twin brother John Wagoner put into it. Developing the love was hard work but both truly enjoyed what they did.

Fred, twin brother John and a sister were raised on a farm in Guilford County. Fred’s father, J.I. Wagoner and mother, Eunice Homewood named their domain Wagwood Farms. Here the hard work ethic was instilled and guided by their father’s easy going personality.

During the Depression years Fred’s father planted red cedar trees be-tween rows of loblolly pines to sell for timber. Eventually the unsheared trees were taken to Greensboro and sold for one to two dollars each. The money both brothers made help fi-nance their way to college at NC State University. Each successive year they continued to earn money by cutting trees from the farm and

any neighboring farms they could bargain with.

They began to plant trees in rows and started preparing for the next year’s harvest. When an opportunity came to buy trees from northern states Fred and John began selling different varieties such as scotch pine and Canadian balsam fir, shipped by rail to the Greensboro station with snow still clinging to the branches.

With money tucked away at a Gib-sonville bank the brothers left for college in 1940. They worked at dif-ferent jobs- selling donuts and re-pairing student’s shoes. World War II interrupted their college education and both served in the armed forces, serving in the 104th Infantry Divi-sion of the US Army from 1942 to 1945. Fred received his Masters de-gree in 1947 and became a county agent, just like his father before him. John, going his way played football at NC State and soon signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for a pro career. The Canadian league lured John and played there several years before coming back to farm and sell Christmas trees.

Fred met Dot Mann some years ear-lier, being involved with 4-H. They were married in 1946 and began their life together in the Christmas tree industry. Both brothers were lured to the mountains for further interest in Christmas tree growing. At Roan Mountain the National Park Service began to sell tracts or boundaries for trees to cut. They acquired some of the land and began to top out Fraser firs and get them to market. Here they developed several methods to get wild Frasers off the mountain. Eventually they bought land to plant Fraser fir seedlings and learned to fertilize, shear and man-age pests to produce a good quality tree imaginable at that time.

As a district 4-H specialist at the School of Agriculture at NC State

Enjoying a networking break at the Annual Meeting.


Fred Wagoner at the 2010 VCTGA Annual Meeting, Waynesboro.

Fred, twin brother John, brother Paul and a sister were raised on a farm in Guilford County. Fred’s father, J.I. Wagoner and mother, Eunice Home-wood named their domain Wagwood Farms. Here the hard work ethic was instilled and guided by their father’s easy going personality.





































With money tucked away at a Gibson-ville bank the brothers left for college in 1940. They worked at different jobs-selling donuts and repairing student’s shoes. World War II interrupted their college education and both served in the armed forces, serving in the 104th Infantry Division of the US Army from 1942 to 1945. Fred received his Bach-elor’s degree in 1947, continued work on a Master’s degree and became a county agent, just like his father before him. Fred and John both played foot-ball and wrestled at NC State. Both received offers to play for the Phila-delphia Eagles, but only John signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for a pro career. The Canadian league lured John and he played there several years before coming back to farm and sell Christmas trees.





















Fred continued to be involved in the Christmas tree business. Sometime thereafter Fred bought a farm in Ashe County in what it would be-come Fraser Knoll. Here, Fred grew and nurtured hundreds of Fraser firs, along with white pine and Norway spruce. By 1979 a thriving Christ-mas tree supply and equipment business was started to meet growers needs from field mowers, shearing tools, balers, wreath rings to rolls of ribbon for bows to wreath picks and the like. Retail lots rounded out the Christmas tree venture in Raleigh and Greensboro, where fresh wreaths and garland was made on the premises, even unto this day. The success over the many years of quality trees has earned the Wagoner name a high reputation among cus-tomers.

My Association with the Wagoner’s

Along about the time the Eastern NC

Christmas Tree Association was be-ing formed, a new outlet for Fred and Dot came into being. This new association formed to serve the needs of growers outside the moun-tains who were choose and cut re-tailers. On their displays were all the essential tools to run the seasonal business, from tree netting, tree col-orants, stands, wreath rings and so much more. The growing associa-tion patronized the Wagoner’s busi-ness as they brought ordered mer-chandise to the meetings each year.

The love and personality of Fred and Dot was overwhelming and it was at these meetings I got to see the love and compassion they revealed. Through all the years Fred and Dot were fixtures at state Christmas tree meetings. To walk through the Fra-ser Knoll booth at trade shows was an event to look forward to- to see what was new for the upcoming sales season. I knew of nothing that the Wagoner’s didn’t have that I

could utilize to equip and expand my operation. They have all I will ever need.

My Memories of Fred I remember the first time Fred invit-ed me to come and spend the week-end with them at their mountain home near Laurel Springs. It was about ten years ago when Watauga County hosted the NCCTA summer meeting in Boone. What a treat it was to be invited to spend time with the Wagoner’s and not have to rush to get home. A modest, comfortable home situated on a high ridge af-fording magnificent views to the northeast caught my eye and the views I cannot forget. As the terrain falls behind their home, the hills are covered in lots of well groomed Fra-ser firs in a pattern that only a pho-tographer or artist could appreciate. The lawn was landscaped with a beautiful blue spruce where the Fra-ser Knoll sign stood out front, along

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with birch and a large Norway spruce in the back.

Sometime later, in appreciation of my stay I gave Dot two variegated Weigelia and a pee gee hydrangea to include in their landscape. Future trips to Fraser Knoll always included treats from home such as sweet pota-toes, pears or grapes to show my gratitude for their invitations. At night before sleeping in, the sleep was restful and peaceful. Crickets and cows off at a distance provided a serenade to be lulled to sleep, com-forted by cool mountain air. Air conditioning here is not needed.

A Day at Whitetop Around 2003 or so I was privileged to come along with Fred and Dot to the Mount Rogers Christmas Tree Association meeting held each mid September at White Top, Virginia. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon as we wound our way north of Jeffer-son through some of the most spec-tacular, unspoiled mountain scenery Ashe County has to offer. Upon en-tering Virginia, Route 58 hair pinned and twisted up to some of Virginia’s highest elevations past the Grayson Highlands State Park and finally to the White Top Fire and Rescue Sta-tion where the afternoon meeting convened in a nice community hall.

Fred always brought supplies in the camper shelled truck to sell on the grounds of the meeting site. Some-times a few things sold , sometimes not. It was here I met Danny Neel, VDACS marketing specialist. From that time on I always looked forward to Danny’s appearance at the VCTGA meetings. Fred always bragged how good the Mount Rog-ers group was and the supper the local ladies served in the community hall was a treat to enjoy. How right he was! The supper itself was reason enough to attend the Sunday after-noon meeting.

As the decade progressed, I felt a close bond to the Wagoner’s for my appreciation for all they have done and still do. To me it was an empty void filled after my mother’s passing in 2002. I had more time to associate and enjoy them whether it was one the NCCTA meetings or at their mountain home. Whenever I could, a trip to the mountains would in-clude a stop at Fraser Knoll just see how Fred and Dot were doing. It was routine that I would stop by to get the supplies I ordered and spend a little time before I reluctantly headed home.

As long as he could Fred would con-tinue to attend the state Christmas tree meetings but eventually time would catch up and Fred was afflict-ed with hip problems. A replacement procedure was done and soon he would be back on his feet by way of a cane or walker. His tenacity and positive attitude kept him going and that I always admired him for not giving up.

A Solemn Moment No less than a year ago I came by the Wagoner’s to see them and to pick up seasonal supplies I had or-dered. It was a nice October day and the mountains were ablaze in the autumn colors. Helping Fred load a wreath table onto a golf cart he had made at the old warehouse, we rode up the steep grade to the new ware-house to unload. He had on his mind to pick up some apples at a tree next to a steep Fraser fir field. With an apple picker in hand we arrived at the tree where hundreds of apples lay on the ground and on the tree. It did not take long to fill two buckets of the ruby red fruits. As I continued to pick up very nice apples Fred had to rest and made the comment, “maybe Dot can make me an apple pie.” I cannot explain it but at the time I felt a bond of compassion and love, and bit of sadness noticing how Fred’s health had declined and I

could not do enough to ease the situ-ation. This was a moment that is etched in my memory and a cher-ished moment I will not soon forget.

Fred’s Influence and Love for Others

Over the many years Fred touched and influenced many people and his out-going personality, love and compas-sion to help anyone in need was never in short supply. What he and his brother John learned about the busi-ness they shared with many. I think of Bill Stanton, Bill Stanton Jr. and Joe Freeman and there are others he helped to start a Christmas tree busi-ness of their own. The hard work ethic the brothers were instilled with carried over to those who helped Fred at Fra-ser Knoll, and in turn the hard work Fred instilled in them has made them good stewards of the farming of trees and caring for the environment. The Christmas tree business has been good to Fred and Dot for many years. A good reputation, producing a quality product and the love for all their tree customers and others in the business has paid off in dividends that is price-less. Fred’s involvement with 4-H earned him an induction in the Na-tional 4-H Hall of Fame, local Ruritan and the love for his church, among other involvements has accomplished his lot in life.

He dearly loved being a part of the VCTGA and looked forward to the annual meetings, and to fellowship with all he has known in Virginia for years. My last conversation I had with Fred was somber, but his uplifted spir-it was overwhelmed with all the cards and letters he received from many in Virginia. He was grateful I informed the VCTGA of his condition. Fred never lacked words to express how he felt for he knew his time would soon expire. The Lord called Fred home on July 22, 2011 and I am sure the Lord welcomed him, saying “well done thy good and faithful servant.”

Provided by Tommy Naylor


ALPHA NURSERIES, INC3737 –65TH ST.

HOLLAND, MI 49423 Fall 2011-Spring 2012

Phone: 269 - 857-7804 Fax: 269 857-8162Email: [email protected]

Find us on the web at: www.alphanurseries.com

Spruce Pine, Other Evergreens Per Per Per Per

Species Size Age 100 1000 Species Size Age 100 1000

Colorado Bl. Spruce 9-15" 2-0 $38 $200 White Pine 8-12" 2-0 $43 $225 Picea pungens 'glauca' 10-18" 2-1 $86 $535 Pinus strobus 12-18" 2-2 $112 $700

Kaibab, San Juan 14-20" 2-2 $122 $765 Lake States 16-24" 2-2 $160 $1,000Misty Blue * 18-24" 2-2 $152 $950

* - Add $75/1000 Red Pine 4-7" 2-0 $27 $140

White Spruce 10-18" 2-0 $38 $200 Pinus resinosa 7-12" 2-1 $90 $560 Picea glauca 14-20" 2-2 $105 $660 Lake States

Lake States 20-30" 2-2 $136 $850 Austrian Pine 8-12" 2-0 $37 $195 Pinus nigra 8-14" 2-1 $88 $550

Norway Spruce 10-18" 2-0 $39 $205

Picea abies 10-16" 2-2 $88 $550 Scotch Pine 6-10" 2-0 $27 $14014-18" 2-1 $85 $530 Pinus sylvestris 10-18" 2-0 $36 $190

16-24" 2-2 $124 $775 Scots Highland, Guadarrama, FrenchRiga, Macedoina

Black Hills Spruce 8-16" 2-2 $88 $550

Picea glauca 'densata' 10-18" 2-3 $104 $650 Southwest. Wh Pine 6-12" 2-0 $36 $190 Pinus strobiformis

Serbian Spruce 10-16" 2-1 $92 $575

Picea omorika 18-24" 2-2 $140 $875 Ponderosa Pine 6-9" 2-0 $45 $235 Pinus ponderosa 5-10" 2-1 $84 $525

Fir Black Hills N.F.

Fraser Fir 8-12" P+2 $102 $640 American Larch 18-30" 2-0 $98 $610 Abies fraseri 12-18" P+3 $124 $775 Larix laricina 30-42" 2-0 $128 $800

Roan Mountain 18-30" P+3 $144 $900 Ontario

Canadian Hemlock 8-14" P+1 $101 $630

Balsam Fir 6-12" P+1 $94 $590 Tsuga canadensis 18-24" P+2 $140 $875 Abies balsamea 8-12" P+2 $104 $650 Ontario

Nova Scotia 12-16" P+2 $128 $800 White Cedar 4-8" 2-0 $34 $180 Thuja occidentalis 8-15" 2-0, 3-0 $46 $240

Concolor Fir 5-10" 2-0 $42 $220 Minnesota 10-16" 3-1 $98 $610 Abies concolor 6-9" 2-1 $88 $550

Santa Fe N.F. 10-18" 2-2 $124 $775

Canaan Fir 8-14" P+1 $110 $685 Abies balsamea var. phanerolipsis 10-16" P+2 $124 $775

West Virginia

Douglas Fir: 10-18" 2-0 $37 $195 Pseudotsuga menziesii glauca 12-16" 2-1 $84 $525

Lincoln, Deep Mount., 20-30" 2-2 $124 $775Shuswap Lake

Korean Fir: 7-12" P+2 $112 $700 Abies koreana 12-20" P+3 $144 $900

Write today for complete price list! Note: Other evergreen species available. In addition, we grow 200 species of broadleaves. 25% deposit due with order. Thank you for your consideration! Jeff Busscher, Manager



Virginia Farming WVPT-TV to promote

“Experience a Real Tree”

WVPT is proud to serve farmers, agribusinesses and all viewers with our award-winning, weekly televi-sion program Virginia Farming, which is now entering its 9th season. The show helps keep farmers, agri-businesses and the general public abreast of news and issues involving Virginia agriculture. Virginia Farm-ing is the Commonwealth's only lo-cally produced, weekly farm series on television. Writer and award-winning Shenandoah Valley farm radio broadcaster Jeff Ishee hosts the series. The television program is an exciting development for the rural and agricultural community. Guests from across the region appear on the show to discuss poultry, beef, dairy, crop, wine, seafood, timber, aqua-culture and related industries. In-cluded in each 30-minute program are long-range agricultural weather forecasts, market trends, a salute to an individual farm community and a round table discussion with a guest.

Virginia Farming is seen throughout the Shenandoah Valley and Central and Northern Virginia (including DC), plus portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia on WVPT each Friday evening at 7:30pm and also Saturday and Sun-day at noon. It is seen in Richmond on WCVE and Charlottesville on WHTJ Sundays at 1pm and in Roa-

noke on Blue Ridge PBS Saturdays at 11:30am. West Virginia PBS airs the program statewide Sundays at 11:30am. And the program is seen twice weekly by a national audience on RFD-TV.

Quote from Jeff Ishee Host of Virginia Farm-

ing "Virginia Farming and WVPT would like to thank the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association for supporting our television pro-gram.

Christmas Tree growers work all year long to provide families with one of the highlights of the Holiday season - a farm-grown Christmas tree. You also protect the environ-ment, stimulate the rural economy, add value and diversity to rural acre-age, and provide jobs outside the city limits. Thank you for what you do! We hope to work with you often in the future to help consumers bet-ter understand the benefits and chal-lenges of being a Christmas Tree grower."

"Virginia Farming and WVPT would like to thank the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association for supporting our television pro-gram.

Christmas Tree growers work all year long to provide families with one of the highlights of the Holiday

season - a farm-grown Christmas tree.

You also protect the environment, stimulate the rural economy, add value and diversity to rural acreage, and provide jobs outside the city limits. Thank you for what you do! We hope to work with you often in the future to help consumers better understand the benefits (and chal-lenges) of being a Christmas Tree grower."

Best regards, Jeff Ishee

DRAFT Certificate of Recognition

The following proclamation has been sent to Governor McDonnell to sign to help promote the experience of a real tree, which he did for the first time in

2010. By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS TREE MONTH

WHEREAS, Virginia farmers grow Christmas trees on thousands of acres across the state for wholesale, retail and choose-and-cut customers,

WHEREAS, Virginia farmers pro-duce numerous varieties including spruce, pine, fir and cedar as fresh cut, cut-your-own or live trees; and

WHEREAS, the fresh appearance and fragrant aroma of a live Christ-mas tree has been part of family and corporate tradition for more than 250 years in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, real Virginia Christ-mas trees contribute to a healthy environment by adding oxygen to the air, providing wildlife habitat and increasing soil stability; and

WHEREAS, purchases of real Vir-ginia Christmas trees benefit the growers, the environment and the state’s economy as well as those

Quote from Jeff IsheeHost of Virginia Farming



who enjoy the tree’s freshness, fra-grance and lasting beauty; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Christmas trees are a renewable resource and for every one harvested, two to three seedlings are planted in its place; and

WHEREAS, consumers can drive an hour or less in any direction in Virginia and find fresh Virginia grown Christmas trees to purchase; and

WHEREAS, Christmas tree farming is part of Virginia’s most economi-cally important industry, agriculture, and buying real Christmas trees from Virginia growers helps them maintain their agricultural opera-tions and helps expand the overall economy of the state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert F. McDonnell, do hereby recognize December 2011 as CHRISTMAS TREE MONTH in the COM-MONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the at-tention of all our citizens.

Jake and Jenna Bostic help Virginia Carroll with door prize drawings

and showcasing auctions at the an-nual meeting.

Mount Rogers Fraser Fir Seed Orchard

An Example of the Virginia Dept. of

Forestry Collaboration!

On Sunday, June 26, 2011, a new, se-cond generation, Mount Rogers Fraser Fir Seed Orchard was celebrated as a partnership with the Virginia Depart-ment of Forestry and the Mount Rogers Christmas Tree Growers Assoc., Inc.

The Virginia Commonwealth State For-ester, Carl Garrison, III, shared the vi-sion of the collaboration and partnership for a seed orchard as a way to preserve the superior characteristics of the Mount Rogers Fraser fir for many generations of Christmas tree farmers and their cus-tomers in the future. The Mount Rogers Fraser fir Christmas trees are an eco-nomic engine for Grayson County, Vir-ginia, surrounding counties, and the entire Commonwealth.

The Virginia Department of Forestry initiated a land exchange with the Vir-ginia Department of Conservation & Recreation, which lead to the establish-ment of the “Old Flat State Forest” and the new Mount Rogers Fraser Fir Seed Orchard. The land exchange was a four year process which was approved by the unanimous consent of the Virginia State Legislature and signed by the Governor. Preserving the native Mount Rogers Fraser fir for its unique gene pool will have long lasting environmental signifi-cance, which is important to the De-partment of Forestry’s vision.

John Rosser, President of the Mount Rogers Christmas Tree Growers Assoc., Inc., expressed to Mr. Garrison, on be-half of the tree farmers, “our apprecia-tion and gratitude for all of the support which we have received from the Vir-ginia Department of Forestry!”

Five “Quick Fixes” to Improve Your Farm

Marketing This past summer I was hired by the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing As-sociation to visit ten agritourism op-erators in the province. My assign-ment was to conduct farm reviews and provide recommendations on how each operator could grow their business.

It was a good week for me because, not only did I get out of the oppres-sive heat of our Midwest summer, but I also had the opportunity to visit ten very diverse farming operations and spend time with the farm fami-lies. The operations included a bed & breakfast with a spa; some small, outdoor farm stands; a small pas-ture-fed beef operation; and a few traditional farm markets.

Once again it was obvious to me that the farm enterprises in Canada are very similar to those in the United States—except for the fact that they are not suffering from the economic downturn to the same degree as U.S. businesses. In both countries, though, I find that as farmers, we are all still struggling to find the right formula to turn profits on our farms.

My project in Ontario required 10 written reports, and in completing them, I began to observe some common issues—issues that I also see in many other farms both in Canada and the U.S.

If your farm is not quite where you want to be, here are five “quick fix-es” I’ve found to be almost universal to farm enterprises nibbling at the edge of their profit potential.

1. Paint Up – Fix Up

Farmers always want to show me their “newest” attraction, and they have tremendous enthusiasm for the next great item to be added to their entertainment area. However, when I

An Example of the Virginia Dept. ofForestry Collaboration!

Jake and Jenna Bostic help Virginia Carroll with door prize drawings and showcasing auctions at the annual meeting.


10785 84th Avenue • Allendale, Michigan 49401Phone: (616) 892-4090 • Fax: (616) 892-4290Email: [email protected]

Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 Wholesale Price List for

Quality Seedlings & Transplants

FRASER FIR (3-0) 6-12” $45.00 $225.00(2-2,PL+2) 8-15” $100.00 $725.00(3-2,PL+2) 10-18” $110.00 $750.00 (P+3) 12-22” $125.00 $850.00

BALSAM FIR (2-0) 5-10” $40.00 $195.00 (P+1) 8-14” $86.00 $575.00 (P+2) 10-18” $110.00 $750.00

CANAAN FIR (P+1) 8-14” $90.00 $595.00 (P+2) 10-18” $115.00 $795.00

DOUGLAS FIR - Lincoln (2-0,3-0) 9-15” $40.00 $175.00 (2-1) 12-18” $86.00 $575.00

CONCOLOR FIR (2-0) 5-12” $45.00 $225.00 (2-1,P+1) 8-14” $90.00 $595.00 (2-2,P+2) 12-18” $115.00 $795.00COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE - San Juan & Kiabab (2-0,3-0) 9-15” $40.00 $175.00 (2-1,2-2) 10-16” $75.00 $495.00 (2-2,P+2) 10-18” $110.00 $750.00 (X-LG) 15-24” $250.00 $1,600.00

WHITE SPRUCE - Lake States (2-0,3-0) 9-15” $40.00 $175.00 (2-1,2-2) 15-20” $90.00 $595.00 (2-2) 15-24” $110.00 $750.00 (X-LG) 20-30” $250.00 $1,600.00

NORWAY SPRUCE - Lake States (2-0,3-0) 9-15” $40.00 $175.00 (2-1,2-2) 15-24” $90.00 $650.00 (X-LG) 20-30” $250.00 $1,600.00

BLACKHILL SPRUCE (2-0) 5-12” $40.00 $175.00 (2-1) 8-14” $75.00 $495.00 (2-2) 8-15” $95.00 $695.00 (2-2) 12-18” $110.00 $750.00

SERBIAN SPRUCE (2-0) 8-14” $45.00 $225.00 (2-1,P+1) 8-14” $90.00 $595.00 (2-2,P+2) 12-18” $115.00 $795.00

AUSTRIAN PINE (2-0) 5-12” $40.00 $175.00 (1-2) 12-18” $115.00 $795.00

RED PINE - Lake States (2-0) 4-8” $35.00 $150.00 (2-0,3-0) 5-12” $40.00 $175.00

WHITE PINE - Lake States (2-0) 4-8” $35.00 $150.00 (2-0,3-0) 5-12” $40.00 $175.00 (3-0) 8-15” $45.00 $225.00 (2-1) 8-14” $82.00 $550.00 (2-2) 12-18” $110.00 $750.00 (X-LG) 18-24” $250.00 $1,600.00

SCOTCH PINE - Scothighland + French (2-0) 6-12” $35.00 $165.00 (2-0,3-0) 9-15” $40.00 $175.00

WHITE CEDAR (2-0) 4-8” $40.00 $195.00 (3-0) 8-15” $45.00 $225.00 (2-1) 8-14” $82.00 $550.00 (2-2,P+2) 12-18” $110.00 $750.00

ARBORvITAE - DARK GREEN, TECHNY, EMERALD & GREEN GIANT (RC+1) 6-12” $110.00 $750.00 (RC+2) 12-18” $140.00 $950.00

10-20% Discount on orders over 10,000 plants

For complete list please write or call us.

Brian Bosch / Owner

Per 100 Per 1,000 Age Size Rate Rate



Ad_1_BW.indd 1 7/28/10 12:37 PM


look at the entire mix of attractions, my attention is often caught by the older ones. At four or five years old, they are showing wear. Sure, the new attractions are fun for you and will excite your visitors, but the wooden picnic tables, play struc-tures, fencing and old signs that have flaking and peeling paint can be a turn-off for your guest no mat-ter what new attraction you added this year.

Unfortunately, it is easy for us to walk around our farm and look right past the obvious wear. I suggest you ask an honest friend to take a fresh look to see what needs to be painted, replaced or just thrown on the burn pile.

2. Price For a Profit

No matter what size or scale of your operation, you need to be pricing your products to earn you a profit. I am still amazed at the number of

farms that continue to have the “wholesale farmer” mentality. If you are growing apples here in the Mid-west and have a pick your own farm, then it really does not matter what the prices are of apples from Wash-ington State or anywhere else. For-get about competing on the whole-sale price. You are offering both a delicious, locally grown, fresh picked product, and in addition, you provide a unique experience for people to come on your farm. We should not be ashamed or embar-rassed to charge a fair price for our labor as well as the value of our products and services.

3. Follow Your Passion

The farms that do best are those that enjoy what they do and respect their customers. Sure, by the end of Octo-ber we are tired and looking forward to a winter break or slow down, but if this is the lifestyle you love, you’ll

bounce back and be successful.

The creative minds never seem to stop. The folks that can combine their own interests and entrepreneur-ial passion into building a unique business, are sustaining themselves and doing well.

This winter, review your interests and see if they could be used to build a new business based on the farm. Agritourism allows us to not only sell our products but to create experiences people can’t get in town. What else can you create on your farm?

4. Be Willing to Change

While some farms are always look-ing for the “newest” attractions, there are also those that don’t ever want to make changes. There is say-ing, “If it’s not broke - don’t fix it.” However, in some cases, our guests may view our lack of change as an

Ad - Bosch

Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 Wholesale Price List for



inability to keep up with the times.

Our agritourism competition contin-ues to expand and continues to raise the bar on farm experiences. For those farms that don’t believe they need to change, I’d like to talk to you five years from now when you are wondering where your customers have gone.

5. Websites Are Critical

The Internet has become the market-ing media of choice for most of our customers. Yet, so many farms aren’t paying attention to what is on their website and how it is viewed by the public.

A website is your primary billboard to the world, and those printed piec-es and other media have now be-come a much less significant factor in the marketing mix. Make sure that your website is not only attractive with good information and photo-graphs, but that you have a website designed so that the search engines can find you.

That means that the text, headlines, and the title and hidden coding be-hind each webpage must meet the design standards of the search en-gines. Yet, I see so many websites that fail to include the basic compo-nents to be search engine friendly. If you want to learn more about how the search engines find you and how to optimize your site for Google and the others, then I suggest that this winter you might read, SEO for Dummies.

The winter is our time to renew and reflect on our operations. Make a point to sit down with your family and discuss these five critical areas to see how you can improve for 2011.

Jane Eckert is the founder of Eckert AgriMarketing (www.eckertagrimarketing.com), a full-service marketing and public relations firm that helps farmers to sell directly to consumers, diversify

operations and become tourist desti-nations. She is also CEO of www.RuralBounty.com , a search directory for agritourism farms and ranches in North America. Jane can be reached at 314-862-6288 Provided by Sue Bostic, Joe’s Trees, reprinted with permission

Becoming a "Fan" of Facebook

A quick review from last month’s column; Social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIN, YouTube, and Twitter, to name the most popular networks, have changed the way people communicate, share infor-mation, and promote their business. For example, Facebook was once designed as a way for high school graduates to keep in touch with their friends, or peers, during college. It was a network of friends among friends.

But I am here to tell you, friends, that these networks are no longer just for friends, all of them have be-come the new frontier for marketing our businesses, and as such, we’ve got to get on board.

In June, I put together a short ques-tionnaire about social networking, and collected responses from agritourism operators. I wanted to know what they were doing to pro-mote their business through social networking, what programs they used, and what success they’ve en-joyed, if any. I spoke with a pretty good cross-section of farms, most of whom do use traditional websites and e-newsletters, and so I was sur-prised to find that most of the busi-nesses I spoke to aren’t utilizing the social networks very much and some haven’t tried them at all.

Currently, Facebook has over 200 million active users. More than two-thirds of their users are outside of college, making their fastest grow-ing demographic those 35 years and

older. And unlike a traditional web-site, Facebook is constantly chang-ing and evolving, with more than 20 million users updating their statuses, 4 million users becoming “fans” of Pages, 850 million photos uploaded, 8 million videos uploaded and more than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week.

Is anybody looking at all this? You bet. Internet users spent more than 13.9 billion minutes “on Facebook” in just the month of April, 2009.

With approximately 72.4% of all Americans and Canadians using the Internet, business cannot ignore its marketing potential. And, to use the Internet most effectively, we need to keep up with the current trends, and the word is, thousands of businesses are setting up Facebook accounts every single day.

Setting up an account with Facebook is as easy as having a valid email address and choosing a password. There are, however, three different options for setting up a Facebook presence, and each has a different intended purpose.

1. Profiles – Profiles are usually personal accounts. Your profile is what your friends, family and cus-tomers will see about you. They re-flect what people already know and anything else you want to tell them. From your interests and hobbies, work place and school, to favorite books and movies, a profile can tell it all. You can add photos, videos or post links to your profile, however, in order for anyone to see it, they must be your “friend.”

What’s a “friend”? In the evolu-tion of Facebook, the creators rec-ognized that most of us would prefer to control who sees the information we post online about ourselves. They created a “friending” process, where a person has to ask to see your profile, and you have to grant

www.RuralBounty.com


VCTGA News Journal – Summer 2011 Page 19

them permission. If you are not a

“friend”, you can only see their name and profile picture.

2. Groups – Facebook will allow

you to set up a “Group”. I may have

a personal profile, as well as, a group, which is somewhat like a

club. Members are allowed to post

photos, videos, and links and many are geared to special interests and

hobbies. Not everyone can join a

group and some even require an in-vitation.

3. Pages – A “Fan Page” is typically

the new tool of choice for busi-

nesses. The page uses the same for-mat as a “profile” and the creator

must be authorized to set up the ac-

count. The primary difference is that anyone may become a fan of the

page (you don’t have to ask permis-

sion) and the creator has full control over what is added, as opposed to a

group, where any member can add

material.

Pages are being created everyday by businesses, large and small. Compa-

nies can add all of their contact in-

formation, keep others posted about what’s going on, send out messages

to users about events or specials and

add photo and video content, be-

cause everyone knows a picture is worth 1,000 words. Facebook mem-

bers join pages by becoming a “fan”

of that page and are sent notifica-tions when any content is changed or

updated.

Most folks just becoming acquainted with Facebook have seen the pro-

files, and wonder what on earth that

has to do with business. So you must

understand the differences on these three options: A profile can only be

viewed by “friends”, a group relies

on hobbies and interests rather than business (thus, a business may not

be as easily found), and anyone can

find and join a page, which is ca-tered towards businesses.

When I say “You should consider

having your farm on Facebook,” I’m not talking about groups or profiles;

creating a page would be the best

option for an agritourism business to

get involved!

Using Facebook as a marketing

strategy is difficult for many to

grasp, but it’s not an option when you weigh the benefits:

1. Increase awareness of business

– A fan of your page could sug-gest others to become fans and

the cycle could lead to more

“word of mouth” marketing.

2. Increase communication with

existing or potential customers

– Once your page is created,

your followers can keep track of your events and specials as you

post them.

3. Increase customer interest – By uploading new photos or

videos, your customers will feel

more involved and will want to

return if those media reflect any type of change. For example,

uploading a photo album of a

new attraction will get followers to view the photos and then en-

tice them to see it for them-

selves.

4. Increase visibility on the Web – Its simple: the more Web sites

that link to your business’ site,

the more hits you will receive when someone searches your

destination (i.e. hyperlinking

your business site with your Facebook page).

5. Increase customer retention –

special offers or events keep

your fans up-to-date and give your customers another reason

to return.

Facebook is FREE! Facebook is

EASY! With over 200 million users

on Facebook, you can reach millions

of people you would have never found!

A Facebook “Fan Page” can cer-

tainly offer great ways to market your business to its full capacity.

Next month, I will be continuing my

thoughts on social networks and will

be highlighting agritourism destina-tions who have implemented social

networks through Facebook. Until

then, think of all of the possibilities you could open up if you just used

the Internet!

Jane Eckert, a national speaker, author and agritourism expert, is

principal of Eckert AgriMarketing

(www.eckertagrimarketing.com), a

firm that helps farmers sell products directly to consumers and develop

their operations into tourist destina-

tions. Jane can be reached by phone 314-862-6288 or at

[email protected]

http://www.eckertagrimarketing.com/art

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Provided by Sue Bostic, Joe’s Trees,

reprinted with permission

By Jane Eckert

A Good Christmas Tree

In 2008 Is Not So Good

In 2009

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Sharon and I had a Murray cypress

for our own Christmas tree in 2008

and again in 2009. The very differ-ent performance of these two trees,

one good and one not, was a big

surprise to us and not readily expli-cable. This experience, and what we

learned from it, might interest some

other VCTGA members, especially those who are growing, or thinking

about growing, Murray or Leyland

cypress.

We had never had a cypress for a Christmas tree prior to 2007. There-

fore, when the Blue Ice and Murray

cypress trees we were growing be-came large enough to use as Christ-

mas trees, we wanted to try these



how they might expect the cypress to perform based on our own experi-ence, not just from what we had read or heard about these trees. As I de-scribed in an earlier issue of Pines and Needles (spring 2008), we had a great experience with a Blue Ice cy-press during Christmas of 2007. The tree held ornaments and lights nice-ly, it had a relatively strong and per-sistent aroma, and it held up beauti-fully for about five weeks in the house. So, our first experience with a cypress, a Blue Ice, was very good.

We tried a Murray cypress in both 2008 and 2009. Our excellent expe-rience with a Murray cypress in 2008 convinced us that we could confidently recommend one to our customers as a tree that would hold up well for four to five weeks if giv-en proper care. (To encourage prop-er care, we give all customers a flyer describing how to care for their trees, as well as their wreaths and table arrangements.) It was purely by chance that we had a Murray cy-press the following Christmas (2009), because we had already tried one out for ourselves. We used one again simply because we had a nice looking, seven-foot Murray out in the field, but it had a very crooked trunk up to about a foot from the ground and had been passed over by customers. So, we decided to go ahead and use it ourselves. Our ex-perience with this 2009 tree was markedly different from our experi-ence with the 2008 Murray cypress.

The 2008 tree took up about two gallons of water during the first two or three days in the house before water uptake gradually tapered off. After five weeks in the house, the tree still looked fresh and very few scales broke off when I removed the tree from the house. In contrast, the 2009 tree took up virtually no water from the time it was brought into the house until it was removed from the house five weeks later. By the time the tree was removed from the

house, the scales looked droopy and dried out, and quite a few of the scales broke off during removal.

It was not immediately clear why we had such different experiences with the two Murray cypresses. The two trees were cut and maintained in essentially the same manner. Both were cut from the same field com-prised of a heavy, silt loam soil, and both were about seven feet tall. They were both taken to the house and immediately placed in a large stand with water where they remained for about five weeks. The trees were kept in exactly the same location in the house, and temperatures in the house were the same during the 2008 and 2009 Christmas seasons. I just didn’t understand what was re-sponsible for the tremendous differ-ence in performance of the two trees.

I tried to come up with some other explanation (besides field location and soil) for the disparate perfor-mance of the two trees. I briefly considered “genetic variation” as the culprit because that is what we are often (and very possibly correctly) told by various technical experts on Christmas trees when they are not able to come up with a diagnosis for some problem with an individual tree or a small number of trees. However, it seemed that I had to rule out genetic variation as an explana-tion because, as I understand it, Murray cypresses are clones (propa-gated by rooting cuttings) and would all have the same genetic makeup. So, I came up with another hypothe-sis that is logical, but I was not sure it was firmly grounded in plant be-havior. We had a very wet late fall in 2009, right up to the time of cut-ting the tree. When I cut the tree, I imagine that it was totally saturated with water. Thus, when I placed the tree in water just 20 minutes after cutting it down, the tree had no wa-ter deficit and did not take up any water. By the time the tree dried out

enough to need some water, the sap in the tree had sealed off the vascu-lar system where the tree was cut, and it could not take up any water. Of course, this hypothesis about our 2009 Murray cypress to take up wa-ter would seem to imply (maybe unrealistically) that most choose-and-cut trees are suffering a water deficit at the time they are removed from the field (otherwise, most such trees would not take up any water, and that is not the case). This possi-ble explanation seemed suspect to me.

At this point, I was not satisfied with my own ideas to explain the differ-ence in performance between my 2008 and 2009 Christmas trees, so I decided to turn to an expert for help. I contacted Professor Eric Hinesley at North Carolina State University. As you will probably recall, Profes-sor Hinesley made a very interesting and informative presentation based on his research into the post-harvest performance of Christmas trees at the 2009 annual meeting of the VCTGA in Blacksburg, VA. One of the things that made me think about Professor Hinesley was that he had mentioned that his research found that cypress trees rehydrate to a greater extent than other species he tested. In any event, I sent an e-mail to him explaining the situation and offering my hypothesis (amateur stab at an explanation) for the differ-ence I had observed.

Professor Hinesley kindly responded very promptly to my e-mail and was refreshingly candid about his uncer-tainty regarding the performance dif-ference between my two trees. He noted that he hears a similar story at least once a year, but that he has never had it happen with any trees he has used in experiments or in his own home. He further noted specifically in reference to Leyland cypress (a very close relative of the Murray cypress) that they usually perform like my 2008 tree; holding up for a long time when placed in water immediately



after cutting. He added that while he could not refute my hypothesis about pre-harvest moisture content prevent-ing the uptake of water from the stand, he felt that this would not be sufficient to explain the performance difference that I experienced with my trees. (This might have been a kind and scientific way of saying that my hypothesis was a bunch of malarkey.) Professor Hinesley did go on to suggest how I might test the hypothesis.

The information I received from Pro-fessor Hinesley is encouraging to me and Sharon in that it strongly suggests that the poor-performing 2009 Murray cypress is an anomaly. We’re really glad to hear this, because our 2008 tree was really nice, quite a few of our customers like the Murray cypress, and we are growing quite a few of them. At this time, we still feel that we can confidently, but now tinged with a bit of uncertainty, recommend Murray cypress to our customers. In any event, assuming my 2009 tree was an oddball, I wonder why it became an oddball. Perhaps there is a genetic explanation that does not depend on genetic variation, which I don’t think can apply to clones such as Murray cypress. This alternative genetic hy-pothesis is that somehow the 2009 tree had gene damage or a gene mutation, but I don’t know whether this is a plausible hypothesis. I guess I’ll need help from a plant biologist on this one.

By Steve Rhoades

VCTGA Farm Tour Lunch by the

Craig County Livestock Club

Updates from NCTA National Director

I am very excited to begin this new journey as your National Director. Thank you for giving me this oppor-tunity. We have always supported the National Christmas Tree Associ-ation, but until I actually attended the Convention in Chattanooga, TN I had no idea what a positive impact it could have on our business. So, I am excited to have the opportunity to be more involved on a National Level and at the same time be more involved with the VCTGA.

Going through my notes from Na-tionals, I contemplated on where to begin until I came across the VI-SION and MISSION Statement of the National Christmas Tree Associ-ation. The Vision is: A Real Christmas Tree should be the cen-terpiece of every family’s tradi-tion. Our farms and businesses are each unique, but when it comes down to it, we all have a common denominator. We all have the same buyer - THE CONSUMER. Getting ideas and working together to mar-ket our product is a must. But let's not put the cart before the horse. We have to be able to stay in business; to run our business. This is an area that is my passion. I had the oppor-tunity to attend the legislative meet-ing at the NCTA Convention this year. This committee deals with im-portant issues such as legislative and regulatory issues that impact our farms.

In closing, I saved the best for last. John Carroll has gone above and beyond when it comes to keeping VCTGA informed on National is-sues. Thank you and we are so very grateful for all the time and energy you have devoted to this position.

Sherrie Severt Taylor, Virginia NCTA National Director

News from NCTA The Federal Motor Carrier

Safety Administration, which is a part of DOT accepted com-ments on a proposal that could require CDL’s and record re-porting from all farmers and everyone on the farm who oper-ates any farm vehicle. NCTA along with other commodity groups filed comments. As of August, this issue is non-active but may appear again in the fu-ture.

E-Verify: There are currently 17 states that have decided to en-force e-verify on a state level, including Virginia. Each state varies with exceptions to the rule. There are different views on this issue. Some argue that it is essential to protect jobs for American workers. But many in the agricultural community feel there will be dramatic economic impact to their industry. E-Verify legislation threatens to make it even more difficult for Ag employers to get the help they need. I encourage you to research this issue as it has many layers. Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith has rescheduled a mark-up for his Mandatory E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164) for September 21. Given the state of things, Rep. Lungren introduced his Legal Agricultural Workforce Act (H.R. 2895) which he hopes to attach as an amendment to the Mandatory E-Verify Bill. After extensive review of both bills, many Agricultural Organiza-tions feel that the Lungren bill offers the best opportunity to move forward. While neither bill addresses all the needs of agri-culture, the Lungren bill offers the better structure from which to move forward.



2011 Trees for Troops: FedEx is officially on board again! This year, the Christmas Spirit Foun-dation’s goal is to reach 100,000 Christmas Trees since 2005. But in order to do this, they need our help. What a great program we have the opportunity to be asso-ciated with.

The NCTA management com-pany, Drake & Company, has been sold to AMR Management Services of Lexington, KY. The current staff will remain intact, while adding an additional 50 + employees which will only ben-efit our association.

Christmas Tree Check-off: We expect USDA to publish their final ruling before the year’s end. During this rulemaking pe-riod, USDA is not allowed to talk to the industry. Once the Check-Off is published in the

Federal Register, it could move forward within 30 days. There will be a board created that will then create a promotion and re-search plan and budget for its first fiscal year, August 1, 2012 – July 31, 2013.

DATES TO REMEMBER: CT PLUS will be held in San Anto-nio, TX on February 17-19, 2012 & National Convention will be held in Sacramento, CA on August 8-11, 2012.

(l) Bostic Family and (r) Bill Murray at the Thursday BBQ Dinner

Ad - Tim Mitchell

Thanks for Your Service We want to thank the

following VCTGA Board members who have

served for many years on the board providing guid-ance, direction and meet-

ing assistance!

Tim Wilson, Past President

Steve Satterfield, Vice President and Annual

Meeting Chair

Tommy Naylor, Director (l) Bostic Family and (r) Bill Murray at the Thursday BBQ Dinner.



Trees for Troops page 3 2/3

Trees For Troops Update from NTCA

For the past several years FedEx has helped to deliver, on average, 17,000 Real Christmas Trees to 60 or more military bases throughout the U.S. and overseas. In 2010, we reached 83,957 since the program began in 2005. This year, we will top 100,000 Christmas Trees delivered. All we need is 16,043 trees this year to reach our goal and as an industry, we can do it! There are many ways you can participate:

How you can donate through your State Association – Work with your state/regional coordi-nator to help be a drop off point – for other farms to bring their trees to you; or be one of the farms that drops off a donation to a designated farm.

Host a Trailer Drop – As the name implies, FedEx drops off a 28’ trailer at your farm or retail lot on December 2 and retrieves it on December 5. Consumers can purchase a tree for a military family and load it in the tractor trailer themselves with a person-al message to the military.

Offer Sponsorships – Some-thing new this year, offer cus-tomers and local business an op-portunity to become a sponsor of a tree for $5.

Collect, Sell and Encourage Donations – Place a donation bucket out; sell Trees for Troops bears, ornaments or charms in your gift store.

Texting – Make a $10 donation to Trees for Troops by texting TREE to 50555.

Call or email Amy Mills at NCTA today to see how you can help!

[email protected] or 636-449-5060. Sherrie Severt Taylor,

Virginia NCTA Director

VCTGA News Journal – Fall 2011 | 27VCTGANewsJournal–Summer2011 Page27

Tree Contest Winners

Virginia and John Carroll, Claybrooke Farm, Louisa, VA

Wreath Contest Winner

Jocelyn Lampert, Crazy Joe’s

Christmas Tree Farm, Elkwood, VA

These state contest winners will have the honor of presenting the of-ficial trees and wreaths for the Gov-

ernor’s Mansion in Richmond.

Farm Tour at Joe’s Trees

Sue Bostic gives her school tour presentation to VCTGA Farm Tour

Danny demonstrates power washing of gourds at Joe’s Trees

Farm Tour Pest and Disease Evaluations

Insect Identification by Eric Day, Manager of the VA Tech Insect Iden-

tification Lab

Norm Dart, VDACS State Plant Pathologist discusses scouting

techniques for potential Christmas tree diseases

Welcome and Congratulations to the newly elected VCTGA Directors

Donna O’Halloran Derick Proctor Fred Shorey

Virginia National Director to VCTA Sherrie Taylor

VCTGA News Journal – Summer 2011 Page 31

Tree Contest Winners

Virginia and John Carroll, Clay-

brooke Farm, Louisa, VA

Wreath Contest Winner

Jocelyn Lampert, Crazy Joe’s

Christmas Tree Farm, Elkwood, VA

These state contest winners will have the honor of presenting the of-

ficial trees and wreaths for the Gov-

ernor’s Mansion in Richmond.

Farm Tour

at Joe’s Trees

Sue Bostic gives her school tour

presentation to VCTGA Farm Tour

Danny demonstrates power washing

of gourds at Joe’s Trees

Farm Tour Pest and

Disease Evaluations

Insect Identification by Eric Day,

Manager of the VA Tech Insect Iden-

tification Lab

Norm Dart, VDACS State Plant Pa-

thologist discusses scouting

techniques for potential

Christmas tree diseases

Virginia and John Carroll, Claybrooks Farm, Louisa, VA

Jocelyn Lampert, Crazy Joe’s Christmas Tree Farm, Elkwood,VA

Danny demonstrates power washing of grounds at Joe’s Trees.

Norm Dart, VDACS State Plant Patholo-gist discusses scouting techniques for po-tential Christmas tree diseases.

Insect Identification by Eric Day, Manager of the VA Tech Insect Identification Lab.

Sue Bostic gives her school tour presenta-tion to VCTGA Farm Tour.

These state contestwinners will have the honor of presentingthe official trees and

wreaths for theGovernor’s Mansion

in Richmond.


383 Coal Hollow RdChristiansburg, VA

24073-6721540-382-7310

www.VirginiaChristmasTrees.org

STD PRSTUS POSTAGE

PAIDWYTHEVILLE, VA

PERMIT 172


383 Coal Hollow Rd Christiansburg, VA

24073-6721

540-382-7310

www.Virginia

ChristmasTrees.org

vctga news journal fall'11

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