Wisconsin Ag Connection - State Christmas Tree Growers Support Proposed Check-Off

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State Christmas Tree Growers Support Proposed Check-Off
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 11/10/2011

Those watching the cable news channels on Wednesday may have noticed story updates throughout the day about the White House proposing a tax on Christmas tree sales. But growers were quick to respond to those reports, saying it's not so much a tax but a proposed commodity check-off assessment for producers to help their industry promote 'real' Christmas trees.

Cheryl Nicholson is the executive secretary of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association. She told Wisconsin Ag Connection that a proposed check-off has been in the works on the national level for some time, and that many local growers are in favor of the idea.

"We as an association have discussed this issue for over a year and a half and our members here in Wisconsin even voted last January to support the effort," Nicholson said. "We feel this check-off program would help promote real Christmas trees and the producers who grow them."

The proposed marketing order was first requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009. Over the past two years, it has gone through two industry wide comment periods, in which nearly 600 growers submitted comments about their feelings on the fund. The NCTA says more than 70-percent of the growers posting comments said they support the check-off, and nearly 90-percent of the state and multi-state associations were also in favor of the program.

The check-off is designed to benefit the industry and would be funded by the growers at a rate of 15 cents per tree sold. Like other commodity marketing orders, the Christmas tree check-off will be administered by an independent 12-member board of small business owners who grow and sell farm-grown Christmas trees and they will be responsible for developing and approving promotional and research efforts to benefit the entire industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced late yesterday that it will delay implementation and revisit a proposed assessment at a later time.

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