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Mapped: Where US Christmas trees come from

Mapped: Where US Christmas trees come from
JACK. CAITLIN. GOOD MORNING. WELL, FIRST I GOT TO TELL YOU, IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE JUST 22 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS. AND DURING THAT TIME, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE DRIVING TO LOTS LIKE THE ONE BEHIND ME TO PICK UP THEIR CHRISTMAS TREE, TO GET INTO THE FESTIVE SPIRIT. BUT TREES THAT ARE NOT PROPERLY SECURED TO A VEHICLE CAN DAMAGE YOUR CAR. THIS CAN TEAR PAINT OFF YOUR VEHICLE AND ALSO TEAR DOWN THE DOOR. THE DOOR SEALS ON THE VEHICLE AS WELL, BUT EVEN WORSE, IT COULD FLY OFF YOUR VEHICLE, BECOMING A DANGER TO OTHER DRIVERS. NOW TO AVOID THESE HAZARDS, TRIPLE A SAYS BEFORE BUYING A TREE, BRING STRONG ROPE OR RATCHET STRAPS AND OLD BLANKET GLOVES AND AN APPROPRIATE VEHICLE. SOME RECOMMENDED VEHICLES ARE A PICKUP TRUCK, AN SUV OR MINIVAN. ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR TREE, WRAP IT IN NETTING AND COVER THE VEHICLE’S ROOF OR TRUCK BED WITH A BLANKET. THEN PLACE YOUR TREE IN THE TRUNK FIRST AND TIE DOWN THE TREE AT ITS BOTTOM, CENTER AND TOP USING STRONG ROPE OR NYLON RATCHET STRAPS. ONCE TIED DOWN, GIVE THE TREE SEVERAL STRONG TUGS FROM VARIOUS ANGLES TO MAKE SURE IT’S SECURED IN PLACE. NOW, WHEN YOU DO START DRIVING, DRIVE SLOWLY AND TAKE BACK ROADS. IF POSSIBLE. IF YOU DRIVE TOO FAST, YOU COULD RISK THOSE ROPES LOOSENING UP AND THAT COULD CAUSE SOME HAZARDS TO OTHER VEHICLES AND
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Mapped: Where US Christmas trees come from
With Christmas right around the corner, millions of Americans will be purchasing and decorating trees to get into the holiday spirit. According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 14.5 million Christmas trees were harvested in 2022 across 16,000 tree farms — that’s one tree for every 23 people in the U.S. In all, $553 million worth of domestic trees were harvested and sold nationwide. Additionally, 3 million real Christmas trees were imported from abroad. The majority of these trees were grown and sold in just three states: Oregon, North Carolina and Michigan. Combined, these states accounted for more than two-thirds of all harvested trees and 61% of the total land used to grow Christmas trees. Nearly a third of all Christmas trees were harvested in either Clackamas County, Oregon, Ashe County, North Carolina or Missaukee County, Michigan. Clackamas County led the pack in 2022 as the only county to harvest more than two million trees, selling $57 million worth of trees. Ashe County, which came in second with 1.6 million trees harvested, has provided the official White House Christmas Tree seven times, the most out of any county. This year’s tree also comes from North Carolina, specifically from the neighboring Avery County.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=

With Christmas right around the corner, millions of Americans will be purchasing and decorating trees to get into the holiday spirit.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 14.5 million Christmas trees were harvested in 2022 across 16,000 tree farms — that’s one tree for every 23 people in the U.S. In all, $553 million worth of domestic trees were harvested and sold nationwide. Additionally, 3 million real Christmas trees were imported from abroad.

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The majority of these trees were grown and sold in just three states: Oregon, North Carolina and Michigan. Combined, these states accounted for more than two-thirds of all harvested trees and 61% of the total land used to grow Christmas trees.

Nearly a third of all Christmas trees were harvested in either Clackamas County, Oregon, Ashe County, North Carolina or Missaukee County, Michigan. Clackamas County led the pack in 2022 as the only county to harvest more than two million trees, selling $57 million worth of trees.

Ashe County, which came in second with 1.6 million trees harvested, has provided the official White House Christmas Tree seven times, the most out of any county. This year’s tree also comes from North Carolina, specifically from the neighboring Avery County.