N.J. Christmas tree farms concerned ongoing drought will limit stock this holiday season
COLTS NECK, N.J. - New Jersey has issued a drought watch, and is urging residents and businesses to conserve water on their own.
The dry conditions could impact the availability of Christmas trees this holiday season.
Drought impacting Christmas tree business
In Colts Neck, the Fir Farm is known for its organic Christmas trees. Bob Clark bought the Christmas tree farm with his brother in 2007. They say they're chemical free, and grown to perfection. Families go there during the holiday season for the ambience, and to cut down a tree.
"There definitely could be a short supply of Christmas trees this year," Clark said.
The region has been dealing with drought conditions for 26 days now, and there's no rain in sight. At the Boonton reservoir, water levels are so low, the rocky shoreline is visible.
For the Clark brothers, it could mean less money coming in.
"It's making our Christmas tree growing very difficult this year. We had a big drought over the summer, which we get once in a while now. But now this drought, the last one for six weeks, we've never had before in the fall," Clark said.
Older trees are doing fine, but the drought is affecting the newer ones.
"The younger trees are suffering. The older trees have deeper roots, so they're making it through it," Clark said. "They look really nice but some of our smaller ones, really suffering."
The Clark brothers also sell honey from their beehives, and plan on continuing to provide families with the Christmas experience they've grown accustomed to.
"We were going to plant last week, this week. I don't think we'll be able to plant in the fall. We'll have to plant next year, so we're going to lose an additional few hundred trees we would normally put in," Clark said.
They're working hard to make sure they don't turn anyone away this holiday season.
How we got here
The First Alert Weather Team took a look back at conditions in the region. They found conditions in New Jersey were abnormally dry at the beginning of September in Southern New Jersey.
By late October, drought conditions had expanded throughout the state, and were moderate in Southern New Jersey.
With the drought conditions are also raising the risk of wildfires, as well, particularly as leaves drop, providing potential fuel.
It could take months for the southern portions of the region to reach severe drought conditions. They could also be wiped out relatively quickly if the pattern shifts suddenly.
That said, no organized rainfall is expected through the end of the month.
