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November 9, 2003Taste in Christmas trees changing, farmers sayScotch pines are out with many, firs are popularByRecord-Eagle staff writer MESICK - Workers at Cochrane Tree Company picked newly felled Fraser fir trees from the ground recently and fed them into a baler. The trees emerged from the other end, tied tightly in plastic twine, and crews carted them to shaded piles to be shipped to Houston, Miami, Detroit, Cleveland or any number of other locations. "It's been a perfect year for us," said owner Ron Cochrane, 63, of the rain and cool weather in recent weeks. "It's one of the most favorable years I've seen and I've been in it since 1959." Cochrane's is one of 830 Christmas tree nurseries in the state, and his 300 acres of trees help make Wexford County the top Christmas tree-growing county in Michigan, according to the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. The 45,000 trees Cochrane expects to ship will be among an estimated 4.1 million grown in the state to be sold this year. While it's still a $75 million per year industry in Michigan, the state fell in the late 1990s from its former perch as the top Christmas tree-producing state in the country. It's now third after Oregon and North Carolina. That's because Michigan's former top species, the Scotch pine, declined in popularity in comparison to trees with softer needles, stronger fragrance, and greater symmetry such as the Fraser and Noble firs, said Mel Koelling, a forestry professor at Michigan State University. "The Fraser fir is the most artificial looking of the natural Christmas trees," Koelling said of the variety's nearly perfect appearance. Several producers left the business when the Scotch pine became less profitable and many former tree farms now have homes on them or are hunting camps, Koelling said. The growers who are still in it have adapted by drastically reducing the numbers of Scotch pines they grow, or phasing out the species altogether. John Bevier of Lake City expects to harvest the last Scotch pines off his 250 acres this year. Trees take about seven to 11 years to mature, depending on the species and where they're planted, and he has not planted any Scotch pine for seven or eight years, he said. There's still a market for Scotch pines, because they're the least expensive to the consumer. A grower can get about $10 per tree for a Scotch pine, compared to $15 for a blue spruce and up to $25 for a Fraser, Cochrane said. Prices on tree lots range from about $25 to $35 for a Scotch pine or $45 to $75 for a Fraser fir. In the south, a Fraser may go for as much as $100, Cochrane said. Bevier still buys some Scotch pines from other growers for the lots he operates. "We need to have a tree for every budget," Bevier said. Don Komrska of Interlochen will never stop growing some Scotch or white pines, because some customers prefer them, regardless of price. "There are still some people who say that's their tree. That's what they like," he said. "Did you ever see a white pine decorated? They're gorgeous," he said, adding that people need to decorate them with lighter ornaments because their boughs are not as strong as those of other trees. "It seems to be the people that want a (pricey) tree and can afford it are willing to pay the price for it," said Earl Helsel, a grower in Lake City. Cochrane is thinking of going to all Fraser firs eventually. "With Frasers you can make more money with fewer acres," he said.
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