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December 18, 2005The search for the perfect treeFarmer nurtures evergreens from across the globeLAKE LEELANAU - Jim Grant travels the world looking for perfect evergreen trees for northern Michigan.Not literally, but the Leelanau County cherry and tree farmer nurtures evergreens grown in continents across the globe. He experiments with almost 30 different tree varieties at his Bingham Township farm, where he's produced strains from around the world - from Lebanon and Turkey to China, Japan and Siberia. "We just want a nice, uniform, Christmas-type tree," Grant said. "We're looking for the perfect marriage." Grant started growing exotic trees around 15 years ago, as Michigan's Christmas tree industry slumped because of a glut of Scotch pine trees that dominated the state's tree market. Growers since evolved their tree stocks to feature higher-quality trees like Douglas and Fraser firs, and consumers have responded. "For people that had a lot of Scotch pine, there wasn't a whole lot of interest in them," said Leelanau County extension director Jim Bardenhagen. "Now there's a decent market." Tree seeds from exotic species sell for upwards of $40 a pound, but some of the rare seeds can cost up to $150 a pound. A pound of seeds can generate more than 10,000 trees, though Grant plants far fewer amounts. He arranges seeds in a row and refrigerates them before planting them outdoors each spring. But it's not an enterprise with a quick investment return. Trees are reared for three years in seed beds before they're moved to a nursery for two more years. Then they're planted on the farm, where it takes several more years to determine whether they can handle northern Michigan's weather and soil conditions. "It takes at least 10 years," Grant said. "Some of them are really nice, but not all of them will make it." But he's worked with exotic trees long enough to start determining some of the better varieties for the region. Olympic fir and Equi-trojani varieties from Turkey and Greece are doing well, as are Veitch and Nikko firs from Japan. Exotic trees typically sell for the same price as a high-end trees such as a Fraser fir, he said. Grant, who says he's "too old for the Internet," keeps up on the exotic tree industry through newsletters and by attending trade shows with other growers. Grant and his brother have upwards of 40,000 trees on their farm. He estimates almost 4,000 trees were harvested this year, mostly fir trees for a larger tree farm near Lake City and the rest for a couple of local tree lots. Christmas tree production in Michigan slipped over the past decade, but tree experts say the industry in bouncing back, thanks to higher-quality, higher-priced trees. Ten years ago, Michigan led the nation in Christmas tree production, generating around 10 million trees annually. That's dropped to between 3 and 4 million trees a year, and the state now ranks third behind Oregon and North Carolina in total tree harvest. There are around 42,000 acres in Michigan in Christmas tree production, compared to 75,000 acres a decade ago - but that's made it better for growers who stayed in the business. "I think it's pretty solid right now," said Jill O'Donnell, an agent in Cadillac who heads the statewide Christmas tree program for Michigan State University's extension service. "Prices have been good and demand has been strong." Grant agrees that growing Christmas trees is "a little more fun now that the prices are up some." He'll eventually turn his business over to younger family members, but there's still plenty of work to do at his international Christmas tree incubator. "I can't retire," he said. "I've got enough seedlings to take care of that it's going to be at least three years before I can get to that." [an error occurred while processing this directive] |