By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: December 22, 2016 4:53 PM

Approaching Christmas there is always a debate on the question of real or fake. Christmas trees, of course.

It should be no surprise where the Michigan Christmas Tree Association stands on the question. They are completely pushing for people to buy real Christmas trees – 98 percent of which come from Christmas tree farms, where three seedlings are planted each for tree cut, and where, according to the association’s webpage, the trees make the most environmental as well as economic sense – and in fact include a link on hints for first-time Christmas tree purchases on caring for their fir or spruce of Scotch pine. That link refers to putting a fake tree where it belongs, the association says, in the garbage.

The association is also, along with Christmas tree groups across the country, trying to see instituted a checkoff program that would help fund research into agricultural issues involving the trees as well as marketing.

The proposal calls for growers who harvest and sell a minimum of 500 trees annually to have a 15-cent per tree fee to help cover the cost of the checkoff program.

The program would be similar to programs used for the dairy and meat industries as well as other commodities.

The state association’s board of directors has voted to support the proposal which needs approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Given a discussion that got quite involved in social media this year, with a new mother asking if her baby’s first Christmas tree should be real or fake (with it appears an almost even split on the question, with supporters of the fake tree saying it is less mess to worry about) this reporter, who has always had a real tree aglow in his house, suggests research on a variety of tree that sheds less would be a noble expenditure of checkoff funds.