It just smells good.
That was the consensus of visitors during a recent trip to the McAlpine Christmas Tree Farm, which is, aptly enough, located at 197 Christmas Tree Lane.
Harold McAlpine and his wife, Bobbie, run the tree farm, with assistance from college and high school students during the busy holiday season.
“We have 18 acres of Christmas trees right now,” Harold said, noting that the couple planted their first trees in February 1982. “Most of the trees we are cutting are 6 years old. We plant them as 1-year-old seedlings.”
Harold said they raise Virginia pine and Leland cypress trees.
“The Virginia pine is the most popular,” he said. “It’s also the most suitable for the growing conditions here.”
He said some people come looking for spruce or fir trees.
“You just can’t grow them here,” he said.
The McAlpines moved from Iowa to Arkansas 44 years ago.
“I took a job with one of the timber companies,” said Harold, who has a degree in forestry. He said the family began growing Christmas trees 11 years ago after he retired.
“We used to raise about 10,000 trees,” he said, noting that most of those trees were sold on a wholesale basis. “We grow about 1,500 now. We have scaled down quite a bit and have gone from wholesale to retail.”
Harold said he has seen a decrease in the number of farms that raise Christmas trees in Arkansas. Harold, who is a member of the Arkansas Christmas Tree Growers Association, said there used to be between 130 and 140 members.
“A lot of them never sold a tree. They liked the idea but not the amount of work and equipment it takes. It is a long-term commitment. We work all year,” he said.
“We’re down to about 30 members now,” he said, adding that the association “has done us a lot of good.”
“My wife is a former president of the association.”
“It’s fun to see all the happy faces,” Bobbie McAlpine said, “but growing Christmas trees is a lot harder than people realize.”
Harold said that while the number of growers has decreased, his business has not dropped off.
“We advertise some,” he said. “One of the best advertisements is word of mouth, and a lot of people find us with the Internet.”
Customers at the farm on this day included Deanna Walker of Pearcy, who had brought her 4-year-old granddaughter, Abby Jo Walker, to pick out a tree.
“I did this when our kids were little, and now we’re doing it with her. We come just for the experience of cutting your own tree,” Deanna said.
“It took her two fields to find one, but she found the perfect one,” Deanna said with a smile.
According to information from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, the latest census of agriculture shows the number of Christmas tree farms in Arkansas declined sharply from 59 in 2007 to just 29 in 2012. That same census shows the number of acres devoted to Christmas trees in Arkansas also declined from 563 in 2007 to 227 in 2012.
“There are a few reasons for the decrease in farms in Arkansas. One is that we don’t have the climate to grow species that people want, such as Noble, Frazier or Douglas firs,” said Tamara Walkingstick, associate director of the Arkansas Forest Resource Center.
She said demand for trees has sagged, and while “prices for farm-grown trees have not gone up, the cost of growing them has. It’s hard for tree growers to make money.”
“Growers have to diversify and sell the whole Christmas-tree experience to offset rises in the cost of growing the trees.”
One Christmas tree farmer in the Tri-Lakes Edition coverage area seems to have done just that.
According to information on the Arkansas Christmas Tree Growers Association’s website, www.arktreegrowers.com, Papa Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm in Benton features 10 acres of Christmas trees, as well as a variety of Christmas crafts, wreaths and arrangements.
Candy canes and hot cocoa and cider or holiday punch are available. Santa will also be at the tree farm for photos from 2-5 p.m. Saturday.
Papa Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm is between Benton and Hot Springs off U.S. 70. Owners Paul and Rochelle Warford raise Leyland cypress, Carolina Sapphire, Blue Ice and a few Burkii cedar trees.
The farm is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and by appointment only on weekdays.
For more information, call (501) 779-1062. Information is also available on the Papa Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm Facebook page.
The McAlpine Christmas Tree Farm is open from daylight to dark seven days a week, Harold said. “We’ve even had people come after dark.”
For more information on the farm, call (501) 865-3731.
For more information on other Christmas tree farms in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Christmas Tree Growers Association’s website, www.arktreegrowers.com.