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Drought Impacts Christmas Tree Supply

WILMINGTON -- Crops aren't the only agricultural items affected by this year's drought, Christmas trees have also been impacted by the lack of rain.

At the Aqua Vista Christmas Tree Farm on Masonboro Loop Road, many of the trees are very brown, or have died.

The farm's owner, Maurice Emmart, says in his 30 years of planting white pine trees on his three acres, he has never seen the trees suffer so much from a drought.

Only about fifty of over 3,000 trees planted on the farm are in good condition.

In the past three decades holiday shoppers have come to the farm and hand-picked a tree to take home, but that might not happen this year.

The trees are in such poor condition that Emmart is considering not opening the farm this year.

"With the trees looking like they do, I'd rather not probably sell them, than to have them our here with all this brown on them like this. I don't think people are going to want a Christmas tree with brown on it," explained tree farm owner Maurice Emmart.

There is some good news though. Many of the Christmas trees that are sold at churches and parking lots come from the western portion of the state where the drought has not had such devastating effects on the trees.

For more information on how the drought is affecting the Christmas trees, click here.

Reported by Max Winitz

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