Archive: Around Town

New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker visited Moore Tree Farm Monday to pick out a Christmas tree for the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets office lobby in Albany.  Hooker visited the Lansing farm and cut down his own tree to encourage New Yorkers to buy real, locally grown Christmas trees.

"Real Christmas trees are the scent of the season, and they don't get any fresher than when you cut one yourself at one of the many tree farms in New York State," Hooker says.  "The fresher the tree was cut, the better it smells and the longer it lasts.  Selecting a real New York tree supports the local economy and invests in a truly recyclable product."


Moore Tree Farm has 60,000 trees growing on 60 acres on both sides of (NYS Route 34) Auburn Road, a stone's throw north of Searles and East Lansing Roads.  Owners Richard and Kay Moore showed Hooker around their older field, where he and his staff spotted an 8' tall Frasier Fir.  The tree has a bottlebrush texture, well filled and sturdy.  After Hooker sawed the tree down, it was brought to a staging area where it was shaken and baled.  It was then placed on a special drill to make a hole that fits over a spike in the tree stand.  Hooker commented on the machinery and how easy farms make it to bring a tree home.

"A curmudgeonly father might say, 'The stands never work.  How am I going to get it home?'" Hooker said.  "They answer all of those questions along the way.  There's just no reason not to come out and do this."


New York State ranks seventh in the nation for Christmas Tree production.  The state boasts about 1,000 growers who harvest almost 350,000 trees on over 20,000 acres across the state.  The trees typically take seven to ten years to grow.  An acre of Christmas trees provides enough oxygen for 18 people each day.  Hooker also stressed that the trees are a renewable and recyclable resource.

This January Richard Moore will begin a two-year term as President of the National Christmas Tree Association.  After the tree was placed on the Commissioner's car, they discussed the associations' plans to raise money for promoting natural Christmas trees, including a portion of the money that will be used in New York.  They also discussed tree farmers' placement at the New York State Fair.

On the way out Hooker put money in the donation jar for the 'Trees For Troops' program that mails Christmas trees to American soldiers around the world.  Last year FedEx  delivered 17,082 trees for the program from more than 700 farms in 29 states. 

Hooker says he tries to visit a different tree farm in the state each year to promote buying locally grown trees.  He was enthusiastic about the benefits, but especially about the experience.

"You've got open space," he said.  "You've got 20,000 acres of trees that wouldn't be.  You've got local economic activity that wouldn't be happening without them."

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