Christmas is only 15 days away.  Besides the presents and snow falling on Christmas morning, the season is not really complete until you have a Christmas tree.

Fair warning: You might not be able to find a real tree even though Christmas is still almost two weeks away.  There is apparently a Christmas tree shortage including here in South Dakota.  One local Christmas Tree farm has already closed for the season.

The demand for Christmas trees this year have never been higher.  Trees are literally running off the lots across the country.  This national Christmas tree shortage is partially due to people wanting to get into the holiday spirit thanks to COVID.  The other reason for fewer trees this year is due to the California wildfires.

An article from the New York Post explains that trees are a bit more expensive than in years past.  David Neville, who manages NYC Tree Lady, tells the  New York Post "believes COVID-19 and the California wildfires caused a “ripple effect” that contributed to a tree shortage. The nationwide supply could not satisfy the demand, which means higher prices across the board."  Any tree that was planted five to six years ago was probably wiped out by the wildfires.  Christmas tree vendors, like Neville had to come up with different methods to sell Christmas trees this season.

The Baumgartner Family Christmas Trees Sioux Falls is quickly running low on its tree supply. Even Riverview Christmas Tree Farm in Canton is officially finished until next season.

The owner, Todd Gannon recently shared with Dakota News Now his business saw a high demand this year for trees.  They just didn't have the stock to keep pace with the demand because of the droughts.  "In the drought of 2012, all the baby trees died, and then this past drought in 2020 we just didn’t get much growth out of our trees, and we actually lost some big trees as well," Gannon tells Dakota News Now.

You can read more about the local shortage of Christmas trees by clicking here.

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