'Green Friday' Looks To Put Some More Green Toward Mass. Agriculture
BOSTON (CBS) -- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is hoping everyone will spend some money on locally-produced Christmas trees and wreaths this holiday season.
The governor declared Friday "Green Friday," as a way to promote greenery sales at Massachusetts tree farms and farm stands.
Jeb Brackbill owns Crane Neck Tree Farm in West Newbury and is director of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association. He likes the idea of Gov. Baker promoting Bay State agriculture.
"I think Green Friday is an exciting opportunity for us. I know that I have a lot of fresh, local inventory available. So, local traffic for us to help thin the farm out a little bit would help sustain agriculture in Massachusetts," Brackbill told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Most Christmas tree farms in Massachusetts are family operations, described as "choose-and-cut." Farms like Crane Neck are happy to sell 1,000 trees in a season.
Brackbill says Christmas tree production works on a ten-year cycle. He adds that almost 50% of the local tree plantings this year were lost due to this summer's drought.
Gov. Baker says the holidays create hundreds of full-time year-round and part-time seasonal jobs at the state's more than 400 Christmas tree farms, generating $1.4 million for the state's economy each year.
In addition to providing for the local economy's bottom line, Brackbill says Christmas tree production has a positive effect on the environment.
"That's why we're in business, to try and make a nice experience for people and keep some open space in the state, support some wildlife habitat and generate some income, and the trees, nice open spaces with trees help create oxygen as well."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mike Macklin reports
