LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Before you know it, it will be time to climb into the attic to grab a box of beloved Christmas ornaments and decorations. It’s never too early to start planning, especially when a visit to a charming Christmas tree farm is on your holiday to-do list.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are roughly 15,000 Christmas tree farms in the United States. Many farms means many trees, but they’re selling quickly.

The family-owned Christmas tree operation, Bartels Farm, is on 124 acres between Trenton and Oxford, Ohio. The farm has been home to many crops and various livestock in the past. In 2008, they switched from conventional row crops to Christmas trees.

The Bartels (owners Steve and Judy, in partnership with their son, Brian, and his wife, Kara) are a family that has farmed in Ohio for six generations. Steve retired in 2009 after more than 35 years as the Ohio State University Extension educator in Butler County, Ohio.

Bartels is an up-and-coming Christmas tree farm, but Christmas trees at this farm have been claimed. According to Brian, his farm took reservations for trees this year using a scheduling app and all the slots have been filled.

“We had roughly 1,000 trees available for this Christmas but they’ve all been selected, but next year we’ll have about 3,500 trees available, each of them 5-6 feet tall, ready to go.”

A similar situation has taken place at Nieman’s Christmas Tree Farm in Lexington, Ky. Farm owner Tom Nieman said 75 percent of his stock of trees have been reserved.

“The Christmas tree business is very good,” Nieman said. “This has been beyond our wildest dreams. We began selling trees in September. Our customers came out and tagged a tree that they wanted. They’ll return between Thanksgiving and Christsmas and have their tree cut.”

Nieman and his wife, Janice, started a nursery in 1979, but didn’t get into Christmas trees until 1990.

“When we purchased the property we raised tobacco for 10 years, then the buyout came,” Tom said. “We took that money over a 10-year period and invested it into our Christmas trees. The per-acre return on Christmas trees is far greater than what tobacco could ever do.”

Tom’s brother, John, operates John T. Nieman Nursey & Landscaping near Hamilton, Ohio. There he tends to 60,000 Christmas trees.

Mt. Pleasant Christmas Trees in Lawrenceburg, Ind., is a small establishment in rural southern Indiana. The farm of 84 acres offers six acres of Christmas trees, featuring Scotch pine and Norway spruce, not to mention all the free hot chocolate or coffee that you want.

“Up to this point it’s been a hobby for us, selling between 100 to 150 trees annually,” said David Bird, who runs the Christmas farm with his brother, Dan. “We’re not huge and we’re pretty laid back, but we are growing all the time.”

The Bird brothers planted their first trees in 1987 and began selling them in 1993.

“I retired two years ago, so we’re planting more and more seedlings all the time,” Bird said.

Weather-wise, Bird says the trees have flourished.

“It’s been a great year for Christmas trees here,” Bird said. “We had a short dry spell in June and some of those seedlings were a bit iffy, but later we had a lot of rain and they bounced back nicely. We had a dry spell this fall but it didn’t affect them very much.”

Dan and Jeri Hager opened Hager Tree Farm in Ashmore, Ill., in 2004. The farm is located six miles east of Charleston.

After years of hard work, this tree farm has grown beyond their expectations. It has become a popular destination for area families seeking fresh-cut Christmas trees and a little holiday cheer.

“Not only do we get to experience families reconnecting at the holidays, but our families come out to work and that has been a reward we didn’t see coming,” Dan said.

According to Jeri, the farm has been blessed with good weather this past year. The couple sells between 100 to 300 trees straight out of the field.

“As soon as they’re tall enough to harvest, they’re gone,” Jeri said. “We’re not likely to run short as we bring in Fraser firs from other growers.”

Dan admits he’s especially touched to see everyone laughing and smiling when they visit the tree farm. In fact, that’s what gave him the bug to start the Christmas tree farm in the first place.

“I worked on a Christmas tree farm years ago in Macomb and everyone who came out was in a good mood and greeted each other with ‘Merry Christmas,’” he said.

Other products offered at the Hagers’ farm include custom wreaths, swags and greenery, pillows, blankets, soy candles, ornaments and mugs. The Hagers add new features to their tree farm each year.

“We don’t do it for the bottom line,” Dan said. “I think any tree farmer would agree it becomes a passion. And giving back just goes hand-in-hand with Christmas. It’s just something we love doing.”

The Christmas tree public may recall the tree shortage of 2019. That’s not the case this holiday season, says Doug Hundley, a seasonal spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association.

“It takes roughly eight to 10 years to grow a Christmas tree. Everybody who wants a real tree this year is going to get one,” Hundley said. “The shortage we had in 2019 was completely anticipated as a result of farmers planting fewer trees 10 years prior, in the middle of the Great Recession. Fifteen years ago, we had too many trees available for the demand. In 2008 and 2009, we had the recession, which cut back on sales and made it worse. When tree growers can’t cut the trees, they don’t have the space to plant more.”

Last year, there were an estimated 32.8 million Christmas trees sold around the country. The average price of a Christmas tree is $78.