By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent FRAZEYSBURG, Ohio — Beginning in 2018 the Ohio Christmas Tree Assoc. (OCTA) will be offering an annual academic scholarship to college students, preferably those pursuing a major in a field related to Christmas tree production. The student must be sponsored by a member of the OCTA. The maximum scholarship award will be $1,000 and may vary from year to year depending on the number of applicants and their field of study. “Christmas trees in Ohio have really done well the last few years,” said Roger Koch, OCTA board member. “Everybody is upbeat. This is one way that our growers can give back to younger people, by providing the scholarship.” Members had noticed that many Ohio State University and extension people in fields such as horticulture, that are related to Christmas trees, were retiring, said Al DiVencenzo, OCTA president. “We looked ahead and thought, ‘Who’s going to step up and take my farm when I retire and what can we do to promote an interest horticulture?’” he said. “When Roger brought this idea forward, to offer a scholarship, we endorsed it whole-heartedly.” While there are no specifications as to a field of study for scholarship applicants, Koch said preference would be given to those in a field related to Christmas tree production or the green industry. The students must be sponsored by an OCTA member – whether it be their child or, as in Koch’s case, students who work at his farm every year, or even simply a qualified acquaintance. OCTA members are upbeat, Koch said, because in the last two years Christmas tree growers have had a record number of sales – so much that some growers had to shut down early in the season because they had no trees left. Typically growers sell trees when they reach about 6 feet tall. When those are gone, buyers start looking the 4- and 5-foot trees. “(But) we can’t sell those; those are our next year’s trees,” he explained. So the market is good and membership in OCTA is holding steady, DiVencenzo said. In fact, members are starting to see a renewed interest. In the past month he has had several phone calls from people interested in a specialty crop for their farm or who have an off-farm job but would like to get back into farming. Members hope that the scholarship will encourage more young people to think along those lines. “It’s a fantastic opportunity,” DiVencenzo said. For information about OCTA or the scholarship contact Koch at kochtrees@gmail.com or 513-593-2735; William Cackler at cacklerfarms@gmail.com or 740-524-5311; Dave Reese at 419-722-1154; or visit www.ohiochristmastree.org |
