BROOKLYN, Mich. — Christmas is usually a happy, as well as busy, time of year for individuals and  businesses. Many retailers see their outfits turn a profit for the first time during the holiday season.

The same is true for Christmas tree growers, except their holiday season starts a little earlier than many. Already wholesale providers of Christmas trees have been hard at work tying up trees to be securely transported to retail sellers. This intensive work has been going on for weeks.

Lee Arend, owner of Arend Tree Farms in Grass Lake Township and Brooklyn, Mich., said cutting of trees does not begin until the beginning of November. This ensures the needles will stay on the trees at least through Christmas.

In Michigan, the Christmas tree industry is especially strong. According to the most recent figures from the USDA, the state ranks third in the nation for most trees harvested, behind Oregon and North Carolina. In 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available, Michigan Christmas tree growers harvested about 1.7 million trees; Oregon harvested 6.4 million and North Carolina, 4.2 million.

In Ohio, growers harvested 151,327 Christmas trees that year; in Tennessee that figure was 93,874, in Indiana 89,252, in Illinois 65,937 and in Kentucky 7,987.

Overall, real Christmas tree sales were down significantly from 10 years earlier, according to the same report. In 2002, total Christmas trees harvested nationwide were 20.8 million; in 2012, it was 17.3 million.

Although there may be several reasons for the decline, it seems safe to bet competition with artificial tree sellers has had an impact.

Arend thinks things are improving. There seem to be more young families now, he said, and he believes young parents are remembering the enjoyment they got from a natural Christmas tree as children. Now he feels they want the same for their kids.

He added associations are starting to do a better job of getting the positive message out about real Christmas trees and are pushing back against misinformation he feels has been spread by the mainstream media about real trees.

On its website, the Michigan Christmas Tree Assoc. (MCTA) tries to debunk what it calls some of the myths about real trees. According to MCTA, there is “significant concern” in society about the fire hazard posed by natural Christmas trees.

Although dry trees will burn “fairly vigorously,” demonstrations MCTA conducted with local fire departments showed a well-watered Christmas tree suffered only limited fire damage when exposed to a room fire, whereas an artificial tree made of flame retardant materials went up in flames once the room got hot enough, an MCTA document said.

Another myth is that Christmas trees aren’t environmentally friendly, MCTA stated.

This is a myth because trees are completely recyclable, it states, whereas artificial trees are made of non-biodegradable plastic and other materials, which may or may not be recyclable.

Some of those materials, such as lead, may even be toxic. Besides that, MCTA said, Christmas tree farms preserve green space in the environment.

More information on Christmas trees, including a list of tree farms in Michigan, can be found at www.mcta.org

There is also a “tree locator” at the National Christmas Tree Assoc. website. Just go to www.realchristmastrees.org and click on the heading “All About Trees” and enter a ZIP code in the space provided to find a U-cut tree farm or retail lot.