Real, artificial Christmas trees; weather, tariffs impact on sales

CEDARBURG, Wis. - A national organization expected a lot of families might switch to buying real Christmas trees over artificial ones this year because of tariffs, but some Wisconsin tree farm owners said they're not seeing the increase in business you'd expect – for a different reason.

Tradition vs. tariffs

What they're saying:

It's officially Christmas tree shopping season. Darwin Peters and his family selected and sawed down their own tree on Saturday, a tradition he said they refuse to go without.

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"When you put that tree in the house, then you leave the house, and you come back, you're going to smell a beautiful evergreen scene," Darwin, who grew up working on a Christmas tree farm, said. "That's a big part of it."

By the numbers:

The American Christmas Tree Association said nearly 90% of artificial Christmas trees come from China. It means the U.S. imposes a 47.5% tariff on them, which makes them more expensive.

Wisconsin produces the sixth-most real Christmas trees among all states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Snow and sales  

What they're saying:

So, are more buyers headed to real tree farms? Not so much.

"Our sales are down, I would say, about 30%," said Glenn Stumpf, who owns Stumpf's Tree Farm in the town of Cedarburg. "People like to come out when it's warm and nice to be outside. My best sales are when it's 50 degrees and sunny."

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Down the road at Uselding's, the owner said snow has also slowed down their business. He said they're now back to where they would normally be in terms of sales, but added he would welcome a little extra business due to tariffs.

The tree farm owners said last week was the peak for sales, and things slow down from here on out.