Commissioner Scott Soares
Commissioner, Department of Agriculture Resources (DAR)
View Commissioner Soares' BioLast week, I joined Pierce Tree Farm co-owners Russ and Dan Pierce (father and son) at an annual tree cutting ceremony at their farm in Lunenberg to kick off the holiday season. Christmas tree cutting outings at Massachusetts farms make for a great family adventure!
From Cape Cod to the Berkshires, Massachusetts has 280 Christmas tree farms where residents and visitors can pick out their own locally grown tree. Most farms offer popular varieties including Balsam, Concolor, Fraser, Noble Fir, Scotch and White Pine. Click here to find a Christmas tree farm near you.
The upside to purchasing a tree from a Massachusetts Christmas tree farm is that working landscapes help preserve our open space as well as ensure a vibrant agricultural future for the Commonwealth. Also, locally grown trees are a renewable and recyclable resource. For example, after the holidays, trees can be chipped for mulch unlike artificial trees that contain non-biodegradable plastics.
Check out some photos of me at the ceremony when the Pierces donated a tree to Command Sgt. Maj. Vince Collins and his family. Vince will be redeployed to Afghanistan within the next month. In the photo is me, with Vince and Dan. I got wet and muddy but I’ll take a little drizzle for the fresh smell of Balsam Fir any day!
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