Christmas trees don’t eat much.

And other than during the holiday season each year, they don’t generate much cash flow, either.

Add a petting zoo and some reindeer to those trees, though, and there is the potential to have a nearly year-round operation, said Theresa Michaelis, co-owner of Bentz Road Farm in Kenosha County and a board member of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association.

Barb Morgan, who with her husband runs Morgan’s Trees and Wreaths, looks through decorative ribbons at the Northwoods Evergreen display during the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers convention Friday. Photo by Michael Spears

Finding ways for Christmas tree farmers to generate more revenue was a topic of conversation Friday at the organization’s winter convention and trade show at the Marriott Milwaukee West hotel.

Christmas trees are a big deal in Wisconsin, where 1,387 farms covering 36,000 acres produce 1.8 million trees each year, according to the association.

Wisconsin ranks fifth in the number of Christmas trees harvested each year, and the state Christmas Tree Producers Association says the economic impact of the industry is $50 million annually.

“You have costs year round with the farm – whether you’re planting, shearing, weed control, there’s always a need for income,” Michaelis said. “But most farms just don’t have any way of doing that, so all of your income for the whole year is generated in six weeks.

“If you have a petting zoo, you can be doing things in the spring, summer and fall,” she said. “It’s a way of bringing income in, if not year-round, at least seasonally to your farm.”

Four reindeer and two antelope from Bentz Road Farm were on display outside the convention Friday.

In all, the farm’s herd includes six reindeer that eat about 1,000 pounds of feed each month, said the herd’s owner, Steve Pulera.

Besides the custom-mixed feed, the animals need constant attention, Pulera said. And not all of them like to pull sleighs.

“It takes the right reindeer to pull a sleigh,” Pulera says.

Ownership of the animals is closely regulated.

“I can have zebras easier than I can have reindeer,” Pulera said. “The state really watches because of chronic wasting disease.”

The goal of adding animals is to make the farm a destination, Michaelis and Pulera said.

“With the economy the way it is, a family might say, ‘We’re going to the farm and spending $40 instead of going to Disney World and spending $4,000,’?” he said.

“When times get hard, people turn to more family-oriented things,” Michaelis said.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online