Christmas Tree Cultivation - Industry Classification

Industry Classification

Activities related to the cultivation of Christmas trees require cross-disciplinary (forestry, horticulture, and agriculture) skills and fall into different specialty categories. Under the terms of Title 29 of the United States Code, which defines federal regulations pertaining to the United States Department of Labor, Christmas tree planting, tending and cutting are specifically not "farming operations". The U.S. Farm Service Agency (FSA) does not provide federal crop insurance for Christmas tree crops, however, there is an alternative program, through the FSA, which provides assistance for non-insured crops. The U.S. Census Bureau, responsible for the Agriculture Census until 1997, excluded Christmas tree farms as farms from its reports. When the Census of Agriculture authority was shifted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1997 the differences in definition were resolved and the Census of Agriculture included Christmas tree farms.

The status of Christmas tree farms as actual, by definition, farms, and their products thus agricultural in nature, has evolved in the various government agencies responsible for such categorization. In both Canada, and the United States the governments take a regular Census of Agriculture, reporting in these censuses relies on the classifications. Beginning in 1996, the Canadian government included Christmas tree farms in its Census of Agriculture concerning the issue of net farm income and farm cash receipts. The changes also included the addition of egg hatcheries to the census. The results were marginal with net cash farm income rising just 0.1 percent.

In the United Kingdom, Christmas trees do not fall into the category of enterprises included in farm profits. Instead, Christmas tree farms are classified as "market gardens". Market gardens are defined separately from farming and are nurseries or gardens used for the sale of produce other than hops. However, in Northern Ireland, some Christmas trees are cultivated and harvested by the Forest Service.

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