‘Demand is much higher’: Southeast Nebraska tree farm busy, faces supply chain issues

BLUE SPRINGS - Despite unseasonably warm weather to kick off the holiday season, residents of southeast Nebraska are still in the Christmas spirit. Pinecrest Tree Farm in Blue Springs has seen large numbers of families make their way outdoors to pick out their Christmas tree.

Craig Trump took over the business from his dad after 26 years. The farm recently received 250 trees from Michigan, but they all were sold over the weekend.

“It’s always nice to have that Christmas feel with the snow and stuff, but I think the warm weather has brought out a lot of families,” Trump said. “All those Michigan trees, we usually have some left over for this next weekend, but they’re all gone, so we’re busier than ever.”

Because of supply chain issues linked to lasting impacts from the pandemic, Pinecrest has had to adapt, but they’ve done so in a way that can help area businesses.

“It makes things harder, but we’ve figured out how to sort of still do things like normal,” Trump said. “Instead of waiting for things to be shipped internationally, we’ve done more of ordering things from this area and driving to pick it up ourselves.”

Christmas trees have also risen in price nationwide. Trump says this is from people wanting to go green, wanting to have more holiday spirit, and still supplies chain issues.

“Demand for it is a lot higher,” Trump said. “I also think people are getting more into the live trees rather than the artificial ones and I think people are wanting to go green, so that adds to the demand for it too.”

Unlike Christmas tree lots, which often have all their trees shipped from other areas, a farm, like Pinecrest, can grow their own. While this may seem like it makes things easier, as it dodges any shipping issues, for a small farm like Pinecrest, the difficulty is still very much present. Especially when they produce more than just trees.

“It causes more stress too,” Trump said. “People don’t realize how small of business it is. A lot of the stuff around here is made by myself or my mom or the ladies in the back making the wreaths. It’s good for the farm, but it’s also added work too.”

Pinecrest is located at 503 Walnut St. and is open from 9:00 AM-sunset.