Recognizing the contributions of the Christmas tree industry to the United States economy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great privilege to rise today as the House considers House Joint Resolution 96, a bill I authored, to recognize the contributions of the live Christmas tree industry to the United States economy. Having been a Christmas tree farmer myself, I can attest to the importance of recognizing this often overlooked farming industry.

My district is one of the largest producers of live-cut Christmas trees in the country. North Carolina has an estimated 50 million Fraser fir Christmas trees growing on over 25,000 acres. Fraser firs represent over 95 percent of all species grown in North Carolina. They are grown in the far western North Carolina counties, including Allegheny, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey.

There are over 1,600 North Carolina growers. The North Carolina Christmas tree industry is ranked second in the Nation in number of trees harvested, producing over 19 percent of the real Christmas trees in the United States.

The North Carolina Fraser fir has been judged the Nation's best through a contest sponsored by the National Christmas Tree Association and chosen for the official White House Christmas tree nine times, more than any other species, in the years 1971, 1973, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2005.

The North Carolina Fraser fir Christmas tree is the most popular Christmas tree in North America and is shipped to every State in the U.S. as well as the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Japan, and other points all over the world.

The Christmas tree industry supports our economy and environment. Christmas trees are grown in all 50 States with North Carolina, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, Virginia, California, and Ohio being the top Christmas tree-producing States. Nationally, there are more than 21,000 Christmas tree growers and more than 100,000 people employed in the live-cut Christmas tree industry. Thirty-six million of all live-cut Christmas trees are produced each year, and 98 percent are shipped or sold directly from Christmas tree farms. On average over 1,500 Christmas trees are planted per acre, providing an abundant habitat for wildlife.

The retail value of all live Christmas trees harvested in 2005 was $1.4 billion. Live-cut Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since 1850, and by 1900 one in five American families decorated live-cut trees during Christmas. By 1930 the tree had become a nearly universal part of the American Christmas. For generations American families have traveled hundreds and thousands of miles to celebrate the holiday season together at home around the Christmas tree. I think it is difficult to overstate the way that having a live, lit Christmas tree in a room can set a warm and positive tone for a family.

I would like to thank the majority leader, the chairman, and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture for their assistance in getting this bill to the floor and for their very appropriate remarks today.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure recognizing this important industry not just for its economic impact but also for its cultural contribution to the Christmas holiday.

I also want to thank the growers for their contributions to our economy, our environment, and our Nation's heritage.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 96) recognizing the contributions of the Christmas tree industry to the United States economy and urging the Secretary of Agriculture to establish programs to raise awareness of the importance of the Christmas tree industry, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for introducing this resolution. The Christmas tree industry is an important part of the American agricultural industry and is an important part of the rural and forested landscape of Virginia and many other States. One of the leading States in the industry is my own.

Christmas tree growers, like many other family farmers and forest landowners, are stewards of the land. They are bound together by a love of the land and a desire to produce renewable products that enhance people's lives while protecting the environment.

For many family forest landowners, Christmas tree growing provides a source of annual income. While this income is rarely enough to make a living on, it allows family growers to make long-term investments for the management of their woodlands. For many small growers, this income is critical to allowing them to keep their forests green and growing, rather than subdividing or switching to another land use.

According to the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association, there are thousands of growers in the Commonwealth who produce more than 1 million trees annually, ranging from commercial operations to choose- and-cut family farms. These trees annually account for nearly $50 million in revenue.

Like other segments of the forest products industry, Christmas tree growers are engaged in a renewable, sustainable activity. They plant millions of new trees every year, 73 million trees that cover over a half million acres to be precise. That is a lot of land protected from development and a lot of new trees helping to clean the air, protect watersheds and improve the environment.

Just as growing Christmas trees helps renew the environment, the annual tradition of bringing home a tree and decorating it helps renew the faith of millions of families as they gather to celebrate Christmas. In the Christmas season, the Christmas tree is a symbol of joy and goodwill, and we are grateful to all who work to provide this American tradition.

I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota, the ranking member of the committee, for his support in our efforts to move this legislation forward.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his kind words, and I look forward to working with him in a new capacity in the new Congress. He certainly has my commitment that we will continue to work together for the interests of America's farmers and ranchers and agribusinesses in the bipartisan fashion that has been the history of the Agriculture Committee

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the author of the legislation, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as the Congressman with the privilege to represent Estacada, Oregon--the Christmas Tree Capital of the WorId--I rise in strong support of this resolution.

Christmas trees are a large part of Oregon's nursery and tree industry. In fact, Oregon leads the Nation in Christmas tree production, with 6.9 million trees sold last year at a value of nearly $108 million to the Oregon economy. In particular, Clackamas County-- which I am proud to represent along with Ms. Hooley--is the largest producing county in the country with $36.8 million in sales from 17,500 acres of Christmas trees. Across our state, there are almost 1,600 Christmas tree operations, encompassing an area over one and half times the size of Washington, DC and employing close to 10,000 people at total wages of over $32 million.

Oregon farmers began hauling Christmas trees for out-of-state sales by horse and wagon at the turn of the 20th century. It's now the sixth- largest agricultural industry in Oregon, and our crop covers 31 percent of the market. Oregon Christmas trees can be found across the country and across the world.

I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for offering this resolution. As we head into consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill, it provides an important reminder that the agriculture upon which many of our communities depend is more than corn and cotton. Our federal farm policy should reflect the diversity of American agriculture and ensure a fair playing field for all of our farmers and ranchers.

Already, Oregon nurseries and vineyards, ranchers, and farmers are leading the way, showing how we can craft winning policies that are good for farmers, the land, the environment, consumers, our water supplies, and wildlife. I look forward to the opportunity to work with my friends on the Agriculture Committee, to build on this good work and take it to the next level, and, in true Oregon tradition, create an opportunity to unite citizens throughout the state.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 96. Congresswoman Foxx's resolution recognizes the success and importance of the live-cut Christmas tree industry in the United States, and the economic strength and cultural contribution of this industry makes this resolution worthy of congressional support.

Mr. Speaker, before I recognize other Members, I would like to take a minute to recognize the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) who has served with distinction as chairman of the Agriculture Committee over these last few years.

The Agriculture Committee has always enjoyed a reputation as one of the most bipartisan committees in the Congress, and Chairman Goodlatte has continued that great tradition of cooperation. Under his direction, the committee has accomplished important things. His leadership led to the passage of historic measures to protect our national forests. He took a strong stand for American agriculture in the face of unreasonable proposals from our trade partners, making it clear that we would prefer no deal to a bad deal. He started the process of writing the new farm bill with a series of field hearings across the Nation and ensured that the many voices of agriculture were heard.

Mr. Speaker, anybody who cares about American agriculture, or for that matter, anybody who eats in this country, should give Bob Goodlatte their thanks for the outstanding job he has done on the committee. I look forward to working with him as we continue this process on the farm bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to a good friend of mine and a good friend of American agriculture, Congresswoman Darlene Hooley from Oregon.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Agriculture Committee for yielding me time to speak about an important industry in my district.

And I want to thank my fellow Member of Congress from North Carolina, Virginia Foxx, for her leadership on this important agricultural issue for our districts, which border each other in the mountains of western North Carolina.

We have got a wonderful industry in my district centered around Avery County, and this resolution today honors those men and women that work so very hard in the Christmas tree growing business. They provide a wonderful service and a wonderful product for Americans all around the country. And coming from a small county in western North Carolina, it is a wonderful privilege.

Outside of western North Carolina this niche industry is often overlooked, but inside of our region it is never under appreciated. There are over 1,600 Christmas tree growers in North Carolina who produce over 19 percent of the real Christmas trees in the United States. Not those fake ones. The real ones. The evergreens. And the Fraser fir, which is grown in western North Carolina, is the most popular Christmas tree in North America and is shipped to every State in the U.S. as well as the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Japan, and other points around the globe, from little old counties in western North Carolina, and I do want to pay tribute to the Christmas tree growers and the contribution they make to our country and our States and my district, and it is with great pleasure that I also pay tribute to the small communities in the mountains that work so hard to produce products to send around the country and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' support of this great resolution that will help and honor our industries in western North Carolina