Halfway to the Holidays: Drought affects Christmas trees at Wisconsin farm

CROSS PLAINS, Wis. (WMTV) - It’s not too early to talk about Christmas, especially when Christmas trees are being impacted by a drought nearly 3 months long.

Despite rainfall in south-central Wisconsin over the weekend, ranging from a fraction of an inch to a couple inches, farmer Chris Kirsch says the amount he got in Cross Plains did not help his crops much. “It doesn’t get into the soil or the roots enough,” he said.

At Enchanted Valley Acres, Kirsch says 30 percent of trees planted this spring have already died. The soil, he says, is too hard to even dig a shovel.

Chris Kirsch is the owner of Enchanted Valley Acres in Cross Plains.(WMTV/Michelle Baik)

“We can’t exactly water or irrigate the entire farm, so we’ve done what we can to keep the young trees alive,” he said. If the trees don’t make it, Kirsch says the impact will be felt during the holidays, which can be almost a decade later.

The encouraging news, however, is that older trees are still healthy. “I haven’t seen any of last year’s plantings dying yet,” Kirsch said. “They’re not growing much, but they’re not dying either. It’s hopeful.”

Kirsch expects many trees to be ready this winter, as well as a corn maze that his farm also opens to the public in the fall.

Next spring, he also anticipates to plant more trees to make up for what was lost this year.

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