The Rural Voice, 1992-12, Page 24Lots of farmers sometimes
wonder if they're farming for
charity but there's a Hepworth -
area farm where it really happens.
The Christmas season is a par-
ticularly busy one for the members of
the Kiwanis Club of Owen Sound. In
addition to sponsoring the annual
Santa Claus parade, the service club
owns a Christmas tree farm near
Hepworth. The money from the sales
of Christmas trees goes to benefit
children in the arca.
The Kiwanis Club purchased the
100 -acre piece of property in the
early 1930s. Being sandy land,
seasonal winds blew sand across
Highway 70, causing cars and other
vehicles to get stuck. The Club
members decided to plant trees.
What began as a preventative
measure turned into a successful tree
farming operation.
The plantation is managed by
Elgin Walker, a forestry consultant,
who has run the operation for the last
three years. Walker drew up a
management plan for the farm. There
is a 35 -acre plantation of trees nestled
inside another 15 acres of mature
Scotch pines. There is a popular
family campground called
"Whispering Pines" alongside the
tree farm.
"The plantation is managed in
accordance to a prepared
management plan to produce 1000
trees annually on a sustained yield
basis," states Walker. "There is an
inventory of 10,000 to 12,000 trees in
the operation, consisting of 19 stands
with varying ages of trees. The age
range varies from one growing
season to fifteen years."
The 19 stands, or sections, are
categorized by age, size, and/or
species of tree. The two principal
varieties are Scotch pine, which has
good needle retention and is easily
shaped by pruning; and spruce, a very
hardy type of tree, which is
everybody's old-fashioned idea of a
Christmas tree.
"Certain species do better on
certain stands," continues Walker.
"As the trees mature and come of
age, there is a definite plan for
harvesting them. This is a relatively
small operation, but it is well
managed with a good plan."
"The advantage of having a
management plan lets you see at a
glance what is growing; what is
20 THE RURAL VOICE
Farming for charity
Christmas tree farm earns money so the
Owen Sound Kiwanis Club can help children
BY CATHY LAIRD
Arnold Kuhl (left) and Elgin Walker: Christmas trees measure success.
needed in the way of future plantings;
and what is needed to be done at the
present time."
The three most important
management techniques are (1) to
practise disease control; (2) to plan
annual pruning and care; and (3) to
maintain a good growing stock.
There are three specific diseases
that affect the Christmas tree
population in the area. The
first disease is certifer, a defoliator
that attacks the trees early in the
spring. Certifer causes last year's
needles to fall off, and gives the tree
a brownish look. The second disease
is pine webb worm, a defoliator
which attacks both the first- and
second -year needles. The third
disease is the pine tortoise scale,
another defoliator, which turns the
entire tree black.
"These diseases are the three
predators causing the most
problems," says Walker. "We
control them by a spraying program,
the timing of which is crucial. Most
diseases don't attack at the same
time. We have three predators, so we
do three sprayings. We spray by
hand because the area is small, but
we have also done aerial sprayings."
"The up-and-coming disease to be
watched is the gypsy moth, which is
also a defoliator (meaning that it
attacks the needles or leaves)," adds
Walker. "This disease has entered
eastern Ontario already."
The various diseases in Christmas
trees have a tendency to move in
colonies and can come on very
quickly. The main disease affecting
the spruce trees is the spruce bud
worm, a defoliator which will
eventually kill the tree.
Pruning is another very important
management technique. "Pruning
can make or break a Christmas tree
operation," states Walker. Pruning is
done with long, straight -bladed
knives, with blades 18 to 24 inches
long. Professional pruners prune by
hand and can shape and prune a tree
in about six seconds. The pruners
line up the conical shape and slice