A questionnaire was mailed during early spring 1994 to 1,326 individuals identified as potential Christmas tree producers. A second mailing was sent to nonrespondents two months later. The list of potential producers was developed from Ohio Christmas Tree Association membership lists for the previous four years, respondents to the last survey (Brown, 1983), attendees at Ohio State University Extension workshops and meetings, and an Ohio State University Extension list of known and possible producers. The questionnaire contained questions on producer demography, planting and marketing history for the past five years, and planting and marketing plans for the next three years.
Seven hundred thirty-six questionnaires were returned. Three hundred seventy-three of the returned questionnaires were Christmas tree producers, of which 209 were members of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association. Seventy-six of the 590 nonrespondents were randomly selected, contacted by phone, and asked an abbreviated set of questions which included their geographic location, total number of trees, planting history for the previous three years, and percent of income from Christmas tree operation. Twenty-three of the seventy-six were Christmas tree producers, including nine Ohio Christmas Tree Association members. Because responses to the telephone survey differed from the written questionnaire, data from the telephone survey were used to characterize the Christmas tree producers who did not respond to the written questionnaire. These data were then combined with the data from the 373 written respondents to produce coefficients to estimate the entire population. When checked against a known characteristic of the industry, the number of Ohio Christmas Tree Association members, this procedure proved quite valid, predicting Ohio Christmas Tree Association membership within three percent (seven members).