A comparison of the number of trees reported harvested annually in Figure 7 with the number of trees reported planted in Figure 4 is striking. Data from both the 1981 and 1994 surveys suggest average annual harvests averaging close to 370,000 trees from plantings in excess of one million trees per year. This success ratio of trees harvested to trees planted is lower than the frequently cited desired ratios of 50 to 60 percent or higher for Scotch pine and 80 percent or higher for the single-needle conifers. The lower a grower's success ratio, the lower the net profit. The critical question is "Why do Ohio producers appear to have such a low success ratio?"
Part of the explanation for this low success ratio may be found by looking at the character of Ohio's Christmas tree industry. As discussed earlier, the average Ohio Christmas tree grower is a small, part-time, choose-and-cut producer who receives less than 10 percent of annual income from Christmas tree sales. For such producers, Christmas tree production and marketing activities do not and cannot command the level of commitment invested by full-time producers. Other activities, including full-time jobs, often take priority over proper and timely Christmas tree production and marketing activities. Further, some part-time producers may be less willing or able to invest in needed equipment such as a planting machine or pesticide sprayer. And, part-time producers are less likely to have the time available to learn effective production and marketing techniques. Lack of proper and timely production practices can lead to a high proportion of unsaleable trees; lack of effective marketing can lead to reduced sales. Both result in a substantial reduction in trees successfully harvested.
Producers interviewed suggested that another factor contributing to Ohio producers low harvested-to-planted success ratio is the large number of trees planted on sites unsuited for the species planted. In some instances this "off site" planting is the result of producers not understanding the site requirements of Christmas tree species. In other instances, however, it is the result of choose-and-cut producers attempting to produce a variety of species on a specific property to meet anticipated consumer demand. Small, part-time, choose-and-cut producers generally do not purchase land to grow Christmas trees, but utilize land they already own. Most often this land does not contain the quality and variety of sites necessary to produce the quality and variety of tree species that may be desired in a choose-and-cut operation. In an attempt to provide the desired variety of species, producers often plant species on sites less than suitable, resulting in substantially reduced harvest to planting success ratios.
And finally, some producers have noted that Scotch pine still makes up a substantial proportion of Ohio's Christmas tree inventory and that the historically expected harvested-to-planted success ratio of 50 to 60 percent or higher may be too high in today's production and marketing environment. They note that producing quality Scotch pine has, for many producers, become increasingly more difficult due, in no small part, to an ever-expanding array of insect and disease problems. At the same time, markets for lower quality Scotch pine have dwindled due to increased competition among producers and from the artificial tree, and increased consumer awareness and demand for quality.
Whatever the causes, many Ohio Christmas tree producers appear to have harvest-to-planting success ratios well below desirable levels. Identifying and correcting the causes of the low ratios on their individual operations would dramatically increase their net profits.