Farm Progress

Time to cut down the Christmas tree

Slideshow: A look at what to expect at a real Christmas tree farm.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

November 22, 2017

13 Slides

This weekend, Missouri Christmas tree farms will open their gates to families in search of the perfect holiday tree.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, U.S. consumers purchased 27.4 million farm-grown Christmas trees last year.

Butch and Darlene Augspurg have seen generations of families visit their farm starting the day after Thanksgiving. For 30 years, the couple has welcomed visitors in search of a special tree to The Branch Ranch outside of Philadelphia, Mo.

The Augspurgs operate a choose-and-cut tree farm in northeast Missouri. While they find families come for the tree, they stay for the experience — which includes hot cider, hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies.

If you are considering a fresh-cut tree this holiday season, here is a look at what you might find on a visit to a family-owned Christmas tree farm in Missouri. Just scroll through the slideshow for a look at a farm full of 6,000 trees and tons of fun.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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