It’s Christmas all year round at Chestnut Mountain Christmas Tree Farm. Owner Robert Schrader currently has 40,000 trees in different stages of growth to be ready for the upcoming holiday season this year and those to come.
He grows Fraser, Balsam, Canaan and Concolor firs and some blue spruce on the 150-acre Hatfield, MA, farm. Though blue spruces are “not the dominant flavor” right now, customers ask for them and he grows the trees to give his customers what they want.
A one-man band, his son Jake Schrader, a graduate of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture UMass Amherst, helps his father after working full-time at his own job with a public utility.
On average, they plant 6,000 trees a year.
Chestnut Mountain Christmas Tree Farm is open to the public this year before Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 22, and through December, as Thanksgiving falls late in November this year.
“We have a lot of help during the season. It gets very busy. One of the things that most people don’t understand is that Thanksgiving is now our busiest time of the year. We sell 25% of our trees Thanksgiving weekend. We have a lot of help to keep things running smoothly,” Schrader said.
A family outing, people come to choose and cut their trees or buy a pre-cut tree. Predominantly, customers want the U-cut experience, enjoying their own family-focused event.
They offer free hot chocolate and cookies. They also offer hay wagon rides, drawn by Belgians owned by Brian Kleeburg of Greenfield, MA, during the season’s three to four busy weekends.
What has he learned over the 15 years he has run his farm? “Like most things, you learn it, refine your knowledge and hope for the best,” Schrader said. “Mother Nature is, of course, a changeable thing.”
This year so far, Mother Nature has been merciful. What lies ahead the rest of this summer? “What I hear is that we will have an above average rainfall,” Schrader said. “We want to avoid the 20 inches of rain in July we had in 2023. The roots can’t be under water (for long), or they die. You have to be careful.”
Digging gullies to divert the water from excessive rainfall is not an option.
Beyond that, so far this year, has been mowing between the rows. In July, he starts shearing and shaping the trees. He had 35 years of experience working with the UMass Extension to prepare him for his venture and fulfill his lifelong dream of owning a Christmas tree farm and manifesting the joy of Christmas.
Working at a dairy farm when he was in school steered him toward farming, and later on, he “fell into growing Christmas trees.”
Others might historically remember the property as Swift Plantation. At one time, 75 acres of it was planted with shade tobacco. The farm is now held in a Conservation Restriction through the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) dedicated to forestry.
Schrader is a member of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) and the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association. He produces 30 gallons of syrup a year.
He also hays his fields, harvesting 6,000 small square bales annually for “horse people to buy for their horses.”
What does he like best about being a Christmas tree farmer? “I like being outside, being my own boss,” he replied.
For more information, access chestnutmountaintreefarm.com.
