Two trees, two sites: Mt. Anthony Tree Farm

Tradition, tradition, tradition.

Mt. Anthony Tree Farm spans two towns in Vermont. The farm was started in Bennington by Fritz and Bena Horst in 1897. The Horsts arrived in Vermont from Germany in 1891, worked hard and saved up to buy the farm.

“It was a mixed-use farm,” said Fritz’s namesake, Fritz Horst, fourth generation farmer. “My grandfather ran a dairy until he retired in 1964.”

The first Christmas trees were planted in 1972 by Jim Horst, the third generation to farm the land. Together with his wife Julie they ran the farm for many years. They are still involved to this day.

“I bought it five years ago, but my dad and I really do it together,” said Fritz. While the 270- to 280-acre Bennington site is no longer a dairy, some of its land is currently leased by a local dairy farm and planted in corn and alfalfa for their feed. Some of the land is woodland. Forty acres are planted in fir trees.

“I grew up there, my dad grew up there and his dad grew up there,” said Fritz. “I grew up around Christmas trees. I was lucky. I enjoyed being outside; it was a very easy thing to do. The work is changing throughout the year. I like the connection to my family. My father has been growing Christmas trees since before I was born. I like being involved with him. Not many people get a chance to do that.”

Fritz also travels with his construction job back and forth to Washington State.

Jim added, “I was the executive director of the New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association for 23 years. I turned 80, and after 23 years and it was time to pass the torch to Veronica Francis in 2023. She’s now the executive director. I work on the farm every day. At 83, I don’t do a lot of hard physical work.”

In 2013, the Horsts bought what was then known as the 16-acre Rudd Tree Farm in Pownal. It has sandy riverbed soil as it is near the Hoosic River, which makes it ideal for growing Christmas trees.

Their retail Christmas tree customers buy their U-cut trees at the Pownal site. There will be in excess of 1,500 Christmas trees ready this holiday season.

Wholesale customers contact the Horsts directly for their orders. “Most trees go to existing customers,” Fritz said, from their strong customer base established over decades.

Altogether, the two farms are growing 50,000 to 60,000 trees, primarily Fraser and balsam fir.

In 2000, Jim and Julie got out of selling retail trees for a while. About seven years ago, they started up again in Pownal. Bennington is their site for wholesale trees.

Has Fritz experienced any issues growing the trees? “As my dad always says, we are in partnership with Mother Nature and she is in charge. Christmas trees are pretty resilient. For transplanting young trees, too dry, or too wet, is not good either.” All the problems of farming in general apply.

He noted that in the Northeast and down into the Carolinas, on heavy clay soils, Fraser firs have been encountering fungus, as clay soils hold the moisture that encourages fungal growth, predominantly Phytophthora root rot. Evidence reveals itself as yellow-green needles, wilting, slow growth, delayed bud break, dead branches and sometimes tree death.

As a result, while at the Bennington site they have in the past focused on Fraser and balsam, they are now focused on growing more balsam.

At the Pownal site, with sandy soil, there is better drainage and therefore a natural deterrent to fungal issues.

For their Pownal retail U-cut site, “it’s very simple. It’s the same price for all the trees,” Fritz said. “People pick the one they want. If they need help, we are happy to help them.”

People have been coming to cut their trees for generations as a family tradition.

For more information, access mtanthonytreefarms.com.

by Laura Rodley