In NEW CANEY, Texas, Dry, brown grass crunches underneath David Barfield's feet as he walks through his 45-acre Christmas tree farm pointing at evergreens covered with rust-colored needles.
"Dead tree, dead tree, dead tree," he says, as he shakes his head at dry timber. He had much hope that his trees would be chopped down by parents with excited children.
Instead, Mother Nature delivered the Grinch in the form of a historic drought that has killed thousands of trees across the states of Texas and Oklahoma. Some died of thirst. Others were destroyed by wildfires.
Most farmers plan to import trees from North Carolina to supplement any they have left, said Marshall Cathey, president of the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association. They say they aren't planning to raise prices because consumers are skeptical to pay more than $40 or $50 for a Christmas tree, especially in the poor economy. What else is next? Your comments please...
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