NC ag commissioner to tout state’s Christmas trees

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — With halls about to be decked and bells ready to jingle, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is ready to talk about the final touch for Christmas.

Troxler holds a news conference on Tuesday at the State Farmers Market to talk about North Carolina’s 2010 Christmas tree crop. Some of that crop is about to go on sale at the market in west Raleigh.

Trees are also turning up at nurseries, garden centers and retailers across the state.

North Carolina is the nation’s second-largest producer of real Christmas trees, with $100 million in sales in 2009. The state has about 1,500 Christmas tree growers farming a total of 35,000 acres.

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