Watch: ABC Meteorologist Visits Long Valley Christmas Tree Farm

LONG VALLEY, NJ — ABC’s Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee made her way to Long Valley recently to talk about the benefits of buying a fresh Christmas tree locally, rather than an artificial one.

Zee covered the topic for a Good Morning America segment “Christmas Tree Crunch,” which focused on shopping tips for Christmas trees, in the middle of the supply chain issues and labor shortages, while on location at Fairview Farm on 90 East Mill Road.

She posted about her visit on Twitter, thanking the farm for allowing she and her crew to film the segment there.

More than 70% of noble firs were lost to the historic heat wave in Oregon - they produce the most Christmas trees in the nation. Thanks to Fairview Tree Farm in Long Valley, NJ where they expect a good & busy year. pic.twitter.com/sDbmAfOgja
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) November 23, 2021

Magnifying the problem with the 2021 Christmas Tree season, she said, were the soaring temperatures this summer in Oregon, the nation’s largest producer of Christmas Trees.

With climate change, natural drought and heat in the Pacific Northwest, there was a 70 percent loss of Noble Fir trees there this past year, Zee said.

About Fairview Farm’s tree supply, Zee commented they were then expected to have a busy year and “they’ve had a good one so far.”

In the final segment and in a Facebook Live video that Zee recorded while visiting Fairview Farm, she gave tips about shopping for a Christmas tree, saying there were benefits of buying a real one versus an artificial one:

Though she described it as appearing counterintuitive to buy a fresh tree each year, she said they are “really the best environmental option.”

Live Christmas Trees are specifically “seeded and grown for that reason,” Zee explained.

When shopping for a live tree, she said it’s best to ask questions at the farm, including about pesticides. When it’s time to dispose of the tree, she said composting or chipping are two of the best options for the environment.

Though it may appear an artificial tree is better, she said unless one is keeping the tree for up to 20 years, they aren’t as environmentally-friendly. Those trees, she said, “have a large carbon footprint in their production, but also in their shipping,” many produced overseas and then sent to the United States.

One of the best bets, she said, is to buy a tree that has a rootball and can be replanted. She said some companies are even renting out trees each season.

Watch the full Good Morning America segment with Zee’s visit below:

Interested in a Christmas Tree from Long Valley?

Fairview Farm still has some available, they wrote in the Facebook Post below on Thursday, but check out their Facebook Page or website with hours of operation and inventory updates:

Washington Township Mayor Matt Murello gave a nod recently too to all of Long Valley’s Christmas Tree suppliers, a rundown of each one in his post below, emphasizing the importance, as Zee had, to support a local business, growing or selling Christmas trees:

See Murello's post to visit one of those local Long Valley businesses, if you still need and would like to buy a fresh Christmas Tree this year.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.