Virginia Christmas Tree Month

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

Virginia Christmas Tree Month

WHEREAS, Christmas Tree Month acknowledges the efforts of those who plant, cultivate, and harvest Christmas trees as this is a valuable contribution to Virginia agriculture, the Commonwealth's largest private industry; and

WHEREAS, Virginia ranks eighth nationally in Christmas tree production acreage with nearly 10,000 acres used for Christmas tree production in the Commonwealth, with Grayson, Loudoun, Culpeper, Floyd, and Scott counties leading in production acreage; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Christmas tree farmers grow various species of cypress, fir, pine, and spruce, on more than 480 farms across the Commonwealth, for wholesale, retail, and choose-and-cut customers; and

WHEREAS, the sale of Virginia grown Christmas trees generated sales of $25.6 million in 2022, which ranks fifth nationally; and

WHEREAS, Virginia grown Christmas trees are renewable, recyclable, and natural products, and for every tree cut growers replant two-to-three seedlings in its place; and

WHEREAS, visiting a Christmas tree farm provides a great opportunity to contribute to enterprising Virginia businesses thereby stimulating the local economy and bringing money into those communities while actively supporting local farmers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize December 2024, as VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS TREE MONTH in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.