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Years of investment are in jeopardy, and the value of our businesses,
to sell or pass down, is directly tied to the health of our industry.
Why Vote Yes?
Research Matters Market Share Competition The Tide Is Turning Your Vote Matters Your vote matters, and so does your voice.
Please share our message, as it will mean the most coming from fellow growers!
NO CHECK-OFF FUNDS WERE USED TO CREATE THIS SITE
MUST WATCH: How CTPB Spends Money on Research!
Why this vote matters
The Christmas Tree Promotion Board provides our industry with an essential, unifying voice that we cannot match as individual growers.
Here are a few key ways the CTPB helps support our industry:
RESEARCH
Grower contributions to the CTPB have funded over $600,000 of research in just four years. Research is addressing the challenges of today and the future, and is essential to protecting the value of our farms, as a business to be passed on or sold to future generations of growers.
COMPETING WITH THE FAKE INDUSTRY
We cannot fight the fake industry as individual farms.The CTPB was out spent by 12.5 times by the fake tree industry in 2016 ($1,200,000 to $15,000,000). Overcoming this and competing requires a unified voice and we’re putting up a strong fight by using our money wisely.
PREVENTING & REVERSING MARKET SHARE LOSS
Sales decline in a growing market is a trend that must be reversed. It requires a concerted, industry-wide effort. The Real tree industry lost 70% of the market to fake trees from 1960 to 2016. Healthy market share is essential to preserving the value of your business.
THE TIDE IS TURNING, FOR THE BETTER
There’s good news: tree sales have flattened out and are poised to rebound, reversing a 20-year trend of declining sales since 1990. National News outlets picked up on the battle between real and fake Christmas trees in 2018.
YOUR VOTE MATTERS
This vote is to close, and too important to sit out. The difference in 2018 was just 9 votes and 321 ballots were not submitted.
The future of our livelihood is at stake. Years of investment into our business are in jeopardy, as the value of our farms, to sell or pass down, is directly tied to the health of our industry.
Your vote matters, and so does your voice. Please share our message, as it will mean the most coming from fellow growers!
2018 CTPB Campaign Recap
Frequently Asked Questions
Didn’t we already vote on the checkoff?
Yes. The referendum passed in 2018. Based on last year’s results the USDA decided to conduct another referendum this year.
>>> You can read more about the decision here.
My neighbor says he will try to vote even though he has never paid. How can that be?
We understand that there may be growers who have not paid their assessments that will try to vote. If they contact the USDA and request a ballot, they will be vetted to determine if they are qualified. They will be required to provide documentation of their sales and contact information. We will ask the CTPB to pursue all voters for assessment payments and penalties. Non-compliant growers currently owe assessments on their 2015, 2016 and 2017 harvests, as well as penalties of $1,500 ($500 per year) plus 1.5% interest compounded monthly.
