Transcript
Alexis : All right, coming in hot with a question for you guys today.
Plant People: Oh man, I know just straight out, just straight out.
Jessica : You were prepared.
Alexis : Straight out the gate. That's the way we do things around here.
Brett: Well, before you do, I'll just acknowledge we're joined by a guest here today.
Plant People: but
Brett: Kenny from the the Kentucky Christmas Tree Association does not know what he's in for, but he's about to find that out.
Plant People: No.
Alexis : it's a good It's a good, easy question. I'm going to lob something nice to all of you.
Brett: Okay, okay.
Alexis : Yeah, yeah guys, come on.
Plant People: Oh, for a change.
Alexis : Come on.
Plant People: Okay.
Brett: Turning over a new leaf?
Plant People: Okay.
Alexis : cheese and You all act like I'm...
Jessica : Not putting us on the spot.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : I was just going to ask you with the recent little a break from winter that we've had, what is your like first thing that you do, your favorite thing that you do when you get that little, you know, 60 degrees in winter time?
Plant People: Hmm.
Alexis : Like, what you what do you got? Come on, guys.
Plant People: Gosh, if you were a young kid, you'd say touch grass, but I don't know.
Jessica : I
Plant People: who
Jessica : talk myself out of planting things doing, cause I like, cause I totally did like this last week. I was like, I mean, my kids go outside anyways, even in the cold all the time, but like we really went outside all day. And then I was just like, Oh, I want to dig and plant and this and that and do all these things. And I was like, wait a minute. Yeah.
Jessica : It's February.
Alexis : It's February.
Jessica : And my, and my, yeah.
Plant People: Maybe a little early, maybe a little early.
Jessica : yeah And my son was like, it's spring.
Alexis : Oops.
Jessica : And I was like, no, baby, it is, it's winter. And he was like, but it's, but it's spring.
Alexis : Warm.
Jessica : And I was like, no, no. And then it snowed. So he's learning.
Plant People: like, my mom is a genius. She knew into that or you're going get blamed for bringing back.
Jessica : I know have these amazing powers.
Plant People: ah Yeah. You're, you're going to get blamed for bringing back on the winter, Jessica. It's all on you.
Jessica : Yeah. Yeah.
Plant People: It's on you.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: You took spring away. so yeah.
Jessica : did.
Plant People: Yeah. It seems like we have plan things.
Alexis : Kenny, what about you when you get those warm days? What is like your your favorite thing to do?
Kenney Gulley: Well, what is on my schedule today is that we have seedlings coming in in March. So that's where my mind is already at is I really need to try to get a little herbicide down before we get those trees in in mid-March.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So that's where you start to try to almost want to jump ahead of the season a little bit. And as I'm driving away from the house this morning, I'm looking at the snow covered ground out there and I say, well, it wouldn't have been very effective anyway.
Alexis : Yeah,
Kenney Gulley: So, you know.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : yeah there you go. See, it's like you're not behind, you know, it's it's totally fine.
Jessica : Right.
Kenney Gulley: They're always behind is the problem.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: Always behind.
Alexis : ah Yeah, but see, eventually, like always behind becomes full circle and then you're like on time, right?
Brett: Yeah. It's got a white long enough.
Kenney Gulley: okay All right.
Plant People: When your you're so far behind, you're in first place.
Kenney Gulley: Okay.
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: what the what's what species
Plant People: Yeah, then that you're doing it right.
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: What species are the seedlings you're putting in?
Kenney Gulley: um I am just have some Norway spruce and some white pine this spring.
Plant People: Good deal. Good deal.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Alexis : Which leads perfectly into ah the fact that we're talking about some Christmas trees today.
Brett: Awesome.
Alexis : Speaking of conifers, we don't what i'll talk about conifers as often as probably Brett would like as the as the biggest of the conifer lovers amongst our group.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Plant People: hey
Alexis : um I just threw shade at...
Brett: In size and enthusiasm.
Plant People: Yes.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: An outsized enthusiasm and love for conifers.
Alexis : Physically and emotionally.
Kenney Gulley: Yes. Well, Brett, maybe we can convert them a little today.
Brett: Well, maybe you'll have better luck than I have.
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Okay. All right.
Plant People: I mean, any you mentioned white pine.
Alexis : I
Plant People: I perk up immediately. I don't know what it is.
Kenney Gulley: Okay.
Plant People: I grew up with white pines and and not necessarily looking through the lens of Christmas tree production, but I just love the sound. We had some white pines around the farm growing up. Love the sound of wind moving through kind of larger white pines.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: They are they're one of my favorites.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: and they days To this very day, i don't care you know what we're talking about. When somebody says white pine, I perk up.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: So Brett, and you both, we're on the Evergreen train today. So, yeah.
Alexis : See, the only thing, ah when I hear white pine, I think white pine decline and all of the trees people have called me about over the years.
Jessica : Same.
Plant People: Alexis, Alexis, please.
Jessica : Same.
Alexis : And they're like, my trees are dying.
Jessica : That's
Alexis : i'm like, well, they're about 25 years old.
Jessica : that's all I think.
Plant People: You know, we try to steer it in a positive direction, but Alexis is not bringing us back around.
Alexis : So yes, they're dying. but I'm a realist, okay?
Plant People: She is turning a 180.
Alexis : I'm a realist. It's who I am as a person.
Plant People: Turn that smile upside down.
Alexis : But...
Brett: When I think, yeah, well, to it I guess to answer in that and to answer your own question earlier, when the when the warm weather comes, I just think this is probably one of the, you know, there's only so many more times I'm going to feel the warmth of spring.
Brett: I'm just in decline now. That's how I feel when you just answer it that way.
Jessica : getting really really heavy here though today
Plant People: Yes. Yes.
Alexis : Listen, I mean, if that's,
Brett: same work See more springs than I'm going to see.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: We're at the beginning looking for the end.
Kenney Gulley: Well.
Alexis : I mean, maybe that means you value them more moving forward.
Plant People: Okay, sure.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: Moving on.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Alexis : All right. You're just, they're, they're more, you feel them more deeply as you move forward. Okay. Gosh, guys.
Plant People: We didn't start this.
Jessica : anyways so Christmas trees they're yeah things that bring people joy
Plant People: We didn't start this. Yes. Thank you, Jessica. Thank you. Talking about something wonderful today. Yeah. Christmas trees. Wonderful.
Jessica : During the holidays.
Kenney Gulley: yes
Brett: I guess we could go that direction if you really want to, Jessica.
Jessica : I guess we could.
Kenney Gulley: yeah
Brett: a
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah.
Alexis : Thank you.
Jessica : We could try to turn it around a little bit.
Plant People: yeah
Brett: Yeah, well, I mean, I would just love to hear a little bit, Kenny, about like about your farm. And then we could also talk about the the association, too. But I'd love to hear kind of, you mentioned you're planting some seedlings. I'm sure i'm sure you've had some seedlings planted in the past that are, how long you've been doing this? How far along are your trees?
Brett: All that kind of stuff.
Kenney Gulley: We, my wife and I, we began a conversation in 2020, you know, right there in beginning of COVID. um ah A good friend of mine, which was also a faculty advisor of mine at the University of Kentucky is a Christmas tree farmer.
Kenney Gulley: And we we have 10 acres there just outside of Mount Sterling is where we live and where we farm. ah Both of us are gainfully employed full time doing something else. So this is ah something that we do on our nights and weekends.
Kenney Gulley: And we went to this individual and and asked him about a thousand questions.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: as we were contemplating a small agricultural enterprise. And we decided that's what we were going to do. So we planted our first trees in spring of 2021.
Kenney Gulley: So this will be our sixth year of planting seedlings and our in our ah plots are really pretty full. So we're just doing some fill-in planting this year. This is by far the smallest planting that we will have thus far.
Kenney Gulley: um So we, six years.
Plant People: Well, six years. yeah Yeah. Seven year, eight year production cycle.
Kenney Gulley: and ham
Plant People: So you're getting ready to come on next year then probably for this year.
Kenney Gulley: Yep. Well, we we actually did harvest a a few, a couple dozen trees this year. So we're a little bit ahead of schedule.
Plant People: Oh, awesome.
Kenney Gulley: And um so that that part is is exciting after you've worked for five years and you do have some things that you you see enough other things that aren't going in your favor that some things did.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And so we, that was one of the first things that my mentor gave me was that you really should come to the Kentucky Christmas tree growers association meeting coming up next month from the time that we were discussing that with him.
Jessica : you
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And we did find it very useful to be able to meet other growers, talk to them about the challenges, what we should do, what we certainly shouldn't do. And so we, we've capitalized on that and we've, we've been very active in the Kentucky Christmas tree growers association since then.
Kenney Gulley: asked
Brett: who was that Who was that person that you worked with?
Kenney Gulley: ah Dr.
Brett: You can give them shout out.
Kenney Gulley: Bill Moody. Dr. Bill Moody.
Brett: Okay.
Kenney Gulley: um He was a, he is an animal, he was, he's retired.
Brett: Great.
Kenney Gulley: He's an animal science professor at the University of Kentucky. I'm an animal science major. I grew up milking cows and raising tobacco and, you know, traditional agriculture as far as I i know that to be in Eastern Kentucky.
Kenney Gulley: And um so that, that was my background as we certainly was around hay production and corn and and those types of things. But I also worked in to tobacco research the whole time I was a student at University Kentucky.
Kenney Gulley: So um ah that's really all I know is agriculture.
Brett: you
Kenney Gulley: So that's what I've been around my my entire life. And and I am an owner and operator of a a farm equipment dealership now. So I've been around agribusiness my entire professional career. And I guess you like to see things grow and and it's hard to give up the production part.
Kenney Gulley: So as we were talking about doing something on our little ah corner of God's acre there, we we we got into the Christmas tree business.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: mentioned You mentioned that you were involved, you know, it sounds like a lot of traditional agriculture and you mentioned tobacco.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: I will not terrorize you by bringing up Dr. Neesmith's name. i don't know if you ever ran into him.
Kenney Gulley: Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes.
Plant People: ah I figured you had some dealings with him way back in the day in tobacco, but it sounds like you have a lot of great experience in traditional agriculture. And I'm always curious, especially with the Christmas tree growers, because it is a different sort of thing.
Plant People: It's got a longer payout. It's got a different kind of labor schedule.
Kenney Gulley: Yep.
Plant People: But what brings someone like yourself that's more familiar with more traditional end of agriculture in Kentucky, what brings you to the Christmas tree end of things? ah Was it your wife's enthusiasm or did you have to bring or what was it?
Kenney Gulley: No, no, that wasn't it. No, ah now no, no.
Plant People: I should have. Sorry. I always am curious about that.
Alexis : Immediately, no.
Kenney Gulley: um
Plant People: A medial no. A hard no.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: I heard that.
Kenney Gulley: sir
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: We um ah both of us grew up in, in rural Kentucky and living in Mount Sterling at up to for raising a family. we We lived about a mile away from Walmart and Kroger's and all those conveniences of which we did not have growing up. And she was very accustomed to that. So it took me a little bit of prying to get her to move four miles outside of town. ah But yeah,
Kenney Gulley: Then we started having the conversation as far as stewardship and we had some land here and we really should try to make the best use of it. Uh, she made me, uh, compromise on, on, uh, animal production.
Kenney Gulley: So there'll be no animals, um, because of lifestyle and weekends and that kind of said, okay, that's all fine.
Plant People: Thank you.
Alexis : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: That's all well. So let's, so as we started talking through some things, that's when the, really the question I knew that Dr. Moody was raising Christmas trees and, um, You know, you don't have the problems with the Christmas trees getting out in the road and stuff like you do with cattle.
Alexis : just
Kenney Gulley: And so, you know, so we we met the in the middle somewhere there. And um like I say, part of the things which we also had to work around is we had the land. I do have availability to equipment.
Kenney Gulley: How do we make this work in our lifestyle? Because I don't i don't want a farm market that's open six months a year.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: So the Christmas trees fit very well. It's a very closed retail market. It lets us do much of the physical labor on our schedule so we can do it at nights, weekends, whatever we need to do there.
Plant People: you
Kenney Gulley: So it really does fit into what we had going on. um And then if you watch a Hallmark movie, you know, there's no Hallmark movies about raising pumpkins.
Brett: Can I ask you?
Kenney Gulley: So.
Plant People: No. well no
Alexis : ah
Brett: That's right.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Plant People: Yeah, that's always the it's always the pretty stuff.
Brett: What else?
Plant People: Yes, absolutely.
Kenney Gulley: Sure. sure
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: what What else was on the the short list that got scratched off before you arrived there? Do you do you recall that? Maybe Pumpkins was one of them.
Kenney Gulley: um Really what we had out ah out there was, this was all hay ground. Hay production is what what the ground was being used for up to this point.
Brett: Hmm.
Kenney Gulley: But we had no desire to get into ah pumpkins, vegetables. We really did not have a desire to do that. ah So after she said we couldn't have livestock, that's really where it turned into, ah put us into a, yes, it sort of put us into a corner there.
Plant People: It kind of steered the ship. Yeah. Yeah. Well, some of those things, I mean, yeah, it's, I mean, when cows need to be fed, they need to be fed or milked when they need to be milked.
Kenney Gulley: yes Yeah.
Plant People: So it sounds like that it was a, is it fair to say kind of a life fit for you guys? It sounds like, and I hear that a lot.
Kenney Gulley: Yes, exactly.
Jessica : That's
Kenney Gulley: Yes, it it worked because we already had the property. um and And as you start to think about, if you have 10 acres and by the time you say, well, there's a pond and there's ah you know, our yard and the barn, and there's very limited how much land is there.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So how much of an agriculture enterprise can you have on five acres of land? And Christmas trees actually allow you to have a a decent amount of gross revenue coming off that small acreage.
Plant People: Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So there was a critical mass is is the way I would put that terminology.
Plant People: Yeah. It seems like ah so many times fit's very important all across the state in any ag enterprise, but specifically as you go towards more hilly regions, it has to be a fit for the land, not only a fit for the family, it sounds like for you guys.
Jessica : that's
Kenney Gulley: Sure. Sure.
Plant People: You know, we we talked to to folks a lot about that and how it fits in with your family.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: And we talk about, it's kind of like grapes and some other enterprises, apple trees, orchards and things. It does have a longer payout. So it sounds like, yeah, you guys made all those considerations since when you were Thinking about getting into this.
Kenney Gulley: Right.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: Good deal.
Kenney Gulley: um ah it I mean, with Christmas trees, it is not a huge capital outlay. If you already have the the the land, albeit the commitment is more toward the the labor,
Kenney Gulley: that it's going to take. and And that comes back to what's the the management system that you want.
Jessica : Thank
Kenney Gulley: And from our perspective is we wanted to keep it mowed down. We wanted to look attractive. We did not want briars and, you know, things growing. So we we do spend about seven to eight hours a week mowing.
Kenney Gulley: And that's really when the other question that came back up is whenever it turns 60 degrees, what's in your mind and go, Oh no, we got to start mowing in about a month.
Plant People: The sod is growing.
Kenney Gulley: ah So but I wasn't looking forward to that.
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: ah But because once we start, you know, it's just what we do.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And you still work in your fertilization and your tree shearing and you, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Plant People: You don't stop. Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah. I talked to lot of folks who like, oh, it's so little labor. You know, we're into something that with very little labor. I'm like, well, there's some, there's some labor in involved.
Kenney Gulley: This is not it. this
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Jessica : Right. That's, yeah.
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah.
Alexis : There's very little horticulture that is as little labor, at least as people want.
Kenney Gulley: That's correct.
Alexis : There's there's a spectrum for sure, but but ah this whole like plant it and forget it ah timeline is not not really what people think it is.
Kenney Gulley: that's That's correct.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Jessica : photos that you see online about all those different production systems and horticulture make it look often glamorous and easy and you're just going out there plant plant a christmas tree and then a couple years later just cut it down that's it right so yeah
Alexis : and
Plant People: Very Instagrammy.
Alexis : Hallmark movie.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: hey i'm playing
Alexis : Frees just like grow in my yard by themselves.
Kenney Gulley: hallmark never shows that
Plant People: I'm blaming Hallmark for this and Lifetime TV. Yes.
Kenney Gulley: That's right. They never show the morning and the spring.
Plant People: Getting married or...
Kenney Gulley: They never show any of that part.
Plant People: Yeah, no. No, we're sharing. They just show the mayor of a small town and someone...
Kenney Gulley: That's right.
Alexis : Spraying for spider mites.
Plant People: though Yeah, they they never show...
Kenney Gulley: That's right. Somebody's falling in love and there you have it right there.
Plant People: But that's got to help with marketing though, because I mean, it's one of those things.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: i know it doesn't sell itself. Christmas tree production, but a lot of hard work, you know, lots of sweat equity in there. But I mean, um ah yeah, it's one of those things that it's kind of positive vibe.
Alexis : A lot of the marketing is being like done, right? like you You have to do some, but there's a lot more being done for you, i think, in some ways than like a cucumber is.
Jessica : Okay.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Plant People: lot of positive vibes. Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yes. Yes. Yes. there's There's pictures painted in people's minds as far as going out to a Christmas tree farm because they they see those things.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: and And some people have that tradition. Some people do not. And and they desire to make that. And that's that's also part of the fun part of it is that it is 99% of the time it is the best environment to sell.
Kenney Gulley: People are happy to come and see you year after year. You start to get to know their families. It is a neat experience. So that part is very, very good.
Alexis : So what would you say you dislike about growing Christmas trees?
Jessica : But you...
Alexis : Sounds like you all have made some you know good decisions that makes it work for you, but what what do you dislike about it?
Kenney Gulley: Well, I mean, there's, there's it's laborious.
Plant People: Negative.
Kenney Gulley: I mean, it's, you're, there's no shortcuts.
Alexis : don't know.
Kenney Gulley: We do not have any hired labor. So it's me and my wife and that that's who's going to go out and, and, you know, the the the work has to get done, but that's just, that's, that's agriculture, isn't it? I mean, that's whether it's horticulture or just agriculture, the work has to get done. And, and I've never been one that works from eight to five and you work until you get the job done. And so that's always been part of my mentality. So, you know, really there's,
Kenney Gulley: ah part of the most discouraging part, it's not necessarily the part that you hate, is whenever you go, the effort of planting trees and you watch them die. um
Alexis : Oh, yeah.
Plant People: Oh, yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And that's the learning curve that you have, is that you try to figure out which species will work on the land, which we have, and under the the management, which we have.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: Because we we were talking about another grower just prior to going on air, and and they have irrigation systems. I do not. So whenever we have this, you know, two, two months or six weeks of, of, uh, no rain, you know, that's not, uh, the best on, on a lot of things which we try to plant and grow there.
Jessica : Thank you.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So that's part of big learning curve is is, helping us come to the point of realization. I can grow this and this, but I cannot grow this and this.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So we were talking a little of the same thing about what we're growing and, um, you know, the, the disappointment of thinking, Hey, I can, I can overcome my soil and I can overcome the weather, you might as you must well come to the realization of, no, you can't.
Alexis : I'm going play Colorado blue spruce everywhere.
Kenney Gulley: so So I'm becoming more of a realist in this process.
Plant People: but Okay.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: so So you started on a high point. Now you're at a real point, it sounds like.
Kenney Gulley: Yes. Yes.
Plant People: Well, well ah i'm ah on the vein of positivity, Alexis, um I mean, you you guys have several years under your belt now. I mean, are there some positive surprises or some some things that's ah kind of growing in a certain direction in a very positive light?
Plant People: with growing the Christmas trees that maybe you hadn't considered or is just a kind of a real plus. as I mean, it doesn't matter bringing people to the farm or just the whole marketing end of things, the direct sales, just whatever.
Plant People: i mean, some things that have been kind of a pleasant surprise. I know there's lots of challenges each and every year with, you know, things.
Kenney Gulley: it's It's an enterprise that what what we have found is that people want you to succeed. Even the people who don't come and buy from you want you to succeed um because they think it's a neat thing and they want it in the in the community.
Plant People: Okay.
Plant People: Oh, yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And and so it is it's fun to have ah supporters because often, you know, in production agriculture in whatever form or fashion, you feel like you're out here on your own little plot and it's you against the world.
Plant People: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And and that's not that's not necessarily the case. And I think you really see that in a lot of agritourism. And that's where we sort of put ourselves into that that category, is people want you to be part of that community and they want you to succeed.
Plant People: I mean, are you guys known as the Christmas tree people now there locally?
Kenney Gulley: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Plant People: yeah do you have a kind of a new title? It sounds like in a very good way.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah, so it's...
Alexis : He called worse things.
Plant People: I mean, yes, absolutely.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah, we've not gone down the path of the merchandising yet, but whenever people see the stuff that we wear, they want to know where can I buy that? So that will probably get phased into that because of the same thing that people want to buy into those, those kinds of.
Plant People: Oh, sure. And then it's a local thing. And it's awesome to hear that.
Kenney Gulley: It is, it is.
Plant People: It sounds like the community is kind of taking ownership with you of that as far as that goes.
Kenney Gulley: Yep. Yep.
Plant People: And that that's awesome. Sometimes I don't think we focus on that enough when you feel supported not only by the technical side of things, you know, like the association and other help that you get along the way, but just the community and the positivity that sort of brings.
Plant People: It's a very good point. Yeah, it's great.
Kenney Gulley: Well, and there's even more to it. Really, when you come back and you see the programs that are available from the state to assist in diversifying agriculture, that's a big deal.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: um Because often we we, you know, it's the soybeans and corn now, and it used to be tobacco, those bigger programs.
Plant People: Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: demanded the support, they demanded the dollars. um and And those things, those need support. i'm I'm not talking against those. But as we are trying to diversify into more horticulture type programs,
Kenney Gulley: those supports are needed as well, especially with the learning curves that most producers are trying when they're transitioning for someone like me, which has been much more traditional in agriculture.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: But now we're trying to to take on a different enterprise, which I have no background in. So it's a whole different set of knowledge and experience that you have to gain. And it's good to have those programs available.
Plant People: It's ah interesting.
Jessica : You kind of,
Plant People: Yeah. Your take on that. i love it.
Jessica : I said, you were kind of talking about the, you know, we've talked before, like I have some Christmas tree growers in my County and like some of the challenges that they have had, especially disease issues.
Jessica : Has that led you, i know they have been looking at more like unique varieties of trees to try to plant, to like try to combat that. Is that something that you all are doing or you might not have the same issues as they, you know, they are having a lot of, um,
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Jessica : like Phytophthora issues going on on their property.
Kenney Gulley: We do. I get to deal with that on a very regular basis. And that's part of what we have to ah come to the realization when you're dealing with clay-based soils, of which that's what I'm dealing with.
Kenney Gulley: It was a little different experience when I worked at UK's research farms. You know, their soils are so different from what we have.
Jessica : Oh, spindle top is like perfect, right?
Alexis : Oh, yeah.
Kenney Gulley: That's correct.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: That's correct. So the drainage is totally different. Top soils are totally different in the world that I'm living in. I'm working on very little topsoil, a lot of clay. And if you're trying to grow Fraser firs or really any type of firs, you're going to struggle. And I've struggled for four years. Well, guess what? In year five and year six, mine, I'm a lot smarter. I quit planting firs and my success rate's going up tremendously. So I'm dealing with phytopther.
Kenney Gulley: So that that so i'm you know there there's no quick fix to that, that i've unless you all want to share that with me. ive haven't found anybody that can tell me what that is. Other than species selection is a big deal for us. That's how we're really dealing with it. Now, one of the things which I did last year is I have brought in some Turkish fur because they are supposed to be more ah resistant to Phytophthora. So I have an experiment of ongoing there on my own property. um At this point, it's hard for me to tell how much I'm gaining there versus the death because of drought last fall.
Kenney Gulley: So I'm still dealing with some issues there.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: But but yes, we we are looking at other species all the time because we are seeing weather variations from what we've had in the past. So we're trying to figure out what what is going to be effective, what's going to work, and still deliver a product that the end you that the end customer is proud to put in their home.
Jessica : you
Kenney Gulley: So yes, we are certainly experimenting with that as well.
Alexis : Question about ah your planting time. So I know, you know, in Kentucky, we we normally tell people at least for, you know, most deciduous trees that they're growing that fall is actually the best time to plant.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : But you're mentioning spring plantings. Is there a reason why?
Kenney Gulley: yes
Alexis : Is it just, you know, what you prefer or when things are available or what's that look like?
Kenney Gulley: um the nurseries that we buy a seed stock from seem to be more highly directed to spring planting than they are in fall.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: There are some who you can get fall.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: And I attempted to plant some ah a year ago this past fall. The survivability was not very good at all. Same thing. We were having these dry falls. um
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: yeah
Kenney Gulley: And so what we have found is that spring, if anything, it's too wet, but but we have moisture to get those plants.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: So they're dormant when we plant them. And then we hope to have them in the ground before ground starts to warm up and then we get good bud break and we have successful growth taking off in the spring.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So I know of people who do plant it in the fall. seemed The things from our like say from the nurseries up to the weather, which we're having, seem to be a little better aimed for our production for springtime planting.
Kenney Gulley: If the weather, you know, we start getting, go ahead, sorry.
Alexis : Are you doing any type of, sorry, go ahead. i was to say, are you doing any type of mulching on those first year plants just to try and even out the soil moisture or you're just saying live or die guys, good luck?
Kenney Gulley: Well, I have used wood chips in the past on some, same thing.
Alexis : Uh-huh.
Plant People: Thank
Kenney Gulley: I just experienced with them.
Alexis : Uh-huh.
Kenney Gulley: And and i for as much as weed control is and as as much for that purpose as I was for moisture, um I did not see ah a tremendous difference in the performance of what I saw on on our property.
Kenney Gulley: So i I have not gone past that. um So there is the mentality among some growers that I i sort of follow. It's when it comes to irrigation in whatever form or fashion, you know, dragging a tank around and pouring water to base the tree versus sprinklers versus drip irrigation.
Kenney Gulley: You know, i've I've seen bits and pieces on all of those things. And I have done some of those things, um, like in the fall planning, I did go out and water those because after you, you take the time it's, to me, it's not as much about the money as the labor.
Plant People: Mm-hmm.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Uh, I got there and sweat over these things to get them in the ground.
Jessica : Great.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: I would like for them to to live. Um,
Alexis : Right.
Kenney Gulley: But anyway, so I have almost adopted the idea of ah you know, if if I want 50 to live, then plant 100. um So because it's almost easier than and for me to figure out the investment of drip irrigation doesn't seem to make sense to me on my property.
Alexis : True.
Alexis : What I love hearing you say is that you're experimenting one and number two, you're kind of running the numbers, right? Like you're saying, you i could put in the drip, but i'm you know you're I think sometimes we going back to that romanticizing of farming in general, right?
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Alexis : it's People forget it is a business. And so you are you're taking that seriously, especially when you're looking at eight years, seven to eight years and return on investment there.
Kenney Gulley: Yes, it is a business. Yes.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : Like that's that's huge. So it's just exciting when I get to hear a farmer like crunching the numbers.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Well, ah we did start with a business plan. You know, we this is not my first business.
Alexis : Love it.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : hum Speaking our language.
Kenney Gulley: This is what we do, but I still run it like a business because it we, as we also, my wife and I look at retirement upcoming, we we do expect for this to be a viable ongoing business, maybe after we do cut back on our professional careers to go this path.
Alexis : so Love it.
Brett: Well, these people are plant nerds. I happen to be in ag economics, so I have different things that I tend to focus on.
Plant People: Speaking of bringing us down, Brett.
Brett: They're going to ask you about growing plants, and but but ah but I did want to make sure we talked. You mentioned several times now the Kentucky Christmas Tree Growers Association.
Kenney Gulley: Yep. Yes.
Brett: And I wanted to just hear you you said you attended there when you first started. and I think you've been involved since then. I'm just curious kind of what your experience has been. What if you have ah if we have some aspiring Christmas tree growers out there listening in, um should they come and check out the the association?
Brett: What what kind of stuff are you all thinking about in 2026 or beyond?
Jessica : Thank you.
Brett: I'd just be curious about that.
Kenney Gulley: Sure. um As we, whenever I joined the the organization, there was a i don't know, 20, maybe 20 member farms. And that's how we have membership is by farm, not by individual. So if five people from a farm want to come, that's all great. ah Today we have 55 member farms.
Kenney Gulley: So we are seeing a growth in new individuals coming into production of Christmas trees. um Now that puts a, because it it actually changes the shift of what the organization is. And yes, we still promote production of Christmas trees.
Kenney Gulley: Um, but we have a handful of veteran growers and I'm talking about multi-decade type growers, people that have been around the block multiple times. And and and really what I have found is these are a a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of experience, and they're very, very open to sharing that information with other people. So it's not like, well, this is a new farm. They're going be a competitor to me. That's not the perception.
Kenney Gulley: um So as we are up to 55 growers, ah what we really have to identify as an organization is, yes, we want to promote the industry, but two, we have to be the educational component.
Kenney Gulley: As much as we would like, and you can look at the staff at the University of Kentucky and Extension, it's never been that large of an industry to make it viable for the university to invest in staff the same way they do other enterprises.
Alexis : Hmm.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: So we get that. We know that. So that's part of the charge that we have as an organization is we have to offer that educational support to our growers as well. So that's where much of our meetings is is tied around trainings. and And farms, our local farms will host. We've got one coming up in March on planting practices. So there's supposed to be an actual mechanical planter there as well as hand planting. And so we can do some various training with individual growers to see what works for them. What are their best what are the best practices as far as root dips or those types of things which we can talk about? One of the most intimidating things for most people is shearing.
Kenney Gulley: How do I trim that tree after I get it to start growing and I still want it to look like a Christmas tree when I'm finished?
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: um because I, I've butchered them, you know, that just, You know, but but you it's good to have those resources to help us learn because none of us, or at least not they know him about Christmas trees growing in the production side of them before we started. So I've leaned heavily upon these experienced growers. And as I'm learning, I certainly try to make myself available for other growers who are looking to maybe come to come out and visit the farm and look and and learn on what we might be doing right and things you probably should not try to do.
Brett: you know it's an interesting component to the the nature of the industry is that even if you did look at people as a competitor, you've probably got a seven-year head start as far as if you're if you're in production.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Brett: So there's ah there's a different almost a different way of thinking about it in terms of the longevity of the industry and handing things off.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: Like, i just any time that you start to have longer time horizons that you're thinking about, I think it just changes – the nature of the conversation and the, the, that there is this kind of slingshot lag effect in terms of production, you know, when you're going to get stuff out.
Brett: So that's really cool to hear. And of course we work, we work a lot with the Kentucky horticulture council and, and that's this association is one of ah a large number actually of grower associations that do a lot of support like this.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Brett: So that's really cool to, to hear. I'm going to shoehorn in one more ag econ in this case question. And I'm curious, you know You've been you've been in around this and you're talking with lots of different growers.
Brett: What do you see on the consumer demand side? Do people, do they just want a beautiful idyllic local Christmas tree? Do people come to you and they're quizzing you about the species you have available?
Brett: i know there's all kinds of things like ah like how, I don't even know, there's needle loss and there's branch elasticity and all these other things that factor in that we don't necessarily think about.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Brett: what do What's your as you're thinking about your consumer and you're thinking about the trees, you're trying to grow for them. What's your, what are some trends or things you've seen about that?
Kenney Gulley: Okay. ah One, I think we sometimes we have preconceived ideas in our minds. um From the perspective, if you go out and look at Christmas tree, cut Christmas trees across the board. If you go to a big box store, they're pretty much all going to have furs. That's what they're going to have.
Kenney Gulley: And that that sounds good. ah There is a farm in Kentucky who effectively grows Fraser furs in the Lexington market, and they they do very good.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: He's an excellent producer. But when it comes back to soil types and those types things, that doesn't properly. on our operation. It doesn't work on most Kentucky operations. Uh, so he's a wealth of knowledge. He's very open and I'm very appreciative of this individual.
Kenney Gulley: Um, but if, if I were to line up species in front of the typical producer and say, all right, here's, here's ah a, a, fir and here's a spruce and here's a pine.
Kenney Gulley: And i if I ask them, most people couldn't tell me which one was which anyway, in reality.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So they, sometimes they have a preconceived idea, but it's an idea. It's not necessarily based in reality. So this year, what I've, for the last three years, I have brought in pre-cut trees from North Carolina.
Kenney Gulley: I brought in for some Fraser furs just to help get people acclimated coming to our farm. This year, since we had trees available they're on a limited basis for someone to come out and cut your own tree, you can you come out, identify it, cut it, do all that deal.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: We had a number of people who were very happy, even though I didn't have fir trees. not a Fraser fir, I don't have any fir trees.
Alexis : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: I've got some Norway spruce and I've got some white pine and we had the conversations. With Norway spruce, sometimes there can be issues with needle loss, but it is a rigid branched tree and what I have harvested Norway spruce the last two years for my personal use and I did not see those problems.
Kenney Gulley: Now, I'm also very diligent to talk to them about, you must keep this plant in water. You must do the, you know, try to keep ah heat away from this tree.
Alexis : isn
Kenney Gulley: You must do these things. If you have a white pine, you may love the smell. You may, you all of those things, just understand it's not the best tree to handle heavy ornaments. So you try to help them set their expectations on what the tree is.
Jessica : Oh.
Kenney Gulley: But I had people that were much more enthusiastic about going and cutting the tree than what species it was.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: which I'm very pleased with since i have thousands of white pine and thousands of Norway spruce planted.
Alexis : It's experienced.
Alexis : Hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So ah now the the other side of that is I've also had other, I've had landscapers who've come out and said, look, if you can't sell those Norway spruce, we'll buy them all from you for landscaping.
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: I was just going to ask if you bottled in burlap any.
Kenney Gulley: So I have a back up if something were to not work out well there.
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah. How about greenery?
Brett: That's great. way Well, I i just had one.
Plant People: Oh, sorry, Brett. Yeah, go ahead.
Brett: That's okay. There's a really interesting parallel there, I think, with the wine industry in Kentucky, where people are used to, in the same way that they they think, well, i want a Fraser Fir because that's what I've gotten you know before.
Brett: They'll kind of roll into a Kentucky winery and say, well, I i want a Cab Sauve. Can you grow grow a Cabernet Sauvignon?
Jessica : Thank
Brett: And the the response is very similar where it's kind of like, well, no, but if you like this kind of big body, bold red with this nice tannin content, so maybe it's a decent amount of oak, try this other variety that we can grow here.
Brett: And I think that that's a really interesting because it also, it gives them a little bit of a,
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Brett: a story that they can then take when they take that bottle of wine or they have that Christmas tree set up at their house to say, well, actually, I know a lot more about Christmas trees and wine now than you do, my guests who are coming over.
Plant People: Uh-huh.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Brett: Let me tell you about this experience I had out with Kenny or with one of the wineries in town. And so I think that's a really cool aspect because there's a little bit of an agricultural education component about local locality and terroir and all those other fun things.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Brett: But sorry, Ray, I cut you off.
Plant People: No, not at all. um ah I was just going to ask you, I mentioned bald and burlap, which I was kind of curious about if you're going to do any of that at all. I know digging's its own thing, especially alexa if you like falling in planting holes.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: you know I think some of us have done that, that have ran across Christmas tree farms, but ah it seems like ah a lot of ah the different operations I ran into, they didn't set out to do greenery, but that's become big.
Plant People: Are you guys thinking about any cut greener in the future? Is that even a consideration?
Jessica : you
Kenney Gulley: Well, let me talk about bow and burlap to start with, because I'll have ah a couple of people, and I'll say a couple, a handful of people each year who call and say, do you have live trees?
Plant People: Yeah, yeah.
Kenney Gulley: That's the way they don't, like you know. yeah ah And the the problem that I've got is that by the time, if I want to go down the path of saying I want to get the equipment to start digging trees, and then i'm going have to get a nursery permit, and, there are you know, these other
Plant People: Yeah, yeah.
Kenney Gulley: caveats that go along with that. um It doesn't make economic sense to me at this point. And if I get to a point to where I can't sell them as cut Christmas trees, which is plan a then I have plan B to come back to if
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: another year or two years if I think that's not going to be a viable option, but it does not seem to be the case today.
Plant People: Gotcha.
Kenney Gulley: So I do not have a desire because if I've already told you, I don't have a lot of topsoil. The first thing I i get to do if I start down that path is to start get bringing in truckloads of topsoil and then try to figure out how does that fit with the topsoil already have and then start making the soil amendments and
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: A whole different thing.
Kenney Gulley: That's a whole other game.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: ah So at this point, I'm not pursuing that. ah Your other question about greenery is this past year was the first year that we started making reeds. um
Plant People: Oh, yeah. you
Kenney Gulley: So that that I really wondered, oh, you know, how's this going to go? You know, just told you I'm a... cow and tobacco guy, you know, he making Christmas trees.
Kenney Gulley: It was actually a fun deal. It was very successful for us on the the limited basis, which we started with. it So I certainly think that is a very viable continue to grow in the future.
Jessica : Thank you.
Kenney Gulley: Um, and we were able to work with some grants in order to help us even go down that path of doing that. So that's been very, very good for us. A lot of other tree farms in Kentucky have not been doing the value added, uh, greenery and, and, and reeds.
Plant People: Sounds
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: And if they can do that without having to, to, to make those strides, so that that's great for them. But I think for most of us, as far as young, I'm going to say young farming operations, not young farmers, cause I don't really fit that category either. Um, But it can certainly be a a revenue source to help make the overall enterprise work.
Kenney Gulley: um And we go ahead.
Plant People: sounds like it, yeah.
Brett: So to doing that, this is specifically way about this.
Jessica : Definitely. Go ahead.
Brett: so So doing that, are you, you're taking prunings from trees that are not yet ready to be sold in the meantime? Is that, is that where those wreaths, that wreath content comes from?
Kenney Gulley: Well, where where I started at this year was I brought in pre-cut trees that need to be basil pruned. So as soon as I bring them in, I'm basil pruning them.
Alexis : um
Kenney Gulley: I'm cutting the the bottom of the ah ah handle off. And then I put my pre-cut trees in water. So they are in water the entire time they're on my farm. from the day they arrive until the day they are sold to keep them as fresh as possible.
Kenney Gulley: So I have now the bottoms of these Fraser firs, which is is quite a bit of greenery. And then what I've also been to add to that as I've gone out, I've got some scotch pine, I've got some other things that
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: ah some trees that be honest with aren't the most pretty things in the world. Well, they, they will contribute to the enterprise when it's all said and done.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So I go out and just collect some of that information, some of those, that that greenery. And one of the things which I found very interesting is I had customers there. And so would you like to just make your own wreath instead of me make a wreath for you?
Kenney Gulley: Well, that was the greatest thing. They really liked the experience of making for ah children or making for their grandparents, you know, that special touch of getting to hand craft these things for gifts.
Jessica : You meant
Kenney Gulley: So, i mean, there's a lot of ways of marketing that. I know some people do wreath classes, but, you know, there's there is a market for the experience. and And I don't have a place for hay rides and all that kind of stuff, but these are certainly opportunities to to bring experiences for those families.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: What so many farms have figured out is that experience is worth, yeah, that's ah that's a revenue in itself.
Jessica : you mean
Kenney Gulley: Yes. Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah, go ahead, Jessica.
Jessica : You mentioned some, you know, using some of those funky trees or whatever, which makes me think of like deer, deer issues. Do you have any wildlife issues and stuff like that? Cause I know um the growers that I work with, you know, that's what they were using for some of their um cuttings for wreaths and other things, know, greenery that they were selling this year were the ones that the deer had come and rubbed on and split all apart or were really funky that they're like, this will never recover.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Jessica : Like no matter what we do pruning wise, this is always going a really funky tree.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Jessica : And so that's, Thus, those became the the greenery ones.
Kenney Gulley: That is a real issue with other farms. So I have my challenges. Thankfully, deer is not one of my challenges.
Jessica : good
Kenney Gulley: So I have some wild land behind me and they seem to be content staying over there and there's not much cover for them on my side.
Alexis : ah
Kenney Gulley: So they they tend to stay on the other side of the fence. So there's deer around, but I really have not had any problems.
Alexis : Keeping things mode probably helps a lot.
Kenney Gulley: It does. Good and bad is it doesn't leave a lot of coverage for for wildlife.
Alexis : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: That's that's true.
Jessica : you
Plant People: Yeah. It's one of those things that can, I mean, bowl damage and all the secondary things.
Alexis : Hmm.
Plant People: i mean, hand training.
Kenney Gulley: I do have plenty of the mold problems. I'll get plenty of that.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Kenney Gulley: but yeah Oh, yes.
Plant People: Moles and bowls. Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Oh, yes.
Plant People: I know we don't like to see, especially the bowls.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: I mean, moles are one thing and bowls are another. yeah And keeping all those things down, give the owls and hawks plenty of sight lines to come in and do their work.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah.
Plant People: And was worried when I was working with orchards or Christmas tree farms in the past when we get these snowy winters, because my goodness, I mean, voles, especially they'll get under that snow and they just have lots and lots of babies.
Kenney Gulley: Yep.
Alexis : Nice.
Kenney Gulley: Yep.
Plant People: And then we have to prepare for the fallout of that on in scenarios like yours and dealing with with those issues.
Kenney Gulley: Yep.
Kenney Gulley: Well, one of the things which I'm trying to do is I'm also planting, I'm putting some post in for the purposes of providing purchase for birds.
Plant People: for raptors.
Kenney Gulley: Because if they want to come and land on the top of a tree, they will effectively break the leader out and then you get to go back and fix it.
Alexis : of the
Kenney Gulley: So I'm making some places for those birds to want to come and sit rather than the top of the trees.
Plant People: Oh, cool.
Alexis : nice
Jessica : you
Plant People: Good deal. So they can be your hunters and they get the benefit of not tearing things up.
Kenney Gulley: That's right. Try to welcome them. Yes.
Plant People: Yeah. Good deal.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Plant People: Good deal.
Alexis : So as you kind of think about the, ah ah so you know, Christmas tree industry in Kentucky in general, you know, the organization, ah what are, what would you say are some of the goals or initiatives that you guys have, you know, 2026, 2027 timeline?
Kenney Gulley: I think
Kenney Gulley: Part of the, ah i think a real charge of our organization is that we have to help young farmers be successful. and And that comes back to that educational component is that if, ah because the first year we planted trees, we planted 1,100 trees. And had an individual, why did you start so big? Why didn't you plant 100? And they figure out, well, if I planted 100 and they all died, I'd have quit. Right.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: I wouldn't have continued while planted 1100 and 900 done really well.
Alexis : I'm in it now.
Kenney Gulley: So I'm, Hey, let's just keep going.
Alexis : of
Kenney Gulley: um So, so that's where the education is that there are discouraged, discouraging moments in any kind of an enterprise and Christmas trees is no different. So if we help them, and I take that as a real charge is that we have to be there to offer that support to help them make decisions on what will your soil allow you to do?
Kenney Gulley: What are the right species? Have you set up marketing?
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: Because as much as we like, may like to think, well, if we build it, they will come. That is not true. I don't care how great your Christmas tree farm is. If you build it and nobody knows about you, you will be unsuccessful.
Kenney Gulley: So there's marketing components that goes along with that as well.
Alexis : Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: So that's, but that's really one of the biggest charges we have is to offer those mark, these training opportunities as well as these educational opportunities to invite people to come out to our farms. And I think that's also something we also have to help equip extension with because Let's face it, what most extension people are going to go with who's calling the the the greasy, you know, the the squeaky wheel kind of a thing. Who's making all the calls? Well, if you're looking for extension to come out and to help me, most don't have that experience.
Kenney Gulley: So we have to sort of offer that to support people as well.
Alexis : yeah
Kenney Gulley: But think we have to grow together.
Jessica : Well, what would you, as we kind of like wrap things up, what would you recommend a a new grower? What would you recommend to a new grower as they start into this like journey of growing Christmas trees? Like, is there anything, you know, you would avoid or look gorgeous?
Kenney Gulley: Do they have trees in the ground? Do they have trees in the ground?
Jessica : Do they have trees in the ground? I guess maybe be before, right?
Kenney Gulley: Yes. Or haven't made that choice yet.
Jessica : It's it's like when we get where we get that call of like, hey, I think I want to grow Christmas trees.
Plant People: Brand new.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Plant 1100 right off.
Brett: Yeah. yeah
Alexis : Someone's like, I want to grow Christmas trees.
Plant People: allirado
Alexis : What do i do
Jessica : I also appreciate earlier on when you were like talking about your acreage and what the reality you can grow. As I talked to somebody the other day who has a single acre and is wanting to do vegetables, fruit and livestock.
Kenney Gulley: Sure.
Jessica : So, so so i appreciate that about what do you got to work with?
Kenney Gulley: here Yeah, sure.
Alexis : It's ah a lot on the maker.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Jessica : Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Yeah. I mean, it's a critical mass issue, isn't it? I mean, that's what i mean. If you have five acres, you can say, well, hey, I can run three cows. I can run three cow-calf units.
Plant People: Yeah.
Kenney Gulley: Okay, well, I can't afford the fence. I can't afford the head shoot. I can't afford any of the stuff, you know.
Alexis : Hmm.
Kenney Gulley: but So that's really really, you do have to keep that all in in mind. How do you make it work? um If someone came to me and said, look, I'm interested in doing this, and I and i do get those phone calls, and I said, don't you come out? Just come out.
Kenney Gulley: And um then I'm going to introduce you to two or three more growers. And then I want you to go out there and go ask that same thousand questions that I ask. And go see how they do it, how someone else does it, and then figure out will any of that work for you.
Kenney Gulley: and and And be realistic with them. Here's what it's going to take for you to be successful. And here's the work that's going to be involved. um Help them open their eyes and just be realistic so they're not enthralled by that hallmark moment and you think that's all there is.
Kenney Gulley: There's more. There's more.
Brett: Are there, are there within that conversation, are there typically like some very common things that people hit it and they realize this isn't for me.
Kenney Gulley: Well, I think it's a ah the time, the labor thing, because i I really do try to be a realistic with that, is if you think all there is is that, you know, hey, I have to sell Christmas trees on Black Friday and, you know, a couple of weekends in in December, that's all there is to growing Christmas trees.
Kenney Gulley: i'm Hardly that. um You know, do what do what kind of land do you have? How do you do you have much labor do you have? have to go alongside you.
Alexis : Mm-hmm.
Kenney Gulley: Are you willing to hire if that's what it takes? Because there is a time that you must have trees planted. There is a time those trees must be sheared. There's a time that you have to spend out there amongst them ah evaluating, do you have a pest problem?
Kenney Gulley: ah Do you need water on those trees? do You know, you've just got to be out there. It takes time. And if you think you can just stick them in the ground in March and show back up in Thanksgiving and they're going tonna be ready to sell, that You know, there is no enterprise that works that way to my knowledge.
Kenney Gulley: So you try to be realistic.
Alexis : Nailed it.
Plant People: That is not the hallmark line that I was fed all these years, Kenny.
Kenney Gulley: That's correct.
Plant People: I just want you to know.
Kenney Gulley: Me either. Me either.
Plant People: ah just want you to know.
Alexis : Well, I was checking to see when this episode was going to come out and it's going to come out just in time still register for the Christmas tree planting workshop that you mentioned earlier that's going to be in Shelbyville.
Plant People: Great conversation.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : And that is on Saturday, March from 10 to 1. And And if you are interested, anybody listening and registering for that, you can go to the CCD's website, which we'll have in the show notes.
Alexis : And if you go under the news and updates tab right there at the top, you'll be able to scroll just down a little bit. I think there's a couple of news articles ahead of it for Christmas tree information.
Alexis : And you'll be able to click that and sign up for that. I'm not, is there a cost to that Kenny Dino? I don't think there is.
Kenney Gulley: No, there's not there's not.
Alexis : It's free.
Kenney Gulley: There's not a cost.
Alexis : Awesome.
Kenney Gulley: ah The Kentucky Christmas Tree Association is helping to sponsor that.
Alexis : Awesome.
Plant People: Awesome.
Kenney Gulley: ah Just as the same thing, just let's just make it available to as many people as possible.
Alexis : Awesome.
Kenney Gulley: You certainly do not have to be a member of the Christmas Tree Association to to be able to come to that. um It's open if somebody is just exploring, as Jessica mentioned earlier, if somebody was just wanting to find out more.
Kenney Gulley: that's a good place to come out and to meet some growers and actually see what's going on and the best way to approach that.
Alexis : Fantastic. Yeah, finding a community that's doing something you want to do or that you're trying to do is super important, especially when it's generally new to you and even when it's not and you just need somebody to complain to it.
Kenney Gulley: Yep. Yep.
Alexis : That can be really...
Kenney Gulley: I will still be there. ah so um'm I'm going to the same training of so I can air my grievances to the rest of them.
Alexis : to There you go. Go meet Kenny in person on March 14th.
Plant People: called therapy.
Alexis : But we appreciate you being with us, za Kenny, and learn all of that about Christmas trees.
Kenney Gulley: Yes.
Alexis : I'm always fascinated
