Earl Blumenauer: “as the Congressman with the privilege to represent Estacada, Oregon--the Christmas Tree Capital of the WorId--I rise in…”

“as the Congressman with the privilege to represent Estacada, Oregon--the Christmas Tree Capital of the WorId--I rise in strong support of this resolution. Christmas trees are a large part of Oregon's nursery and tree industry. In fact, Oregon leads the Nation in Christmas tree production, with 6.9 million trees sold last year at a value of nearly $108 million to the Oregon economy. In particular, Clackamas County-- which I am proud to represent along with Ms. Hooley--is the largest producing county in the country with $36.8 million in sales from 17,500 acres of Christmas trees. Across our state, there are almost 1,600 Christmas tree operations, encompassing an area over one and half times the size of Washington, DC and employing close to 10,000 people at total wages of over $32 million. Oregon farmers began hauling Christmas trees for out-of-state sales by horse and wagon at the turn of the 20th century. It's now the sixth- largest agricultural industry in Oregon, and our crop covers 31 percent of the market. Oregon Christmas trees can be found across the country and across the world. I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for offering this resolution. As we head into consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill, it provides an important reminder that the agriculture upon which many of our communities depend is more than corn and cotton.”