A Tradition of Doing it Yourself...

Taylor continues tradition of Manners Tree Farm

By Mark Owens, (Reprinted by permission from Jeferson (Ohio) Gazette)



Like many farmers in Ashtabula County Ruth Taylor Works hard 11 months out of the year, planting, trimming, mowing and getting ready for harvest time.

But unlike any other farmer you can think of, Taylor must wait until November to see if her hard work had turned a profit.

Taylor is following in her father's footsteps, operating Manners Christmas tree farm onDodgeville road in New Lyme. She's been working full time for the past ten years, handling everything from planting trees to filling out business tax forms.

"It's a family business-my dad's been in it for 40 years and I grew up helping out on weekends all through school, "she said.

Most of Taylor's business is in Christmas trees, mostly the cut your own variety. About 90-95% of Manner"s business, Taylor said, comes from people coming out around the middle of November and trooping out into the fields to pick their own tree. The rest comes from precut trees and live trees.

"We're open from Thanksgiving to Christmas, and most of our customers are repeat business-at least 50% of our customers come back every year, "Taylor said. "There are people who have been coming here for the last 20 years-their parents brought them here when they were kids, and now they're bringing their children, because picking out a Christmas tree, cutting it down and bringing it home can be-and is-a family-oriented event."


Ruth Taylor

Running a seasonal business like a Christmas tree farm could be a little unnerving to some, but Taylor said with a little budget management and good scheduling, the business works well.

"My dad works for me part time-I don't call in "dad "anymore, I call him Charlie-but helps out mostly with the maintenance of the equipment. I think that's the hardest part-the budgeting, managing, scheduling, is pretty easy, and I like making all of the decisions; getting the land ready, what trees to plant where. "

Taylor manages five part-time employees, although on any given day 2-3 of them may be working.

It's nice having a small business because you have to produce the product, sell it and run the business side, "Taylor said. "What's different about the Christmas tree business is that I work all year just to be open one month, but it makes it worthwhile when the people come and have a great time.

An average day for Taylor not only depends on the weather, but what time of year it is. Winter means equipment and property maintenance, well spring brings planning and planting chores. Summer gets busier as trees are sheared for shape, and fall work begins in earnest to get the farm ready for December customers.

"I work year around, "Taylor said, "a lot of people think I work only around Christmas, but it's a constant cycle. It's nothing like a 9 to 5 day-there's a constant flow of different things at different times. "

Most people in the Christmas tree business are husband and wife teams, and have really good trees. I'm very particular about our trees, because that's what are customers demand. "

And its the trees-along with unique weekend events-that bring people from more than an hour's drive away to the New Lymn farm.