Your Fraser Fir was likely grown in NC, the second highest producer of Christmas trees in the US

The word "Due" read from top-down and "South" left-right, with the U shared between them. Reminiscent of a compass.

Due South

Your Fraser Fir was likely grown in NC, the second highest producer of Christmas trees in the US

By Jeff Tiberii,

Leoneda Inge, Rachel McCarthy, Cole del Charco

Published December 21, 2023 at 12:16 PM EST

The Christmas trees at your local tree lot may be even more local than you think. North Carolina is the second highest producer of Christmas trees in the country and the industry feeds local economies, especially in Western North Carolina, in significant ways.

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Dr. Jamie Bookwalter and Dr. Jim Hamilton about all things Christmas tree: the mountain tree farms, the economic and environmental impacts of growing and harvesting, and the farmers and workers who help bring that magic home for the holidays.

Official 2023 White House Christmas tree cut in Ashe County, NC

Guests
Dr. Jim Hamilton, Watauga County Extension Director, NC Cooperative Extension, NC State University
Dr. Jamie Bookwalter, Mountain Conifer IPM Specialist, NC State Extension Forestry

Jeff also checks in with Christmas tree grower Amber Scott in Fleetwood, NC about winning the competition that brought her farm's tree to the White House.

Guest
Amber Scott, co-owner,

Owners Amber Scott and Alex Church stand beside their tree as 2023 Grand Champion growers in the nationwide competition put on by the National Christmas Tree Association.

Charlotte-based activist, entrepreneur and baker Manolo Betancur first learned about the work of North Carolina Christmas tree farmworkers when he was a college student helping farmworkers access healthcare. Now, he delivers his bread to mountain communities each Christmas tree harvest season and helps advocate for farmworker rights. Manolo tells co-host Leoneda Inge about the realities of the work behind getting those picturesque pines into homes across the country.

Guest
Manolo Betancur, owner,

Due South

Jeff Tiberii

Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Jeff joined 瓜神app in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and 瓜神app鈥檚 Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary 鈥淩ight Turn,鈥� launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.

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Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at 瓜神app as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda鈥檚 work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital 瓜神app Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 瓜神app as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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Cole del Charco

Cole del Charco is an audio producer and writer based in Durham. He's made stories for public radio's All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Marketplace. Before joining Due South, he spent time as a freelance journalist, an education and daily news reporter for 瓜神app, and a podcast producer for WFAE in Charlotte.

See stories by Cole del Charco