Almost three months after Helene, full extent of damage to NC farm's Christmas tree crop still unclear

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Due South

Almost three months after Helene, full extent of damage to NC farm's Christmas tree crop still unclear

By Jeff Tiberii,

Anisa Khalifa, Jerad Walker, Rachel McCarthy

Published December 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM EST

Avery Farms after flooding from Tropical Storm Helene

North Carolina is the second-largest Christmas tree producer in the country, with approximately 1,300 growers located primarily in the mountains of western NC.

Flooding caused by Helene had a big impact on many of those Christmas tree farmers. Due South鈥檚 Jeff Tiberii talks with Graham Avery, manager of Avery Farms in Newland, NC, and Graham's wife, Logan, about the tens of thousands of trees the family lost.

Since they can't move back into their own home yet, the couple and their baby will be celebrating Christmas at Logan's parents' house with a five-foot "hurricane tree" that is "not what anyone would call perfect, but it's perfect for us this year."

Guests

Logan Avery and Graham Avery, manager at

Then, an excerpt from The Broadside's recent episode "Can we save Christmas (trees)?"

Guest

Steve Riley, contributor at The Assembly

Listen to the full episode of 瓜神app's The Broadside, here.

And, we revisit a conversation from spring 2024 about Fraser fir Christmas trees and the threats they face during their ten-year growing cycle, especially from climate change.

Justin Whitehill runs the NC State Christmas Tree Genetics Program. He talks about his efforts to grow trees that can be harvested sooner, hold onto carbon more efficiently, and look more like the 鈥減erfect Christmas tree鈥濃€攚ith a goal to benefit growers, consumers, and the environment.

Guest

Justin Whitehill, Assistant Professor in the College of Natural Resources and Christmas Tree Genetics Program Lead, North Carolina State University

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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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Anisa Khalifa

Anisa Khalifa is an award-winning podcast producer and host at 瓜神app. She grew up in a public radio household, and fell in love with podcasts shortly before her friends convinced her to start one with them about Korean dramas. Since joining 瓜神app in 2021, Anisa has produced Me and My Muslim Friends, CREEP, Tested and Dating While Gray, and is the host of 瓜神app's weekly podcast The Broadside.

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Jerad Walker

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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.

See stories by Rachel McCarthy