For these local tree farmers, family is an integral part of the business.
Farmer Doug is getting older and is looking to retire, as the next generation is stepping up on the farm. Farmer Doug’s farm has offered holiday greenery for Duluthians for years.
Doug’s son takes trees that they have grown, cut, and wrapped down to the Duluth Farmer’s Market every day. They sell balsams, Fraizers, and Siberian furs, continuing the family tradition.
“Our first Christmas trees were planted in 1987 by my father-in-law, who is loved as Grandpa Farmer Doug, and it is multi-generational,” said Allison Hoffbauer, wife to Doug’s son. “We have three generations, both the sons work in the tree and wreath business, and then his grandchildren too are often seen running around at the Cut Your Own and Duluth Farmers Market, usually with candy canes, but sometimes they’re helping too.”
Farmer Doug graduated from the University of Minnesota in Forestry and uses his skills to provide locally grown produce and trees for the community. When his kids were young, they would go out into the forest to gather some boughs and hand-tie wreaths on coat hangers. This has now led to the family selling over 2500 wreaths this year.
The family reported having sold a lot of greenery, garlands, and wreaths this opening weekend. They are anticipating that the first weekend of December to be “crazy.”
Farmer Doug’s property grows a cut-your-own-tree farm. Every weekend on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They provide saws, wire, wraps, and all the tools your family needs to cut a tree. Doug said the trees run $64, with tax running about $70. The wreaths start at $20 and increase, depending on the size and how fancy they are.
Growing a sustainable tree farm business
The family focuses on sustainable farming. “For every tree that we cut down each season, we plant two to three board tree seedlings in the spring,” said Allison. “Our philosophy is to be as green as possible in the overall farming practices, and that’s one of the reasons that we love tree farming and farming in the Duluth community.”
To make sure they have a tree for every household, the family prepares the trees eight years in advance. Doug said that they plant four to five thousand seedlings every year as they want the highest chance for the trees to survive. Including when the weather is not on their side.
Farmer Doug’s property is within an area of severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor for the fall of 2025. But Doug assured that with a little water, the trees will remain healthy.
Courtesy: U.S. Drought Monitor 11-23-25
“We’re worried a little bit that there might be some needle drop this year on the trees,’ Doug said. “Our point we’ve been to people is to make sure that they get water the first three days and make sure that they keep water under them.”
The University of Minnesota actually worked with Farmer Doug in 2000 to test 28 different furs from around the world to try to find some different varieties. Farmer Doug’s plot found two that worked well. One is Siberian fur and the other is Korean fur.
“The Siberian has a citrus tangerine smell, very soft texture to them, and the Korean has a very dark green on the top of the needle and silver on the bottom of the needle,” said Farmer Doug. “So, they just shimmer in the breeze when they’re out in the fields.”
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