Tobacco Farmers Turn a New Leaf

Source from:  By Keyonna Summers THE WASHINGTON TIMES November 25, 2005 PRINCE FREDERICK, 11/28/2005

For nearly 40 years, Bob and Carol Ann Scrivener made their living growing tobacco on their Calvert County farm that has been in the family for generations. But today, the Scriveners are using their land for what some say is a friendlier -- and healthier -- purpose: growing and selling Christmas trees. "We decided to try something else," said Mr. Scrivener, as he sat in the living room of his cozy farmhouse yesterday, overlooking a farm full of tall green Christmas trees. "We just planted two acres of trees and seven years later we had enough that we could sell a few of them," he said. "That was [in 2002 and] we've sold between 100 and 150 each year for the last three years." The farm, at 1130 M.I. Bowen Rd., opens for the season tomorrow. About eight years ago, the Scriveners got out of the business of growing tobacco -- a task Mr. Scrivener says had become to difficult to handle. Five years later, they began selling Christmas trees, each for $35. The Scriveners planted their first Christmas tree seedlings 10 years ago after a family friend who owns a tree farm in Anne Arundel County urged them to give tree farming a try. Unlike most tree farmers who charge by the foot, Mr. Scrivener, 63, charges the same price for each tree, no matter its size. "I like to see people get a bargain," Mr. Scrivener said. "I don't like spending a fortune at Christmas time. Everybody's trying to get your money." Mr. Scrivener and his wife have lived on the tobacco-turned-tree farm since 1965. The farm is a family entity since Mr. Scrivener's great-grandfather first tilled its 200 acres in 1903. A Catonsville, Md. native, Mr. Scrivener said he fell in love with tobacco farming when he worked on the farm as a youth in the summer. After a three-year stint in the Army, Mr. Scrivener set up shop in Prince Frederick. Tobacco farming, he said, fulfilled a desire to work with his hands and to craft a beautiful, finished product. "It looks pretty growing [and] it's labor intensive," he said. Enditem