Press Releases

Producers are struggling in Joe Biden’s cruel economy this Christmas. As the majority of wholesale Christmas tree growers raise prices, families across the country could now spend up to 15% more for Christmas trees this year. Heading into the holiday season, staggering energy costs caused the Producer Price Index to rise for the second month in a row, leaving our hardworking farmers, ranchers, and foresters paying 8% more since last year for input costs across the board.

• The Producer Price Index rose 0.2% from September to October, leaving producer input costs UP 8%year-over-year.
  • Rising input costs for producers have driven up costs for families at the store.
• As for the prices paid by consumers, the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 7.7% in October, up 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the SAME increase as in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Now, families across the country are still paying more for just about everything.
• Real wages have decreased under Biden 10 out of the 12 months in the last year.
  • Real average hourly earnings decreased 2.8%, seasonally adjusted, from October 2021 to October 2022.
  • Real wages have fallen every month since Joe Biden and Democrats passed their wasteful $1.9 trillion “stimulus.”
• The skyrocketing cost of goods and services will cost the average American household over $700 a month, which adds up to over $8,000 a year.
• According to a recent survey, about half of Americans will cut back on holiday shopping this year due to rising costs as shoppers will spend up to 8% more on the same goods as this year on holiday shopping across the board compared to last Christmas.
  • Over 70% of Christmas tree growers plan to raise prices this year up to 15% to afford rising production costs.

BIDEN’S ENERGY CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS:

• The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.38 as of Tuesday—over a dollar more than when Biden took office.
  • On the day that President Biden was sworn into office, the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide was $2.39.
• According to the Energy Information Administration, households are expected to pay an average of $1,359 this winter for energy—the highest in 25 years.
• Over a third of American households say they have forgoed basic expenses to afford an energy bill in the last 12 months, according to a recent LendingTree survey.
• Diesel prices are approximately 50% higher than they were this time last year, at $5.05 a gallon.
• Prices for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers – the three most commonly used commercial fertilizers – more than doubledbetween 2020 and 2021, and it peaked in April 2022.
  • Nitrogen fertilizer, which accounts for more than 50% of the commercial fertilizer used by farmers, is expected to see price increases in 2022 of more than 80% from the previous year.
  • Natural gas, which rose steadily in price during 2021, is a key ingredient for the production of fertilizers.
    • Rising gas prices affect everything from increasing planting costs to increasing transportation costs.

MAKE NO MISTAKE: America’s hardworking producers are being forced to pay for Joe Biden’s reckless spending and anti-energy agenda. Now, families are too—and it’s ruining holiday cheer this Christmas.