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What Are Tree Crops?

Jessica Ellis
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Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 31,525
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Tree crops are groves or orchards of trees grown for some type of economic or environmental benefit. While fruit or nut trees are the most common type of tree crop, trees may also be grown as crops for other purposes. Tree crops may be grown in massive quantities but are also popular for small businesses and family farms. In many regions, these crops make up a significant portion of the farming economy.

Unlike wild plants, crops are grown for a specific purpose. In general, most tree crops are grown specifically to be sold on the open market, often as food supplies or raw materials. Crops may also be grown for use in agricultural experimentation or hybridization. In some cases, an orchard may also be planted to assist environmental recovery by providing food and shelter to local wildlife.

Trees can have many different purposes and market destinations. Fruit and nut bearing trees are typically grown for their seasonal harvest, and may live for decades as producing trees. Lumber trees are farmed until they reach maturity, at which point the trees are cut down and processed into lumber, wood chips, and other wood materials. Specialty crops, such as Douglas and noble fir trees, are often grown for the Christmas tree market each December.

In some cases, crops of trees can even be used to promote travel and tourism. Trees that produce spectacular autumn color may be grown in regions where fall tourism is popular. These crops may be raised on tree farms or nurseries, then sold once they reach maturity. Towns may then use these trees to improve the amount of colorful foliage in the vicinity, with the hopes of attracting a greater tourist trade.

While some tree farms are massive operations, these crops also lend themselves to small farming practices. A farmer with 10 or 20 plum trees, for instance, may be able to sell fresh fruit at farmers markets and local stores all summer long, and augment earnings throughout the year with plum preserves and jellies. Some tree farms will design crop layout so that production can continue year round by choosing trees that can be harvested at different times during the year.

Tree crops can also be grown on a much larger scale, adding significantly to agricultural economies. In an analysis conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, tree nuts alone accounted for nearly $4 billion US dollars (USD) per year in the first decade of the 21st century. Whether on a small family farm or a massive industrial scale, tree crops can provide a wide variety of produce and raw materials, and can serve as a major generator of both food and income.

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Jessica Ellis
By Jessica Ellis
With a B.A. in theater from UCLA and a graduate degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, Jessica Ellis brings a unique perspective to her work as a writer for About Mechanics. While passionate about drama and film, Jessica enjoys learning and writing about a wide range of topics, creating content that is both informative and engaging for readers.
Discussion Comments
By clintflint — On Mar 13, 2014

@pleonasm - That's probably why one of the most expensive tree crops - truffles - is so expensive. I don't know if it even counts as a tree crop, but you can't grow it without trees. A bunch of people in my area decided they were going to grow truffles a while ago and they planted a small forest of oak and other slow growing trees that had been infected with truffle spores.

In theory, in about a decade, they will be able to start digging up the occasional truffle from among the roots. And those truffles will be worth thousands of dollars per pound. But since it is far from an exact science, there's no way to know whether their investment of time and money and space is actually going to pay off.

By pleonasm — On Mar 12, 2014

@KoiwiGal - I think they are usually grown on land that isn't good for anything else and might as well be put to some productive use. In fact, I think a lot of tree crops start out that way, as a kind of niche crop, simply because they take so long to grow that few small farmers would be able to afford to start from scratch with a young tree crop and no other source of income.

Avocados can take decades to fruit, for example. Nut trees often take a long time before they produce commercial quantities. If anything, growing Christmas trees would be a relatively quick return compared with other tree crops.

But prices often take that into account, so that's why people do it. Nuts are expensive compared with apples for a reason.

By KoiwiGal — On Mar 11, 2014

I've always kind of wondered whether growing Christmas trees is really worth the investment. It seems like there are more and more people turning to artificial trees every year, even if they claim to love a traditional tree. It's just too messy and they might feel guilty about cutting down a tree in order to make a temporary decoration for their house.

Is it worth using a whole field to grow pines for this purpose, when it takes a few years and each tree only ever seems to sell for around $20? Just doesn't seem to add up.

Jessica Ellis
Jessica Ellis
With a B.A. in theater from UCLA and a graduate degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, Jessica Ellis...
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