Christmas tree business thriving in St. Brieux

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Roger Lefebvre started a farm several years ago that was lacking one essential landscaping feature: It had no trees to keep the wind off.

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When he first started planting trees he had no idea that a chunk of his farm land would eventually be thickly planted with evergreens, and that the farm would also include a thriving Christmas tree business.

With December coming right up and Christmas just under a month away, the Lefebvre Christmas Tree Farm is already going gangbusters. Customers seeking the best Christmas tree they can find for their home come with their own saws, looking for the satisfying experience of cutting their own tree. Saws are also provided on location.

“I planted my first trees 21 years ago,” said Roger, 63. “I had basically started a yard from scratch, built a new home and had to plant all the trees around it.”

The process of planting the trees and beautifying the farmyard was something he enjoyed, so it was maybe not surprising that he found a way to continue the process.

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One day, while sitting in the comfort of that new home, he leafed through a booklet about Saskatoon berries.

“I was just killing time, watching TV and leafing through this book,” said Lefebvre, who is also a grain farmer. “On a back page there was an article about growing Christmas trees and it kind of intrigued me.”

After a bit of digging, he found out that Saskatchewan had a Christmas Trees Growers’ Association, and he became more intrigued. He drove two-and-a-half hours to attend one of the association’s summer meetings in Kenaston. The idea of growing his own Christmas trees quickly took hold.

“I asked a few questions, watched what they did and how they did it, and the following year I got started.”

Lefebvre Christmas Tree Farm is about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Melfort and 65 km (40 miles) north of Humboldt. To find the farm, make your starting point the Co-op Food Store on Highway 368 in the town. From there, drive east on Barbier Drive East for about 3.2 km (2 miles) then turn south on Range Road 2204, drive for about 1.6 km (1 mile) and you should see the tree farm. It’s the one with Christmas trees growing in neat rows.

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In the first years of the tree farm, Roger took some good advice from his seedling supplier, who suggested he plant various evergreens to sell as landscaping trees. That added a new stream to the business. It took about nine years for the first Christmas trees to be ready to sell. Most are balsam fir.

Christmas trees sell for $80. Complimentary apple cider or hot chocolate and a small bag of homemade cookies come with every tree purchase, and there’s always a large fire burning in the fire pit, with lots of chairs around it.

“The Christmas tree business is very busy right now,” Roger said. “Extremely busy. Our first customer came on Remembrance Day, basically. We do have a building here for the tree farm, and it’s open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The next two weekends here will be total chaos, pretty much.”

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The front half of the building is for the tree business, and Suzanne Lefebvre, Roger’s wife, runs a store in the back-half. She got it up and running about five years ago. It features her own home crafting items, and the creations of 20 to 25 other local craft people, who sell their wares on consignment. Suzanne also bakes the cookies – about 3,500 of them.

“It took a long time to get the business where it is, but it’s really good now,” Roger said, adding that sales soared during the Covid-19 pandemic and have stayed at a high level.

The farm is a family affair for the Lefebvres. Two of their daughters, who live within a mile of the farm, pitch in, and there are grandchildren who are now big enough to lend a hand on busy weekends.

On the community level, Lefebvre Christmas Tree Farm has become a family outing and tradition for many. Children have grown up taking part in the tradition over the years. Some have families of their own and are keeping the tradition going.

“It’s a family thing, a tradition that they look forward to every single year,” Roger added. “They just really enjoy being out here.”

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