In 1993, the California milk industry was in dire straits. Faced with declining sales and steep competition from juice and soft drinks, the California Department of Food and Agriculture formed the California Milk Processor Board to better sell the product to consumers.

The result was the now-famous “Got Milk?” campaign, which has been credited with increasing milk sales in California and raising awareness of the milk industry nationwide. By 2003, according to the U.S. Newswire, 9 out of 10 Americans could identify the phrase.

Now, some members of the Christmas tree industry would like to replicate that effort with their own product. Under a proposal in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a 15-cent fee would be assessed to each tree sold to fund a national advertising campaign to promote live Christmas trees. When a conservative think-tank published an article that characterized the fee as an overreaching tax – a part of the increasingly ridiculous debate on whether there is a “War on Christmas” – the proposal stalled. But it is expected to come up again.

Sales of live Christmas trees are stagnant and threatened by the rising popularity of artificial trees, which are improving in quality and appearance. In 1991, 40 percent of the people who bought trees bought live ones. Last year, that number had fallen to 23 percent.

“We’re getting a lot more interest in artificial trees, especially since they look so real,” Jen King, a Home Depot spokeswoman, told Current Publishing last week. “They are pre-lit, last longer obviously, and a lot easier to deal with.”

This is no small matter in Maine, which in 2007, the last year from which data is available, boasted 236 Christmas tree operations, 18th in the nation. The same year, the Pine Tree State was 14th in total trees harvested and 12th in total Christmas tree acreage.

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Maine Christmas tree farmers who talked to Current Publishing were split on the proposal, with some supporting the fee and others saying it would not help them, as they already sell out each year. It is clear that the fee would benefit larger-scale operations more than mom-and-pop farms, as bigger companies can more easily expand and take advantage of rising sales.

However, it is also clear that artificial tree sales will continue to increase as the quality of the products improve. To stem that growth, the Christmas tree industry must rebut the claims against natural trees – that they are unsafe and cumbersome – and the best way to do that is with a national ad campaign, funded by the feed, in the vein of “Got Milk?”

But the industry must also continue to improve its product. Research is under way to make trees more resistant to disease and less likely to lose their needles. A competitive market favors the best growers, so farmers that use this technology – and good old-fashioned hard work – to produce the best trees will undoubtedly win out.

For our money, nothing beats a real tree. Artificial trees are made mostly in China and shipped long distances to national retailers. On the other hand, real trees are grown right here in Maine, and buying one supports local businesses and local agriculture. Real trees are really not the nuisances they are made out to be, and they are not any more or less safe than artificial versions. Besides, nothing beats the smell, feel and look of a real tree in the living room, standing guard over Christmas presents.

Sounds like they have the start of a good ad campaign right there.

Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com and followed on Twitter.