2023 Season Thank You and Farm Future Announcement
To Our Customers and Community,
As the year and another tree season comes to an end we THANK YOU for your support of the farm! We are grateful for another successful season, measured not just by trees sold but by the smiles, spirit, laughter, conversations, photos captured, and time you spent together as family and friends while on your tree searching adventures. We’re passionate about the years-long work and preparation that makes the farm go ‘round but you are truly the heartbeat of the farm and business. After some needed rest we’ll soon be back in the fields getting ready for the upcoming 70th anniversary season!
We also have some even more significant and exciting news to share. We have recently completed a conservation easement on the tree farm. This means the farm now has permanent restrictions on development and will remain an open space in perpetuity! We have always been committed to environmentally conscious practices and priorities as land and business owners. Now, through the conservation easement, future generations of the community will forever continue to benefit from the visual, natural, wildlife, and watershed qualities of the farm.
There will be no impact to the tree farm business! While we have voluntarily chosen easement terms that extinguish future development rights, the tree farm will continue to operate as-is into the future. In fact, we have recently transferred ownership to the third generation, ensuring continued Krueger trees well into the future. With a combination of long-time tree farm authenticity and a bit of corporate savvy, the business is in good hands!
We’d also like to acknowledge the past and the impact it’s had on our future decisions. For thousands of years, the farm and surrounding area has been home to woodlands Native American tribes, including the Dakota. With rolling hills, access to water, and location along the trade route between the St. Croix River and Bdote (sacred confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers at Fort Snelling) the native people found this a special place to live. Archaeological and topographic features found on the farm, including some of the only known remaining evidence in Lake Elmo, support this. Later, the early Kruegers arrived in Lake Elmo at the turn of the 19th century. They traveled here from Indiana via ox-drawn wagon. They started by digging an earthen home into a hillside just east of the current farm and over time built a successful dairy farm. Al and Elaine Krueger started the tree farm in 1954 that still continues today.
Lake Elmo and its inhabitants have changed over the passage of time. And the community will continue to change and evolve into the future. It’s exciting to see the energy and life all the new families and businesses moving into the area bring to the community. As multi-generational residents of Lake Elmo we know how great it is to have our home here. It makes us happy to help balance some of that growth with open space and historical preservation, especially in a year in which Lake Elmo has lost some of its notable landmarks. We’re excited and proud of how the conservation easement will honor the past and also benefit the present and future of the Lake Elmo community!
There are several groups we’d like to thank and acknowledge that were key parts of this process. Going from early idea to execution takes a lot of time, collaboration, and coordination among many groups and organizations. Some of the key players were current and former Lake Elmo City Council members, Lake Elmo City Administration, the Minnesota Land Trust, Washington County Board of Commissioners and Staff, along with numerous individuals that were directly involved or helped provide outside perspectives. We thank you all for working together to find common-ground and help preserve the tree farm for the future.
If you’re interested in more information on conservation easements, please feel free to reach out to us or the Minnesota Land Trust (MLT). Their mission, to protect and restore Minnesota’s most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come, has helped protect over 78,000 acres of land across Minnesota. The tree farm is part of a network of many other privately-held properties with conservation easements in Lake Elmo alone, estimated at 11% of private lands within the city.
Thank you all again for your past, present, and future support of our farm and business. With your support we’ll keep digging and planting here, as we have for the last 125 years. There is a lot to celebrate and be thankful for this year and into the future!
Merry Christmas!
– The Krueger family
2024 Tree Availability (+ Other Items)
We will post more info in late summer 2024. It looks to be our largest cut-your-own year ever!
Balsam Fir |
$13-$14 / ft |
High |
8′ |
High |
10′ |
Canaan Fir |
$13-$14 / ft |
High |
8′ |
High |
10′ |
Fraser Fir |
$14-$15 / ft |
High |
8′ |
High |
10′ |
Korean Fir |
$14-$15 / ft |
Medium |
8 |
High |
9′ |
Siberian Fir |
$14-$15 / ft |
Medium |
8′ |
High |
9′ |
White Pine |
$11-$12 / ft |
High |
9′ |
High |
9′ |
Norway Pine |
$11-$12 / ft |
– |
– |
High |
9′ |
Scotch Pine |
$11-$12 / ft |
– |
– |
Medium |
8′ |
Wreaths/Swags |
$30-$90 |
Low |
24″, 36″, & 48″ |
Spruce Tops |
$45 |
Low |
10/bundle (2′-3′ tall) |
Garland |
$45 |
– (out) |
25′ Roll |
Tree Stands |
$20-$60 |
High |
3 Sizes (up to 12′ tall) |
Thank You For Supporting Us!
We always welcome your feedback on the farm & your experience. Even after 69 years in business we look for ways to improve! Please email us with anything you’d like to share. You can also give us anonymous feedback.
If you liked your experience please rate us on Google.
If you didn’t like your experience please give us a chance to explain or make it right first by emailing or calling us.
Remember to tag & follow us on Instagram & Facebook with #kruegerschristmastreefarm. Thank you!
We are a working farm which makes a unique, fun, & exciting experience. However, there are inherent risks & dangers at the farm. If you have questions or need special assistance please contact us.
“Under MN law, an agritourism professional is not liable for any injury to or the death of a participant in an agritourism activity if the injury or death results from an inherent risk associated with the agritourism activity” (MN Statute 604A.40)