First it was fodder for hungry animals in drought, now Victorian-grown Christmas trees are being trucked north to alleviate a shortage in drought-stricken states.
Pine grower Terry McMahon, from Colac in south-west Victoria, said that "large farms" from New South Wales and sellers in Brisbane were scrambling to find stock.
A lack of rain has depleted some northern Christmas tree plantations.
"We're certainly thinking of the other states and areas without the rainfall," Mr McMahon said.
"We've been very lucky with our weather, we're a pocket where we've had our rain.
"But most of our trees are contracted three years in advance."
Mr McMahon, who also runs beef cattle on his sandy property, said the Otway region provided ideal conditions for growing Monterey pines, commonly known as Christmas trees.
He spends 11 months fertilising and pruning his crop to prepare for stressful early December sales.
"I shudder every year when it comes to this time of year," he said.
"The stress is through the roof — there's a lot of pressure.
"All the work we've done during the year comes to a two-week period."
The perfect pine
Mr McMahon has been in the Christmas tree farming game for 36 years and said Australians could be a fussy bunch when picking the perfect pine.
He aims for a "50 per cent taper" where the width is half the height.
Mr McMahon has a ground crew of 13, mostly university students, and dogs to "keep the snakes away".
He said his children would pick the family Christmas tree from the leftovers closer to the big day.
Queensland stockist buys south
Sunshine Coast Christmas tree stockist Viktor Molhanec said the top festive flora was grown in Victoria.
"We've tried to source them elsewhere but Victoria is the best place for them to grow," he said.
"I've seen a fair few farms...the difference in quality is significant.
"The weather pattern there is the closest to California, where Monterey pines are from.
Mr McMahon, who said most of his trees were headed for Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide, said in his experience December 1 was the busiest day for cutting and selling Christmas trees of the year.
