Gov. Phil Murphy was at Port Newark this morning highlighting the supply chain infrastructure in place and proactive steps that the state, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other key stakeholders are taking to battle global supply chain issues. 

The supply chain has been a big issue this year and has affected many business owners, especially those who sell real Christmas trees.  

A farm market owner in Wall Township noticed supply chain issues long before he had any trees. He made adjustments and now he has many trees available.   

"I brought in about 1,200 trees this year, which is about the average for any other year," says Smith's Farm Market owner Joe Smith. 

Smith and his wife Jane have owned Smith's Farm Market for over 50 years and noticed supply chain issues last summer when dealing with produce. So, they acted fast to lock in tree deliveries this month.   

"Basically, what I did was I worked with three or four small farms that I know dealing with Christmas trees that have their own trucks," says Smith. "Most of them come from Pennsylvania, then we have most of the Fraser from North Carolina and the Asheville section, and we also have trees coming across the border from Quebec."  

Smith has noticed that customers are also buying bigger trees than expected.   

"The number of customers is actually up from past years, and I think a lot of that has to do with many of the Christmas tree farms around are having difficulty bringing trees in. So a lot of them are out of trees already," says Smith.