TOPIC: what to do with 5 yr old plants

Classicfur,

That is interesting, didn't know you had a program like that in Maine. Not having a wild ginseng harvest in your state does help make that system much easier to manage.

So what kind of prices are being paid for wild-simulated roots, since they are known not to be wild for sure?

What happens when they enter the export market?

How does the exporting work when the state classifies the roots as cultivated, or \"artificially propagated\" as the USFWS would say, but the feds DON'T classify wild-simulated as cultivated/propagated, they lump it with the wild because they have no system in place to distinguish the two apart. That is why they have two seperate ginseng findings reports, one that cover wild and wild-sim. and the other for field-cultivated and woods-grown. So based on this it seems like the roots can't be exported out of the country unless they were classified as cultivated/propagated, but the feds won't give it that designation because it looks wild!!!!

Any ideas on how they are dealing with that??

Rural Action Forestry

So in a nutshell, what you are saying is that anyone growing Wild Simulated Ginseng is wasting their time?

classicfur

No, I think wild-simulated is the future of ginseng markets. I wouldn't grow it, or help other people get started if I thought that. But I think that future could be in jeopardy for us if we don't develop ways to distinguish the wild-simualted sector from the wild. The sad thing is that the USFWS knows that we need these systems like grower certification, wild-simulated tracking at the point of sale, etc. etc, which they even list in their own public reports, but then do very little to encourage the states they are regulating to develop them. Istead of taking proactive steps to expand and restore the ginseng industry they will probably continue to make more regulations and restrictions, essentially creating a disincentive for harvesters to be in the woods stewarding ginseng, which is probably why we still have ginseng in Appalachia, people want and need the resource, so they steward it.

Here is something to consider as well. If grown correctly \"Wild Simulated\" ginseng looks like \"Wild\" ginseng. So if they do create an additional category for \"Wild Simulated\" then there is a chance that the buyers would want to pay less for it.

So I caution creating an opportunity to let buyers reduce the price they are willing to pay for \"Wild Simulated\".

Just a thought.
Latt

Yeah,

That is why I was asking classicfur what the price was for the wild-simulated in Maine, since there is no wild ginseng harvest. Dealers try to widdle down the price as it is for wild-simulated. it's not exactly hard to scope a big bag of wild-sim roots when they are basically all the same age and size.

I think that as a grower and seller, you have to set your own price for what is exceptable for you. If you have have a quality product, i.e., dug, washed, and dried properly, you should get a quality price. If the dealer is going to try and really dock you for high quality wild-sim., then it is a judgement call. After 10 years or more to harvest, I am not going to except a low price. I will either shop it around or hang on to it.

But if we get to a spot where there is a ban on wild harvest, then certified wild-sim should be fetching a high price to satisfy international demand.

I guess my though is that ginseng buyers need to buy ginseng to make money. I know a buyer near me who will pay top dollar for high quality ginseng - wild or wild-simulated. As a wild-simulated producer it is important to have a high quality product that is properly dug, washed and dried. Some of the \"wild\" roots that I have seen come in to the dealers are total crap, improperly washed, broken, gouged roots, and really small toothpick roots that should have never been harvested. And they pay the market price. So I'm not really to worried about it. Wild-simulated is the future of the market. I am convinced of that.

I have not harvested any of my roots as of yet. And there are no buyers in Maine. My oldest roots are seven yrs old this year. I plan on harvesting 9, 10 and 11 yr old roots in my first year of harvest. I understand that you you get a better price if you combine the age roots like that.

Check out this post on Ginseng age and prices.

www.wildgrown.com/index.php/Ginseng-Foru...and-prices.html#7715

My oldest roots are growing in Wisconsin. When I sell, I plan on selling to Hsu's Ginseng in WI. He is one of the largest exporters of ginseng in the USA. I have always gotten a good price for wild roots from Hsu. With him there is no middle man.

We will see when the harvest time comes.

classicfur

Rural Action Forestry,
I was curious as to the amount of ginseng you have planted and if you have managed to harvest any yet ? If so, how did you come out in comparison of dried root to seed planted and if you received a wild price. Also, what were your methods for growing? What is your shoe size and hair color... ok, just kidding on that one and I'm throwing a lot of questions at ya but we all are interested in each others methods and few if any has made it to a sizable harvest yet.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper,

I personally haven't harvested yet. Off the top of my head I have about 10lbs. of seed planted as wild-sim. The oldest are 5 this year, but I'm in no hurry to harvest, I'm not even 30 yet, will wait until I have a good mix of ages between 7 and 12 years old. I think the seed in/root out estimates are hard to predict. Growing conditions, animal browse, and climate can infulence those a lot. Using Persons numbers, if I could get 80lb. harvested from 10 lbs. planted I would be happy.

As for prices, I only know what other wild-simulated growers are getting. The organization I work for has been promoting wild-simulated ginseng and working with landowners to help them get started for about 15 years, and we sell seeds for planting every fall, so I have connected with a lot of growers over the 6 years. Basically they are getting wild prices if they bring in a quality product.

I guess that would make sense. No ginseng season, no buyers. I would expect that you would get a straight price from Paul. That man knows what quality 'sang is. I know someone who does some buying for him, they pay top dollar for quality roots.

This is a most interesting discussion!

Here in NC, there is no \"Harvest Season\" on private land. There are regs. applied to state/federal land, however I don't intend to be doing that a'tall.

I would hate to think that I would have to get serious about being forced into some hyper-regulatory state orgainzation that stipulated \"do-this-not-that\" and had to know where my plots were, amount produced, revenue generated, etc, etc.