What We've Been Up To

With spring winding down and summer ramping up, there's a lot to do and see if you are a forest farmer. We have had a busy month working with forest farmers and attending conferences and workshops.

In late April, we announced the recipients of the Planting Stock Access Program! Over the next few months, each of these recipients will be provided with a site visit and plant stock orders will be finalized. We look forward to working with the 2025 cohort of this program to increase access to non-timber forest product (NTFP) planting stock in Missouri. 

In early May, we hosted a forest farming workshop at the Lincoln University Alan T. Busby Research Farm. At this workshop we covered topics including site selection, site preparation, and budgeting. We also had the owner of Forest and Meadow, a St. Louis based herb shop, give a presentation on NTFP quality, value added products, and local markets for herbal products. Thank you to those who attended, and we look forward to more workshops in the future! 

We also attended the U.S.Ginseng Summit in Wausau, Wisconsin. This event included farmers, researchers, state coordinators, herbal products industry representatives, and law enforcement officers, all of which have a stake in American ginseng. Marathon County Wisconsin (where Wausau is located) is the center of field-based ginseng cultivation in the U.S., producing 90-95% of all ginseng grown in the country. Although these farmers don't grow their ginseng in the forest, they play an important role in decreasing wild harvest pressure on the species and they produce a large percentage of the seed stock used by forest farmers for woods-grown and wild-simulated ginseng production. 

This event was a great opportunity to learn more about the species and the challenges it faces. Although the field cultivated ginseng industry is currently facing challenges due to low prices and tariffs, the Wisconsin growers remain committed to their crop. There was also some talk of using these fields as seed nurseries for locally-adapted genotypes from throughout the country in order to preserve the range of genetic variation found in the wild and allow forest farmers to purchase seeds which are adapted to their specific locale. 

Upcoming Events

Click the link below to register via zoom. If you have specific questions you would like to discuss, send them in advance to [houstone@lincolnu.edu]. 

Other News

Calling aspiring forest farmers in central Missouri! An MWFFC member has some forest land available to establish a forest farm. They are open to a long term lease or other type of arrangement with a local forest farmer who doesn't have access to land. If you are interested in this opportunity, inquire with Ezra Houston at houstone@lincolnu.edu. 

Forest Farming Tidbits

MWFFC University Partners