Newly awarded state and native funding will assist farmers develop manufacturing of medicinal forest crops to satisfy elevated demand, Roanoke County officers mentioned Thursday.
Roanoke County obtained a $20,000 grant from the governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Growth program, and the county is matching that quantity.
Virginia Tech’s Catawba Sustainability Middle will administer the $40,000 effort, partnering with forest farmers to supply website assessments, technical help and help for high-demand crops and merchandise akin to goldenseal, black cohosh, ginseng, elderberry and ramps.
Such crops are native to Virginia, and have seen elevated demand lately, particularly because the onset of COVID-19, county paperwork mentioned.
Forest crops are sometimes foraged from wild, unmanaged populations, which will be unsustainable. Overharvesting and lack of habitat have led to a decline within the precious species, creating alternatives for sourcing from forest farms, in accordance with county paperwork.
“Roanoke and the New River Valley has a rising marketplace for natural and various drugs, a sector that has grown nationally by as a lot as 10% yearly lately,” county paperwork mentioned. “This represents a novel alternative for forest landowners in our area, who can promote uncooked materials to producers elsewhere, or market on to retailers and customers throughout the state.”