Fwd: October meeting via email
Chris Watson
Chris
NC Ginseng Association Meeting Agenda
October 17, 2013
This is a new meeting format, when no votes need to be taken and information needs to be shared.
Old Business:
Press Release: If you are so inclined, please share with your local newspapers.
Marshall, NC
August 21, 2013
The first annual meeting of the NC Ginseng Association was recently held at the Madison County Extension office in Marshall, NC. This newly formed trade association and commodity group had its Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh as a non-profit. This group was formed after the December 2, 2012 meeting of the American Ginseng Exposition held in Fletcher, NC. At that meeting a representative of West Virginia’s ginseng program discussed and described the effort in that state to grow wild simulated ginseng. This successful 3 year old program in West Virginia was formed as a hedge to US Fish & Wildlife Service banning all ginseng exports from the state. Although the NC association will be slightly different than WV model, the original intent was the same for both programs.
In early 2013 a large herb company on the west coast called to see if a new product could be produced for American consumption. This company had tried to produce an organic 2 to 3 year old ginseng root but without success. They contacted the NC Ginseng Association to if they could produce a wild simulated organic ginseng product, which would pass the Herb Company's organic standards. The company is committed to helping create this new 3 year old organic ginseng root product.
With this in mind the NC Ginseng Association applied for a grant from the USDA for cooperatives which would allow the new Association and the Herb Company to fine tune their relationship through this grant. The grant used the sale price of $300 a dried pound as a basis of discussion. The grant also included GPS site coordinates similar to the WV program.
As the new season is upon us the NC Ginseng Association is looking for members who grow organic wild simulated ginseng for sale this first season, 2013. The product will be tested and will need to meet the standards for organic ginseng roots. The first step in testing will be for a sample to be tested in Asheville for ginsenicides content and then the grower's lot will be sent to the West Coast for testing for contaminates.
If you are interested in joining this program, please contact NC Ginseng Association, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall, NC 28753, or Robert Eidus @ (828) 649-3536, or by email @ reidus@frontier.com.
Grant application (Paula): see attachment
New Business:
Last meeting of 2013, next meeting at the Ag Extension, Madison County, March 20th at 2 PM for one hour.
Adjournment:
Robert Eidus
North Carolina Ginseng & Goldenseal Co.
300 Indigo Bunting Lane
Marshall, NC 28753
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'the universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experienced himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein