A broad coalition of non-governmental organizations, governmental agencies, universities, and private industry formed two years ago to improve production and market opportunities for forest farming of herbal forest products grown in Appalachia.

Funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition (ABFFC) promotes and expands cultivation and conservation of native forest medicinal products. It prepares forest farmers to supply raw material that is both forest grown verified and certified organic to herbal product industries. In turn, this allows herbal products manufacturers to reduce their impact on the environment and market and sell sustainable, clean products to consumers.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin and several AHPA members serve on the ABFFC Board.

Connecting Stakeholders
The ABFFC has trained hundreds of new and aspiring forest farmers in Appalachia and beyond and connected stakeholders across the industry. Their work is focused on a new domestic and sustainable supply of forest cultivated medicinal herbs backed up by profitable and predictable production that meets the needs of the growing sector of herbal products consumers who have deepening concerns about where their herbs come from and how they are grown.

In addition to training and technical assistance, the coalition has played a leading role in coordinating harvests of forest farmed raw material sold by coalition farmers for premium prices to herbal products manufacturers who are leading the way in connecting consumers with these sustainable forest-grown products from Appalachia.

High Demand
Native Appalachian forest plants have long been in high demand in the herbal products market. The vast majority of raw materials from this region come from wild harvests.
However, the environmental consequences of long-term wild harvests of slow growing forest medicinal plants like black cohosh, goldenseal, and American ginseng are increasingly in question, and threats to native populations could lead to shortages in supply that affect the availability of these sought after herbal products. Additionally, attempts to source raw materials from elsewhere and internationally have led to highly publicized issues with adulteration among other quality control challenges, adding to growing consumer concern and distrust.

Appalachian forest herbs are a thing of intrigue among many forest owners and land seekers in the region. Cultivation of these plants in their native forested settings for sale has been constrained by historically low prices paid for raw materials that are typically gathered from the wild. However, the situation is changing due to concerns about plant population sustainability and product quality among herbal product consumers. Some manufacturers are introducing product lines featuring forest farmed materials to meet this growing demand.

Forest farming of native woodland medicinal plants allows for increased quality control and traceability across the supply chain while keeping forest ecosystems intact and conserving wild plant populations, attending to main points of concern among the growing herbal products consumer base. Additionally, a new and growing body of research supports the cultivation of herbs within their native environment, surrounded by companion species and associated flora and fungi, for development of optimal chemical activity.

Finally, forest farming also provides a new income opportunity for many in Appalachia, a region of historic economic distress, which has recently been further strapped in the face of a dwindling coal mining industry.

Learn More
The ABFFC YouTube channel has nearly 200 videos on forest farming, ranging from growing, harvesting, processing, marketing and how to make value added products to stories featuring beginning and long-time farmers. For more information visit www.appalachianforestfarmers.org or http://bit.ly/2fNjXIF
 
Farmer Feature videos:
Harding's Farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaI60N-vB0
Equinox Botanicals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPz6gQfQheo
Eliana's Garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eZ7WFMTNE&t=1s
 
Different Forest Farming Methods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcLVIldmW34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnrgLZzvewk

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Maged Sharaf, PhD
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)

Maged Sharaf, PhD, is the chief science officer of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the national trade association with a focus primarily on herbs and herbal products. AHPA’s membership represents U.S. and international growers, processors, manufacturers, marketers and institutes specializing in botanicals and herbal products. Before AHPA, Dr. Sharaf was the director, Foods, Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines at the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP). Before USP he was pharmacy associate professor and has preceding experience conducting bioanalytical assay development and validation, and human bioequivalence studies in support of the pharmaceutical industry; and quality control and manufacturing of pharmaceutical dosage forms. He can be reached at 301-588-1171; E-mail: msharaf@ahpa.org; Website: www.ahpa.org.