According to the Herbal Exchange, ginseng (panaxquinquefolium) is the most sought after medicinal plant species in the United States, and guess what? Catskill Mountain-grown ginseng is the cream of the crop.

"We have the finest ginseng in the world in the Catskill Mountains. It is world famous," Greene County Cooperative Extension Agricultural & Horticultural Agent Robert Beyfuss told members of the county Legislative Education Committee at a recent meeting.

Ginseng is a perennial growing plant used medicinally as a preventative agent. "People take it to remain healthy," Beyfuss said this week. An 'adaptogen', ginseng is a substance that helps the body cope with stress.

Ginseng has been a traditional part of Chinese medicine for more than 5000 years. Early pioneers discovered the plant growing in the United States in the 1700's. Even Kentucky's own Daniel Boone jumped on the ginseng bandwagon, Empire State Ginseng Growers Association President Scott Harris stated in a July issue of "The Farmer's Friend", Towanda Printing Company.

By the time the United States began harvesting ginseng in the 18^th century, the Chinese had exterminated their own crops, Beyfuss said comparing a civilization that is 40 to 50 centuries old to the United States which has been civilized for a little over two and a half centuries.

Half the world considers ginseng valuable, Beyfuss said. However, in the western world, including the United States, medicine's focus has been reactive instead of proactive. "Ginseng does not fit into how we test drugs in the United States," he said. "Only lately have we been looking at preventive medicine."

Harris wrote in the article that ginseng can bring up to $90,000 per acre, if grown properly on land generally regarded as unusable. He said there are over 1 billion customers eagerly awaiting the next crop of the root.

Ginseng is grown mostly in deciduous woodlands of the eastern United States and Canada. The top grade ginseng is grown in high calcium, deep forests underneath sugar maple trees. It takes between eight to ten years before it can be harvested and can yield $500 to $600 per pound, as opposed to the ginseng grown in the fields that only sells for about $25 per pound.

The crop is generally dried and shipped to Hong Kong where it is sold throughout China and many East Asian countries.

Beyfuss said that the Greene County Catskill Mountain region is the top grower in the world, with farmers here also selling their harvest to China.

Sylvan Botanicals Catskill Mountain Ginseng

http://www.catskillginseng.com