[MPWG] Echinacea Pallida:Wild harvest management

[Robyn Klein]

Penny,
Contact the United Plant Savers (Google their website) and ask to contact 
their board member, Kelly Kindscher who has done much work on Echinacea 
species.

Best Regards, Robyn

Robyn Klein, M.S. Medical Botany, Adjunct Instructor
Department of Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology
Montana State University-Bozeman
www.rrreading.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <penny at pinenut.com>
To: "Olivia Kwong" <plant at plantconservation.org>; 
<mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 5:23 AM
Subject: Re: [MPWG] Echinacea Pallida:Wild harvest management


> Two neighboring farmers came to us with a total of about 5 acres of wild
> Echinacea Pallida. They are hay farmers and the plants interfere with 
> their
> hay production.
>
> We have hand harvested about 400 lbs of dried herb, leaving mature plants 
> to
> reseed and have taken no roots. We focused on the field edges and are just
> now getting into the very thick portion of the stand.
>
> We have two primary issues:
>
> #1
>
> To convert these areas from hay production to wild crop management, we all
> have to make a profit.
>
> The cost of a fair wage for harvesters is killing us. We need to find a
> market that will pay about $3.50 lb for wild harvested herb. Without a
> profit the landowners will apply fertilizer and kill out the stands and
> manage for hay production..This must be done without a great expense for
> equipment and processing.  We would hope to develop a long term 
> relationship
> with the landowners and certified the field USDA wild crop next year. 
> (this
> came too fast for us to do so this year).
>
> #2. We don't the plant's cycle. We have observed that many species have a
> 3 - 6 year pattern. We see many 1 year plants and don't know the impact of
> haying upon them. We are leaving mature seed flowers on the edges of the
> stands. However, given what we have been paying for labor, we have to try
> something different and a tractor /side mower may be the only way to do
> this. Are there guidelines for root extraction in order to keep a healthy
> wild population?
>
> All input would be appreciated. We have a blog 
> http://www.wildcrops.com/blog
> if anyone wants to follow the harvests and issues.
>
> Penny Frazier
>
> Goods From The Woods
>
> Licking, Mo. 65542
>
>
>
> .
>
>
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