This spring, Robert Eidus of Eagle Feather Farm is hosting a two-part series on the ins and outs of becoming a ginseng dealer. The first workshop, Intro to Becoming a Ginseng Dealer, is a prerequisite for Foundation of Becoming a Ginseng Dealer.

This virtual class will be led by Robert Eidus.

Course Outline:

• History of American Ginseng
• Harvesting, washing & drying techniques
• Differences in agricultural production methods
• Current marketing trends
• Laws & regulations to selling
• Financial startup needs

About Robert Eidus

Robert is an avid American ginseng grower and educator who owns and operates Eagle Feather Organic Farm. To cultivate the next generation of responsible forest farmers, he also hosts classes, workshops, been on radio shows, and is the founder and president of the North Carolina Ginseng Association. He specializes in “wild simulation ” cultivation-growing plants organically in their natural forest habitat and enjoys sharing that knowledge with others.

Register for the workshop at www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-becoming-a-ginseng-dealer-tickets-1978613842265.

Tickets are $25.31.

We request that US Fish and Wildlife Service reconsider the sustainability of wild American Ginseng at the CITES meeting in 2025.

The companies and organizations listed below request that the status of American ginseng be changed from Appendix II to the more restrictive Appendix I.

The four sponsors of the Ginseng Summit 2023 produced a video summarizing the current status of the ginseng industry.

The findings of that summit:

• Export of this rare medicinal plant needs to be restricted due to declining populations in the wild.
• Ginseng populations in American forests have been decimated by the overharvesting, poaching, and out of season harvesting of this plant.
• Rumor has it that Hong Kong ginseng cartel have warehouses full of wild American ginseng root.
• In addition, the market price for American ginseng root is being controlled by China and does not produce a living wage for the wild American ginseng forest farmer.
• A US market needs to be built up and promoted for our wild American ginseng products, including fresh root material and leaves.

Robert Eidus talks about ginseng with Lisa Almaraz.

Lisa Almaraz interviews Robert Eidus about the ginseng trade, history, regulations, and how a more sustainable system of practices could be achieved.

Sponsorship List

We support restricting the export of wild American ginseng with the purpose of letting the plant come back and creating a US market.

Herb Companies: Moon Maid Botanicals, Medicine Woods Botanicals, NC Ginseng and Goldenseal Company, Mountain Rose Herbs (to be confirmed), Red Moon Herbs, Pine’s Herbals

Nurseries and Farms: Living Web Farms, Mountain Gardens, Herb Mountain Farm, The Farm Connection, BellyFull Plants Nursery, Eagle Feather Nursery, Cedar Spring Farm, Peaceful Valley Nursery, Dancing Springs Farm, East Fork Farm and Vineyard, Sunrise Mountain Farm, White Oak Farm, Everland Cove Farm, Gardenlea Fine Gardens

Herb Schools: The Wander School, Southern Appalachian School for Growing Medicinal Plants, The Appalachian Center for Natural Health, The Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, No Place Like Home

Non-Profits: North Carolina Ginseng Association, United Plant Savers (to be confirmed)

If any additional herb companies, herb farms, or plant schools wish to join this list, please contact robert@ncgoldenseal.com, or (828) 649-3536.

Due to concerns of overharvesting wild ginseng roots for international trade, this species was included in Appendix II of the CITES in 1975. But, export availability has drastically declined in recent years.

The declining export highlights the growing challenges faced by the wild American ginseng industry, signaling the necessity for both domestic and international efforts to reverse this trend and revive the ginseng market.

The never-ending increasing demand for wild American ginseng in international markets has led to Out of Season Illegal Harvesting, threatening its survival and the biodiversity of the ecosystems it inhabits. By banning (even temporarily) the export of wild American ginseng, we protect this irreplaceable treasure from the brink of extinction, ensuring that future generations can continue to partake in the ecological and cultural benefits it provides.

Sign the Petition

The petition is open until the end of May 21, 2024.

Add Your Public Comment

Based on the Ginseng Summit 2023, the North Carolina Ginseng Association has voted to produce a Public Comment with the USFWS to urge the agency to request a reclassification of American Ginseng at the CITES 2025 Meeting.

“Request a reclassification of American Ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, from Appendix II to Appendix I.”

Share Your Comment Before May 21, 2O24

(1) Electronically: Using the QR Code above or Federal eRulemaking Portal Link: www.regulations.gov, docket number FWS-HQ-IA-2024-0033.

(2) U.S. mail: Mail comments to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-IA-2024-0033; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

Learn More About Wild American Ginseng + Sign the Online Petition at www.change.org/p/save-wild-american-ginseng-ban-the-export-of-wild-ginseng-to-china.

Saturday, July 8, 2023, from noon until 3 p.m.

Hosted at the Madison County Agricultural Extension, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall, NC 28753.

This plant summit will address some of the issues currently being seen in the harvesting and sales of ginseng from North Carolina. Ginseng poundage reports are showing decreases wild populations and National Forests are not allowing harvesting.

>> Watch videos from the 2023 North Carolina Ginseng Summit at ncgoldenseal.com/2024/2023-north-carolina-ginseng-association-gathering-videos.

The summit will explore the reasons for this decline in wild populations and who is responsible and benefits from existing laws and policies. Experts in the field will discuss what can be done to reverse this decline of this important plant and medicine.

• How can State government and nonprofits work together to have this plant thrive?
• What is the best way to create a North Carolina organic ginseng market?
• Why create the incentives for growing and making medicine from Ginseng?

Guest Speakers will include:

• American Botanical Council
• United Plant Savers
• US Fish & Wildlife
• NC Ginseng Association

Sponsors include:

• Mountain Rose Herbs

Ginseng Summit 2023 is hosted by Dr. Blake Kovner of Naturopathic Health and Wellness.

By Carter Patterson, Environmental Sciences student, University of North Carolina  –

Have you ever been walking through the woods of western North Carolina and happened upon a small plant that looked to be a Hickory tree sapling but with red berries?

My guess is that you probably haven’t. But if you were to go back to the 1600’s, this plant would be all over the temperate forest floor.

The plant described above is known as American ginseng, Panax Quinquefolius, a very important plant that has been used by humans for medical purposes all throughout time. Due to human overharvest, ginseng populations across the eastern United States have experienced a massive decline since European settlement and will disappear completely in the wild if the rate at which ginseng is being harvested does not decline in the near future.

Ginseng has been used as an all ailment cure for hundreds of years. The Cherokee were using it before the Europeans made the sail across the Atlantic, and once the Europeans realized the similarities to its asian sister species, Panax Ginseng, a revolutionary trading system began to arise. In the 18th and 19th centuries, American ginseng was America’s second leading trading product, with only fur being traded in higher volumes. This massive trade system from the United States to China is what initialized the decline of ginseng in the eastern wilderness; unfortunately, this trade is still active and strong today.

While researching North Carolina’s policies and approach to this decline, the North Carolina Ginseng Association was quick to pop up. Founded in 2013 by Robert Eidus, a passionate ginseng enthusiast and expert from New York, the NC Ginseng Association is an organization whose goal is “to produce organically grown ginseng in the woods (forest farming) in America for Americans.”  After speaking with Mr. Eidus, the severity of this relationship between humans and declining ginseng became clear; American ginseng is in trouble in the state of North Carolina.

Eidus began the conversion by talking about how the current ginseng market prices are run by Chinese growers, who have more interest in profit than species preservation. This leads to corrupt and exploitable policies in the market: one being that ginseng needs to be just 5 years old to harvest.

“The legal age of ginseng to harvest is 5 years, which helps the Chinese because they can get more ginseng at a faster rate. However, West Virginia study shows the full complement of ginsenosides are not fully produced until year 7 which means that these plants need more time to grow before harvesting for the full medicinal benefit.”

It is this type of misinformation and greed that leads to the ignorant poaching of this marvelous plant. In 2014, the History Channel released a reality TV show called “Appalachian Outlaws” that highlighted a group of ginseng diggers in the eastern US and influenced many citizens to go into the woods to harvest some of their own ginseng for personal profit. However, these people were not following laws and protocols that the government has set out on ginseng harvest. Eidus claims that “[‘Appalachian Outlaws’] ripped more ginseng out of the ground than any other single event in history.” The problem of poaching did not stop after the show ended, but, even today, the majority of wild ginseng is dug out of the ground by poachers who just want a little cash.

This problem can be stopped if policy makers knew more about the plant that they are trying to protect. Eidus claims that they sit up in their office in the Triangle and do not go out into the field which leaves them using “twisted logic” in their decision making with regards to regulating ginseng harvest.They can see the fact that the ginseng production is decreasing but fail to see why their policies are not working. Eidus has talked with the North Carolina Plant Conservation and pushed for a license requirement, similar to the licensing process for hunting and fishing, to harvest ginseng but they simply won’t listen to him or to anyone who is actually in the field seeing the effects of poachers.

“They have created more problems than helped since the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) treaty was signed in 1977.”

Eidus argues that policy on ginseng digging has to change but before policy can change, the general public and newcomer ginseng diggers have to change their outlook on this species of life. Because this is a small plant, and not a big mammal such as a deer or bear, ginseng doesn’t seem to be at the top of the list of concerns in America. However, this is not fair to the plant. Humans, all too often, view themselves as a higher being that is greater than the rest of the life on this planet. We use and destroy so many species for our own benefit, but those plants and animals have the right to live just as we do. Creating a mindset of respect for the plant is something that is important when sustainably collecting it for medicinal use. Ginseng owes us nothing, but yet it is giving us these medical properties and we must use what we are given in a sustainable fashion without harming the species as a whole.

When asked if he had any hope for this species in North Carolina, Robert Eidus responded with a hasty “no.” But he then went on to say that if there is rapid change in the near future then there is a slight chance to turn the wild ginseng populations around. It starts with education of the public and policy makers to realize what is actually happening to this plant and what it takes to replenish it.

“What has worked in the past is obviously not the solution.”

This article is meant to act as a message to the policy makers in North Carolina as well as to anybody who is looking into collecting ginseng themselves. We must come together as a community, educate ourselves with facts, and respect this plant as the magnificent form of life that it is. As Robert Eidus told me, we must all “WAKE UP!” and protect this species from wild extinction.

As for myself, I have hope for the future of this species as I believe humans are capable of helping a species just as easily as they can hurt one.

If you want to help, you can join the NC Ginseng Association on Facebook or get involved with local plant conferences to help spread awareness of the need for policy change.

Sources:

• History, Conservation, and Cultivation of American Ginseng, North America’s Most Famous Medicinal Plant (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-44930-8_6)
• In Defense of Plants Podcast: American Ginseng Revisited (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-381-american-ginseng-revisited/id1245995247?i=1000575276926)
• What is CITES? (https://cites.org/eng/disc/what.php)
• Appalachian Outlaws (https://www.history.com/shows/appalachian-outlaws)

Robert Eidus addressed the North Carolina Plant Conservation Board about banning the export of wild ginseng from North Carolina, and licensing and educating harvesters.

January 11, 2022, Chapel Hill Arboretum, Chapel Hill, NC

Good afternoon, my name is Robert Eidus. I have been a North Carolina Ginseng Dealer, and have a North Carolina nursery license, continuously since 1994. I believe I have a unique perspective on American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), which, in my opinion, is in big trouble because of not only habitat loss and over harvesting, but uneducated out-of-season harvesting which has brought the poundage on a downward spiral.

It is my intention to show the Board and Scientific Committee that this is a man-made crisis and one that can be reversed to bring back the populations of this unique and rare plant.

Resource exploitation is not new to this planet and is one of the reasons the world got together in the late 1970s to pass the CITES treaty, with this plant on the first list of species that needed help. It is my reading of the treaty that those countries signing would put in rules and regulations that would maintain the plant’s numbers, and likewise protect its habitat. To date there is only the record of plants exported.

It would seem, from the raw numbers of pounds exported, that American ginseng’s plant numbers and habitat are troublesome. Two problems are the lack of a program to reseed or replant ginseng, and a new procedure to identify and educate the harvesters.

American ginseng has been exported to China since the 1780’s with an average of 315,000 pounds each year, or approximately 12,600,000 plants dug each year (with a pound consisting of 400 10year old plants). This is about 300 plus years or 4 trillion plants harvested, to throw out a number. We as humans can not keep taking this plant and not putting it back without dire consequences. It should be noted that before Europeans started exporting this plant it was considered a forest weed. It is not that the US government in the recent past has not given away seedlings to the public and nurseries over the years.

Is there any precedent about suspending the selling and export of wild ginseng across state lines? Since the mid 1990s, both Michigan and Maine have had a ban on exporting wild ginseng from their states.

There is also precedent when China and the US were not on the best of terms and American ginseng was banned from going to China. This could be (1) a political decision, like being on opposite sides in a war, to (2) economic decisions, especially the recent last round of tariffs in the past administration, or (3) during the Civil War when all exports stayed or were stored in the US.

So, states have banned the export of wild American ginseng across their state lines and the US has had periods in the past when export was stopped to China. The point is, whenever the export trade was halted or cut back it allowed the plant to come back in numbers and increased sustainable habitat, even if this was a collateral response.

Therefore, in my opinion, for conservation purposes, a temporary export ban could help the wild species return, as well as creating a new opportunity for NC ginseng forest farmers and nurseries to grow this crop in an organic wild-stimulated forest farming way for North Carolina residents, and an out-of-state attraction for the tourist industry.

However, if a temporary state ban is in effect for wild pouched ginseng, there is still a problem in the system that I believe needs fixing. Education of harvesters and the detrimental consequences to conservation must become forefront to NCDA. When the Covid virus was with us in 2020, I had two visits that year from young unemployed men both in early September. Both had large boxes with hundreds of ginseng roots. There was no way they could have harvested in season. On top of that, they did not know how to clean or dry the roots, so the roots started to mold out. There were hundreds of roots in each and the majority were under 5 years old or washed incorrectly. I obviously would not buy them and believe they were sent to the landfill.

In 2008, the Plant Division staff recommended to the Board (under Cecil Frost) to create a $10 Harvesting fee. This part of the meeting was never brought up or discussed. If there is a harvesting fee, then NCDA education can happen before the harvesters begin poaching out-of-season and not getting the education needed. Right now, education occurs mainly when they bring their roots to the dealer after it is too late. A ginseng harvesting fee has been established in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Maryland. It has been the USFWS’s suggestion to initiate a harvesting fee since 2008.

But the real reason for me to be allowed to talk about a state export ban and licensing of the harvesters, was the ban on harvesting in the National Forests in NC this year. The ban was reinforced in other states recently to include TN, KY, and GA, with VA in its 5 or 6th year, and Arkansas Ozark Forest since the 1990’s. I have been directed to, and recommended a Forest Service report by forest economist Frey Gregory in 2018. Thus the assessment by Gary Kauffman, in my opinion, was a wake-up call for the American ginseng plant in NC, which joined the harvest ban in other Southern Appalachian Mountain state’s National Forests.

In summary, creating a temporary export ban on wild American ginseng in NC will allow for the slow rise in plant species survival. Additional humans can help by allowing for the stratification of the ginseng seed. If a plant drops a seed there is 1% chance for germination. If we want to help this germination rate, good harvesters plant the red berries around 2 cm deep, plus a foot and a half from the plant. If this is done, there will be a 16% germination rate. However, if humans stratify the seed from fall to fall, the germination rate goes up to 90 plus %.

Creating a license for the harvesters is one of the best and easiest ways to conserve this plant. And, like the Forest Service limiting the number of pounds harvested for the season, should help with some of the out-of-season harvesting.

As a dealer, when someone has over ten pounds (approximately 4,000 plants) and swears it was off his own land, you know this is a questionable sale. They usually say the dig was legal, but when they then bring you 10 or more dried pounds right after the 15th of September and swear it was all in season, as a dealer you know they are lying. When you ask how they dried it, they will say air dried, but there is no way that can happen by mid September.

Most Ginseng Dealers will not publicly admit to participation in America’s last legally sanctioned illegal activity, the poaching of American ginseng, (which has been estimated at 85% of the wild crop). And, who is the main beneficiary? The Hong Kong Chinese, whose business model is to have their American harvesters poaching (approximately 95% of the yearly export documented) of America’s most important herb.

As one dealer stated to me, “By removing the existing trade from our forest to China, we would also help with the opioid and crack cocaine crisis.” Many harvesters are poaching to pay for illegal drugs. With harvester licensing and education, this could remove the stealing mentality from this industry and will go a long way for conservation of this plant.

by Kate Farley –

Robert Eidus is an avid American ginseng grower and educator who owns and operates Eagle Feather Organic Farm. To cultivate the next generation of responsible forest farmers, he also hosts classes, workshops, a radio show, and serves as president of the North Carolina Ginseng Association.

“It seems like with the environment, everyone’s up on trees and animals and insects and butterflies. But the plants are just not really defended at all.”

Robert Eidus considers his life’s purpose defending Appalachia’s wild woodland medicinal plants—plants like trillium, goldenseal, and especially American ginseng. At Eagle Feather Organic Farm, a medicinal plant nursery nestled in a mountain hollow north of Marshall, North Carolina, Eidus propagates a wide variety of medicinal herbs that he offers for sale and prepares into medicinal tinctures and capsules.

The heart and soul of Eidus’s work is American ginseng. Eidus got a later start in ginseng compared to many other growers and dealers. His first career was in real estate in Raleigh, North Carolina, but he grew frustrated with the business and yearned for a job that would be more physical and enable him to cultivate a deeper connection with the natural world.

“Whether it was a dream or a vision or whatever, I thought that I had this conversation with Grandfather Ginseng about being a person who could advocate for the plants. And that was kind of it.” In the early 1990s, Eidus built a house on the property that is now Eagle Feather Farm and began to seek prominent herbalists and experts in plant lore to help him learn how to steward the plants. Eventually, he settled on the technique of “wild simulation,” wherein the plant grows organically in a forest plot that mimics ginseng’s natural habitat.

Eidus is also a registered ginseng dealer and occasionally buys wild plants to process into medicine. However, he will buy ginseng only from those who harvest ginseng responsibly. Eidus promotes responsibility among other ginseng farmers, and encourages them not to use chemicals, which he believes poison the plants. He seeks to cultivate the skills of others through site visits, phone consultations, and workshops, as well as information made available through his website and local radio program.

As president of the North Carolina Ginseng Association (NCGA), Eidus supports sustainable ginseng growing and harvesting even further. He has used the NCGA to build community among younger, newer ginseng growers in North Carolina. The NCGA also advocates for state-level policies in North Carolina that incentivize organic ginseng growing and preserve wild populations.

Robert Eidus wears many hats, from consultant to association president, but above all he is a champion of ginseng stewardship and intends to see the plant thrive for many generations to come.

The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage will be launching a new web site sometime in the next few months, featuring 50 profiles of American ginseng experts from around the Appalachian region. The site is called “American Ginseng: Local Knowledge, Global Roots” and its aim is to provide a wide variety of expertise to inform people about this amazing plant, its ecosystem, and the need for conservation of ginseng and other forest botanicals.

Written by Brooke Randle –

From the April 27, 2021 issue of the Mountain Xpress

Wild American ginseng, prized for centuries for its medicinal qualities as an anti-inflammatory and aphrodisiac, grows naturally on the mountainsides of southern Appalachia.

“The main thing about ginseng is that it is the best plant for the human body to be rejuvenating,” says ginseng farmer Robert Eidus. “It has tremendous benefits to the human body.”

But high international demand for the herb — which sells for about $550 per pound — has led to over-harvesting and driven American ginseng perilously close to extinction. While the season for harvesting wild ginseng only lasts from September through December in North Carolina, the plant requires several years of growth to reach a harvestable size.

Eidus started Eagle Feather Organic Farm more than 25 years ago to grow and protect the area’s natural ginseng. Today, Eidus grows and distributes ginseng roots, seeds and plants while practicing and teaching sustainable agriculture to fellow ginseng lovers at the botanical sanctuary in Marshall.

Since the plants grow in their natural habitat, traditional farming methods are replaced with natural approaches. For example, the harsh chemicals that would otherwise be necessary to protect the ginseng’s valuable root systems against fungus aren’t necessary in the forest setting, Eidus says. Forgoing chemical fungicides protects both the environment and the eventual users of the plants.

“What happens, of course, is since this is a root crop, there’s all of that spraying going into the soil and the plant absorbs it,” he notes.

These guides contain detailed information on Planting, Cultivation, Harvesting, Drying the Roots, Marketing, and more.

Since the 18th century, Goldenseal has been used around the world for such conditions as liver deficiencies, jaundice, constipation, hemorrhoids, eye afflictions, skin ulcers, and respiratory infections of the mucous membranes such as occur in the common cold and flu.

American Ginseng is used to maintain good health, increases resistance (boosts immune system functions), and improves both physical and mental performance.

Purchase these guides today to learn more about these popular herbs, their many uses, and how to grow them.

Growers Guide to Goldenseal

Read More

Growers Guide to Ginseng

Read More

A handy guide published by NatureHub lists 11 of the best organic farms in NC.

Eagle Feather Organic Farm is — among other things — a Native Botanical Sanctuary. They grow organic medicinal herbs, including goldenseal and ginseng, as well as various other woodland botanicals.

Products include a cold and flu tincture and elderberry tincture. The farm sells books and videos, and also gives tours, classes and even apprenticeships on how to grow beneficial herbs.

See the full list at blog.naturehub.com/organic-farms-in-north-carolina