Enhancing Small Farm Profitability Through Controlled Environment Production of Goldenseal

Diversification and enhanced profitability are constant challenges faced by small to mid-sizedfarms. There are plants used in commerce that are primarily collected from the wild some suchas Hydrastis canadensis L. (goldenseal) have been over collected to the point ofendangered/threaten status.Therefore adopting some form of cultivating goldenseal could offersubstantial benefits to both small farmers and native goldenseal populations.Multiple methods of cultivating goldenseal have been developed including forest cultivationunder artificial shade cloth and in a greenhouse.However none of these methods havemanaged to supply market demand as evidenced by the most recent American Herbal ProductsAssociation's latest survey which indicated the percentage of raw goldenseal coming fromcultivated sources fell from 34% in 1999 to 21% in 2017.Lack of high-quality planting stocktime from planting to first harvest (4 to 6 years) and overall lack of grower profitability aremajor factors in the decline.Preliminary data suggests that an indoor controlled environment production system forgoldenseal can decrease the production cycle by as much as 75% and provide an environment foraccelerated production of elite planting stock identified through previous research.The work ofthis SBIR proposal is designed to evaluate the feasibility of commercial controlled environmentproduction of goldenseal through achievement of the following objectives:1. Determine preliminary yield estimates of the CE system and other production datathrough two small pilot production cycles.2. Design and estimate facility and equipment (F&E) cost for a CE production unitcapable of producing 1000 pounds of USDA National Organic Program (NOP)certified dried goldenseal root/rhizome per year.3. Evaluate costs and yield to determine a profitable selling price for growers.4. Assess potential grower interest in the system.5. Survey potential buyers to determine system/price acceptability.It is anticipated the system will be comparable to broiler poultry production in establishmentcosts and financial return.Adoption of the system by growers would provide diversification andenhanced farm profitability while providing a desirable environmental outcome by reducing theneed for wild-collected goldenseal to meet market demand.