CHAPTER 16 Commercial Production of Organic Herbs for Veterinary Medicine
The resurgent interest in herbal medicine in the Western world can be characterized as an herbal renaissance. Over the past 20 years, the increasing depth and breadth of rekindled interest in traditional herbal medicine has placed the market near full circle. Although practitioners are strongly dependent on pharmaceutical drugs, a move is taking place toward the herbal remedies that are derived from plants that grow in meadow, plain, field, lot, roadsides, and household backyards. These plants offer efficacy, minimal adverse effects, and wide availability, and their activities are increasingly understood with scientific investigation. Advocates believe that not only is botanical medicine an important part of the future of veterinary medicine, but it is fast becoming the “leading edge” of veterinary medicine.
Because of this growing interest and increasing demand, veterinarians must be aware of the sources of the medicines they use. A lot of the world’s herbs are produced in developing countries, where labor is inexpensive and chemical usage is high. Prices paid to these growers are usually low, resulting in high volumes but low quality. Many imported herbs are fumigated and irradiated, which makes them not necessarily ideal raw ingredients for medicines.
Domestically, one of the concerns associated with increased demand for botanical medicines is that it will soon bring about the extinction of some species. A widely held belief among growers is that through cultivation of threatened plants, pressure from wildcrafting will be removed and all will be well. Some growers have entered the herb farming business, believing that herbal manufacturers would pay a premium because of this conservation-oriented business philosophy. However, most have discovered that it is difficult to cultivate and market herbs profitably. A number of reasons have been proposed for this situation.
First, a very small farm can at present produce adequate supply for the most popular herbs. Second, the market has historically been supplied by wildcrafters, who do not need to plow, plant, irrigate, harvest, clean, and ship product, much less suffer the expense of land, taxes, tractors, plowing, planting, and irrigating. Third, some herbal manufacturers publicly, and for political reasons, agree that wildcrafting is inherently unsustainable but continue to purchase from wildcrafters.
However, sustainability is a key issue, and with rapidly declining wild stocks, herb farming and domestic production constitute an increasingly necessary industry. The market demand for “clean” high-quality herbs has given farming of quality medicinal herbs a niche for commercial production.
WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE HERB FARM?
Potential growers must carefully plan crops—not simply sell what already grows on their land. After assessing veterinary market needs, the grower should consider these questions:
The market for botanicals for veterinary medicine is in its infancy. At this time (2006), a small market has been established, but new growers may be able to create a market for a particular product.
Following are some factors that growers should consider when they choose crops to grow:
The decision-making process starts here. The considerations listed above are represented as circles in Figure 16-1. In the area where there exists a mutually inclusive overlap of all four circles, a potential market awaits exploration. The overlap area set of conditions is ideal: a potential herbal remedy exists for an important clinical condition, conventional treatment is not satisfactory or problematic, and the herb can be grown on the land that is available. When the market is still small, these conditions allow for its growth.
KEY ISSUES FOR HERB GROWERS
To grow any horticultural crop requires an understanding of timing, soil care, and water management. Several other factors affect the chemistry of a plant, including variability in plant genetics, growth rate, age at harvest, availability and chemistry of water and its unavoidable adulterants, use of fertilizers, and other additives. These principles apply to large growers as well as to backyard growers.
Growing for quality requires the following:
Of special clinical importance is the undisputed need to avoid overuse of antimicrobials because of the development of ever more resistant pathogens. The use of natural antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial botanicals when they are effective is desirable. This argument alone provides reason for the grower to expect success in the commercial production of botanical antimicrobials.
When the grower maintains consistency in the factors that affect crop chemistry and the manufacturer does the same, then herbal quality and chemistry are more consistent. This is important from a clinical viewpoint. However, the variability in a botanical preparation from plant to plant, from region to region, and from year to year is probably no greater than the variability in response from patient to patient, and from condition to condition.
CROPPING MEDICINAL BOTANICALS
Reliance on a single crop increases vulnerability in the present veterinary botanical medicine market. Land that provides a variety of soil, shade, moisture, and drainage conditions is ideal for supporting more diverse plantings, and growers who add greenhouses increase their capacity to grow a diverse variety of herbs. It may take 5 years to produce the first crops of goldenseal, bloodroot, arnica, and echinacea, for example. To provide an annual harvest, along with cash flow, the herbal grower must plant an additional area each year and must harvest and plant on a rotation basis.
One quarter of an acre for each of these plant species is a reasonably sized plot for a single annual harvest. Two and one-half acres of hardwoods and the same in sun-drenched open field would provide for an annual harvest that is worth a respectable sum—approximately $250,000 at premium prices in 2006. However, for all of these plants, longer than 4 years is required from planting to harvest, so this income is delayed while the crops mature.
A small but growing portion of the market is organic. Organic certification provides some regulatory protection for the herb farmer against the wildcrafter.
Arnica likes full sun and moist, well-drained soil. It tolerates a lot of clay but does not like sandy or gravelly soil. Seeds should be started in flats early in the spring and transplanted to rows. Plants should be spaced 8 to 12 inches apart in rows that are 18 to 24 inches apart. The plants, when established, will spread to form a continuous mat; further plantings can be done by separating the mat and transplanting to a newly prepared bed. Arnica needs regular water and when stressed, it does not bloom. It wilts and yellows easily but responds immediately to water. Arnica plantings grow slowly and yield repeated flowers for many years. These flowers are harvested and must be kept cool and promptly delivered to customers because they decompose easily and very quickly.
Bloodroot is more easily cultivated when it is planted from division rather than from seed. Bloodroot likes rich humus soil and shade. It should be well drained but should have continuous moisture. It can be planted in the spring or fall, but plants prosper more if planted in the fall. The plants produce a mat like arnica and can be propagated by division.
Goldenseal likes the same conditions of humus-enriched soil, shade, and moisture that bloodroot prefers. Goldenseal is best planted through division of mature plants in the fall.
Echinacea purpurea is easy to grow but is a poor second to Echinacea angustifolia medicinally. However, E. angustifolia is difficult to germinate. Seeds of E. angustifolia must be stratified, then planted very shallowly in flats under greenhouse conditions, to encourage germination. The flats must be deep—4 inches minimum—because the taproot will be otherwise constrained. Plants should be transplanted into deeply cultivated weed-free fields before the taproots are compromised and should be watered sparingly during the hot season. Growers who have fertilized and irrigated, then harvested after 3 years, have produced an extract that is green—not brown—and the market does not like it. Plants that are grown too quickly because of overwatering weigh 3 to 6 ounces each within 3 years. This is large for an E. angustifolia plant, but the quality and color of the end product suffer. Superior E. angustifolia root can be grown by watering very sparingly and waiting 6 to 10 years before harvest.
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