About Peggy Schafer
Peg Schafer is a nationally recognized authority on the growing of Chinese herbs, and oversees a number of projects that are focused on growing the highest quality and most medicinally efficacious Asian herbs possible. With a background in nursery management and farming, she is the owner/operator of the Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm near Petaluma, California. This 15-year-old certified organic farm has produced more than 250 different Chinese herb crops, and has sold to practitioners, product manufacturers, researchers and the general public. The farm functions partly as an experimental operation trialing Asian herbs, compiling data on the cultivation of herbs of medicinal and economic interest. A comprehensive database has been maintained since March 2003. In addition the Farm hosts a popular nine-month farming internship for growers, students and practitioners.
Peg Schafer is also co-owner of Fu Tian Herbs, an extract company founded with Chinese herbalist Sean Fannin of the Center for Traditional Health Arts. Fu Tian is the first company in the United States to exclusively offer certified organic, domestically-grown Chinese herb products. Additional information can be found at www.futianherbs.com. Peg is a founding member of the Medicinal Herb Consortium, a marketing group of farmer-volunteers educating growers in the production of these unique crops (www.localherbs.com.) She serves on the steering committee of the Sonoma County Herb Exchange, a clearinghouse of locally grown herbs linking growers to herb customers (www.sonomaherbs.org.). A frequent lecturer at colleges of Oriental medicine, conferences and farming events, where she addresses herb quality, cultivation and conservation, and issues affecting Chinese herbs.
