UPCOMING EVENTS
June 15 2010, 7:00 pm, Sebastopol
Confusion about GMP'S (Good Manufacturing Practices)?
In June, new regulations will be in effect for all manufacturers of herbal products. Are you incompliance? What does the ruling mean for small businesses? Join Matthew Persico (Simpler's Botanical Co and Galen's Way), Katie Huggins (Traditional Medicinals), Leslie Gardner (Sonoma County Herb Assoc.) and Peg Schafer (Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm) for a panel discussion of what the FDA's new rules for Good Manufacturing Practices means for herbalist and herb growers alike.
Location: Peace in Medicine - 6771 Sebastopol Ave (Hwy 12) in the Gravenstein Station.
Summer 3 Session Summer Workshop, Petaluma
Are you interested in cultivating the most efficacious Chinese botanicals? Or would you like to gain understating and deepen your relationship with Chinese herbs through their cultivation? Perhaps you are concerned about loosing access to herbs, and are interested in being a part of the development of Chinese herbs as a domestic emerging market? How about access to, or providing better quality herbs than is commonly found in the marketplace? Maybe you are a grower seeking to diversify your production? Besides offering seed and field grown herbs the Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm, which is located in the coastal hills one hour north of San Francisco, also serves as an experimental farm to explore these possibilities as well as aid in herb conservation. Our three session summer intensive allows those interested to visit with 100+ Chinese medicinals and engage in hands on experience to grow and harvest Chinese herbs under the guidance of Peg Schafer; educator and nationally recognized Asian herb grower.
This workshop will have a mix of field activities, such as sowing seed and harvesting herbs; discussions will cover the medicinal herb nursery, managing the garden and farm, choosing which crops and how to grow them, cultivating efficacious herbs with wild qualities, harvesting and drying of leaf, flower, seed and root herb crops, as well as other issues concerning herb quality and cultivation.
The program is $225, space is limited. The hours are 9-3 Saturday June 26th, Saturday July 24th, and Saturday August 28th. If you are interested please email Peg.
September 4, 2010, 10am-noon
Medicinal Plant Walk at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens in Glen Ellen, CA. with Peggy Schafer from the Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm & Sean Fannin from the Center for Traditional Health Arts. All proceeds benefit Quarryhill Botanical Garden, $15 Non Members/$10.00 Members. www.quarryhillbg.org
PAST EVENTS
May 15 2010, Santa Rosa
“Cultivation, Conservation, and Chinese Herbs.” Presentation at the United Plant Savers Conference “Planting the Future,” which will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 in Santa Rosa, CA. Registration/info: www.unitedplantsavers.org or call: 802-476-6467.
September 26 2009, 10am-noon
Medicinal Plant Walk at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens in Glen Ellen, CA With Peggy Schafer & Sean Fannin. All proceeds benefit Quarryhill Botanical Garden, $15 Non Members/$10.00 Members. www.quarryhillbg.org.
July 30th, 12:30-2 pm, Oakland, CA
Peg Schafer talks to students at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences on "Cultivation and Current Issues Surrounding Chinese Botanicals."
July 23rd, 12-1, San Francisco
From Village Herbalism to the World's Pharmacy: Addressing the conservation, cultivation and current issues surrounding Chinese botanicals. American College Of Traditional Chinese Medicine 455 Arkansas St, San Francisco.April 18 & 19, 2009, 10-5 Mendocino
“Start Your Own Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden: A Hands-on workshop.” PDF Flyer here
April 2-3, 2009, New Mexico
Risk Management Education Program in Asian Herbs Being Offered to Organic Growers
New Mexico State University will offer a Risk Management Education and Training Program in Asian Medicinal Herb Production and Marketing this coming winter. Made possible by a grant from the Western Center for Risk Management Education, the goal of the two-day training program is to assist growers in identifying, managing and mitigating risks associated with Asian medicinal specialty crops grown for the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) professions.
Asian medicinal herbs offer unique and possibly lucrative new markets for organic specialty crop growers, especially here in New Mexico where our varied and extreme climate and growing conditions enable the production of a diverse range of medicinal crop species. As with any other "new" or unfamiliar specialty crop, however, Asian medicinal herbs come with their own risks and challenges. Proper species identification, knowledge of seed sources, successful propagation techniques, awareness of potential invasiveness, and familiarization with production, harvesting and processing methods are important background information to know with any niche crop, but especially so with Asian medicinal herbs. The development of a sound long-range marketing and distribution plan to handle fluctuations in this emerging market will help prepare growers for the realities of "boom-and-bust" cycles associated with herbs. Additionally, a proper understanding of herb quality criteria needed by AOM professionals is essential for success. Growers need to be mindful that they are not just cultivating herbs, they are growing medicines. Potency and sanitation are paramount considerations growers need to include among other factors.
The training program will be offered as a two-day intensive workshop. National experts have been scheduled to come share their extensive knowledge with growers on the details of each of the following areas: a) Asian herb market overview and outlook; b) species identification and selection; c) propagation; d) cultivation and crop management practices; e) identifying and managing potential invasiveness; f) harvesting methods; g) processing and quality control; h) marketing strategies; and i) understanding market contracts. Active participation and follow-through on the part of attending growers will be strongly encouraged. Growers will be expected to learn to match crop species with their growing conditions, select herbs based not just on marketing potential but based on their combined use in Chinese formulas, acquire hands-on processing skills, and develop a marketing strategy for their selected herbs.
While the training will be oriented towards experienced, certified organic specialty crop growers, anyone can attend. The training program will be held Thursday and Friday, April 2-3 in Alcalde, New Mexico. The registration fee is $60 for the 2 days, and will include a lunch each day. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Charles Martin at cmartin@nmsu.edu or 505-852-4241. View PDF flyer here back to top
December 2-3, 2008, New Mexico
Risk Management Education Program in Asian Herbs Being Offered to Organic Growers
New Mexico State University will offer a Risk Management Education and Training Program in Asian Medicinal Herb Production and Marketing this coming winter. Made possible by a grant from the Western Center for Risk Management Education, the goal of the three-day training program is to assist growers in identifying, managing and mitigating risks associated with Asian medicinal specialty crops grown for the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) professions.
Asian medicinal herbs offer unique and possibly lucrative new markets for organic specialty crop growers, especially here in New Mexico where our varied and extreme climate and growing conditions enable the production of a diverse range of medicinal crop species. As with any other "new" or unfamiliar specialty crop, however, Asian medicinal herbs come with their own risks and challenges. Proper species identification, knowledge of seed sources, successful propagation techniques, awareness of potential invasiveness, and familiarization with production, harvesting and processing methods are important background information to know with any niche crop, but especially so with Asian medicinal herbs. The development of a sound long-range marketing and distribution plan to handle fluctuations in this emerging market will help prepare growers for the realities of "boom-and-bust" cycles associated with herbs. Additionally, a proper understanding of herb quality criteria needed by AOM professionals is essential for success. Growers need to be mindful that they are not just cultivating herbs, they are growing medicines. Potency and sanitation are paramount considerations growers need to include among other factors.
The training program will be offered as a two-day intensive workshop. National experts have been scheduled to come share their extensive knowledge with growers on the details of each of the following areas: a) Asian herb market overview and outlook; b) species identification and selection; c) propagation; d) cultivation and crop management practices; e) identifying and managing potential invasiveness; f) harvesting methods; g) processing and quality control; h) marketing strategies; and i) understanding market contracts. Active participation and follow-through on the part of attending growers will be strongly encouraged. Growers will be expected to learn to match crop species with their growing conditions, select herbs based not just on marketing potential but based on their combined use in Chinese formulas, acquire hands-on processing skills, and develop a marketing strategy for their selected herbs.
While the training will be oriented towards experienced, certified organic specialty crop growers, anyone can attend. The training program will be held Wed, Thurs and Friday, Dec 2-3 at the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Office/4-H Auditorium, 1510 Menaul NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The registration fee is $75 for the three days and will include a lunch each day. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Charles Martin at cmartin@nmsu.edu or 505-852-4241. back to top
August 23 -24, 2008
Weekend Workshop
Are you interested in cultivating the most efficacious Chinese botanicals? Or would you like to gain understating and deepen your relationship with Chinese herbs through their cultivation? Perhaps you are concerned about loosing access to herbs, and are interested in being a part of the development of Chinese herbs as a domestic emerging market? How about access to, or providing better quality herbs than is commonly found in the marketplace? Maybe you are a grower seeking to diversify your production? Besides offering seed and field grown herbs the Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm, which is located in the coastal hills one hour north of San Francisco, also serves as an experimental farm to explore these possibilities as well as aid in herb conservation. Our weekend internship intensive allows those interested to visit with 100+ Chinese medicinals and engage in hands on experience to grow and harvest Chinese herbs under the guidance of Peg Schafer; educator and nationally recognized Asian herb grower.
The weekend will have a mix of field activities and discussions covering the growing of herbs from seed sowing and pot culture in the nursery, to field production. We will cover soil management, planting, cultivation, and the harvesting and drying of leaf, flower, seed and root herb crops, as well as other issues concerning herb quality and cultivation.
The program is $175, space is limited. The hours are 9-4 Saturday and Sunday. If you are interested please email Peg.
June 21, 2008 10-noon
Medicinal Plant Walk in the beautiful Asian woodland at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens in Glen Ellen, CA, with Peg Schafer of CMHF and Sean Fannin Director of the Center for Traditional Health Arts. All proceeds benefit Quarryhill Botanical Garden, $25 Non Members/ $22.50 Members. www.quaryhillbg.org.
May 15, 2008 10am - 2:30pm
American College Of Traditional Chinese Medicine
450 Connecticut St, San Francisco.
Peg Schafer and Jean Giblette from High Falls Gardens in NY will discuss the growing of, and contemporary issues surrounding, Chinese herbs. They will also cover the Botanical Studies Program for Oriental Medicine, and the activities of the farmers' Medicinal Herb Consortium in the development of the domestic production of Asian medicinals. back to top