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Goods From The Woods
P.O. Box 61
Licking, Mo. 65560
573-729.6725
April 9, 2008
Public Private Partnership works to help protect pinon forest through use of American Pine Nuts
WWW.PinonNuts.org is now on-line!
WWW.PinonNuts.org is
a website for people interested in managing the Southwest’s pinyon-juniper
forests to produce a plentiful and continual supply of pine nuts. This is
a call for land managers, scientists, nut harvesters, brokers and others to
visit and begin contributing to www.PinonNuts.org.
The site is a modern-day version of a system that the U.S.
Forest Service successfully used to support the pine nut industry in the
1930s. It works by having land managers, harvesters, buyers, researchers,
and other users post information about pine nut crop conditions, permit
requirements, prices, best management practices, etc. in their area to the
website’s bulletin board. The website coordinator then transfers this
information to the appropriate pages on the website.
Americans use over 10 million pounds of pine nuts every year
with a wholesale value of more than $42 million. Until World War II, most of
the pine nuts used in the
United
States came from the Southwest’s
pinyon-juniper forests. Today, the majority of pine nuts sold in the
U.S. are imported from
China. As
China’s labor
costs increase and global oil prices rise, Southwestern pine nuts will become much
more competitive on domestic and global markets over the next few decades.
The site will provide the following and needs your help to
keep information up-to-date:
* When and where to find abundant pine nut crops
* Where to get harvesting permits and leases
* How to harvest pinyon nuts without damaging trees
* What techniques people are using to manage pinyon and
other pines for nut production
* Contact information for pinyon nut harvesters, brokers,
and land managers
If you have information to share
about these topics, please post the information on the www.PinonNuts.org bulletin
board or send an email to Penny Frazier at pinenuts@pinenut.com.
www.Pinonnuts.org is the product of a public-private partnership between
the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program
(www.colostate.edu/programs/cowood),
the Institute for Culture and Ecology (www.ifcae.org),
and Goods from the Woods (www.pinenut.com).
Wild Crops Project- SARE Award
Monday April 07, 2008
Salem, Mo - George and Penny Frazier have operated certified organic
wild crops Missouri farms for the last 4 years.The couple, together with
several partners was awarded more than $17,000.00 in funding from The
Northern Sustainable Agriculture Research program, (SARE) for a project
demonstrating profitability in certified organic wild crops. The
Fraziers partnered with the Pioneer Forest, The National Network of
Forest Practitioners and several landowners to demonstrate the economic
viability of certified organic wild crop collection of non timber forest
products or special forest products.
The Pioneer Forest has been the premiere leader of sustainable managed
timber harvest for more than 50 years. That forest is comprised of more
than 150,000 acres in the Missouri Ozarks. The Fraziers approached the
forest last year about the possibility of leasing acreage and certifying
it pursuant to the National Organic Program for wild crop harvesting.
Certification will soon be completed and more than 250 species will
fall within that certification. However, the Fraziers and the forest
have agreed to start their work with witch hazel harvest. The leaves,
twigs and bark will be processed and distilled on the Frazier's facility
located north of Salem Missouri. Penny has been contacted by several
companies wishing to purchase the entire year's production.
Certified Organic witch hazel is highly sought after and a key component
in more than 20 types of preparations for organic health and beauty
preparations. Currently the demand for certified organic witch hazel is
met in France with retail pricing running as high as $3.00 per ounce.
The demand for certified organic health and beauty products has
demonstrated the strongest growth in the entire organic industry.In the
USA, the entire Health and Beauty Care market is almost USD $40 billion
and is expecting 3.4% annual growth. The demand for natural health and
beauty products shows steady 23% growth. Currently many of the
ingredients used to formulate products is met from Europe and Asia.
There are more than 38 species of wild plants harvested by the ton in
Missouri. However, the market place is demanding the harvests be
certified organic in order to used in the preparation of certified
health and beauty products. Certification of land for wild crop organic
harvests is not a difficult process. One must demonstrate the product is
harvested in a sustainable manner. The Fraziers do this through both
pictures and their daily harvest log. Certification also insures the
harvester and the landowner will received up to 80% premium for the
product.
Many people are unaware of forest certification options available for
their land. This is one of the primary roles The National Network of
Forest Practitioners (NNFP) will play in the project. The group is
comprised of rural forest landowners, government entities and academics
dedicated to achieving sustainable rural enterprise and social justice.
NNFP is the technical reporting partner and will assist in disseminating the information about the project. Grant funds will be
available to help farmers and forest owners learn about certified
organic wild crops at the NNFP annual meeting, which will be held in
Steelville Missouri in September. One can learn more about the project
and wild crop harvest at www.wildcrops.com and the NNFP presentations
at www.nnfp.org.
Pinyon-juniper ecosystems cover 36 million acres scattered across
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Pinyon trees exist in
association with more than 1,000 species of plants, insects, birds, and
mammals, and perform important ecosystem services, such as water and
soil retention. For ten thousand years, human inhabitants in the
Southwest also relied on pinyon trees, primarily for sustenance, shade,
firewood, and building materials. To this day, pinyon trees are sacred
among the region’s indigenous cultures, and pine nuts – the seeds of
pinyon trees – are highly prized among Native American and Hispano
residents for their flavor and nutritional value.
Food Processing Magazine
Pine nuts are traditional in some Eastern cuisines, but haven achieved attention for their benefit as a health ingredient. Penny Frasier, founder of Goods from the Woods ( www.pinenut.com), Licking, Mo., is out to change that. “In the first 11 months of 2006, the United States imported 8.6 million pounds of pine nuts valued at nearly $45 million,says Frasier. This isnt much above the nearly eight and a half million pounds of wild pinion pine nuts processed in New Mexico in 1936 and shipped as Indian nuts to consumers on the East Coast.
Boston Globe:
Spotlight on Members
Medicinal Plant Working Group-
These are the individuals whose accomplishments and motivation contribute to MPWGs mission of forging partnerships with industry, government, academia, tribes and environmental organizations to facilitate the sustainable use and the conservation of medicinal plants.
Get to know our membership you'll be amazed at what you find!
Pinyon for The Holidays
Pinyon nuts, firewood, and plants for the Holidays
A good place to purchase them online is Goods from the Woods. Pinyon nuts are not cheap, but they are worth it, especially during the holidays.
Boise Weekly:
Nuts harvested from pinecones of both the Colorado pinyon pine (which isn't native to Idaho) and the single-leaf pinyon pine (which is) were a crucial fat and protein source for indigenous American tribes across the West, just as pine nuts in Russia, China and the Mediterranean have been staples for the last 6,000 years. Single leaf pinyon nuts were also a crucial trade item for early white settlers--especially Mormons--since the nuts were one of the few valuable commodities that could be easily harvested from the desert landscape. For the first third of the twentieth century, the nuts seemed poised to blossom into a major domestic crop, as the U.S. exported 8 million pounds of pine nuts in 1936 alone. Yet today, almost all of the pine nuts available on the U.S. market are imported from China, and the few from the United States are high-end local delicacies. What happened in the interim?
Rural Messanger:
Penny Frazier, co-owner and developer of Goods from the Woods, a native plant product and botanicals producer in the Ozark region of MO, is hoping Missouri Exchange will help connect her organic products to a range of buyers, especially in urban areas. As consumer interest in certified organic products rises, Goods from the Woods receives requests for organic native plant materials that are difficult to find in adequate quantity. “Last year, we needed three times the hickory nuts than we could source. It is very hard to find a method for communicating about these plant products, but Missouri Exchange can be a key component in linking producers to urban markets and manufacturers.
Univerisity of Missouri Agroforestry
Native Plants Field Day
One of the hallmarks of agroforestry practices are the environmentally and ecologically protective benefits they generate - especially the preservation and incorporation of valuable native plant species. George and Penny Frazier, owners of Goods from the Woods, an on-farm pine nut and wild craft herbal business, in cooperation with local farmers and natural resources organizations -- including the Center for Agroforestry -- hosted a field day in July to focus on native plant systems and the market opportunities they present. The Fraziers work with neighbors to preserve the fragile Ozark ecosystem through the cultivation of native forest plants and outreach activities to educate fellow landowners, and the public, about the medicinal and household properties found in many native species. Public relations and outreach: http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/tech.asp
Central Missouri Sierra Club -
Old Ways New Value
J.D.Vankirk in his element. photo by J.D.Vankirk In 1973, J.D. Vankirk was harvesting wild plants to put food on the table for his family. His plant books contained scribbled notes of prices that year. Thumbing through his old notes, while teaching neighbors in 2003, J.D. knows how the land has changed. His unique background and understanding of the land contribute to the local knowledge and expertise as a new generation prepares to take the responsibility for the earth.
That morning, J.D. Vankirk stood in the Frazier kitchen talking about the golden seal he harvested in with his great-uncle in the 1950’s. He told her how his patches were destroyed by logging operations in the 1980’s. These were places his Uncle had harvested for yearsâ€â€places where he took J.D. to learn and harvest. J.D. painted a picture of an understory alive and vivid, harvested year after year, tended with loving care sustaining his family for generationsâ€â€destroyed by skidders http://www.missouri.sierraclub.org/thb/newsletter/200504/old_ways.html
Wild Crops Farm hosts educational native plants field day; explores value-added opportunities
Rachel McCoy, MU Center for Agroforestry
Echoing the resilient qualities of Missouri™s native plants, one of summers hottest days couldn’t keep several land and forest owners, natural resources professionals, hobbyists and researchers from gathering in Licking, Mo., in late July to do something good for the land.
Flower Power for Health and Beauty on Missouri Small Farm
Spring is coming hard and fast for George and Penny Frazier at Goods From The Woods, wild Organic Farm in Licking Missouri. The Fraziers are hard at work harvesting the flowers from 10 acres of certified organic wild plum tree stands. Each flower is hand harvested. When sufficent poundage is reached the Fraziers then quickly transport the flowers to a distillation unit that steam extracts the flower essence.
"This year the trees are just exploding, rather than budding slowly" reports Mrs. Frazier. "We are going to have to work twice as fast to meet our production goals.
The wild plums would generally bloom over a 10 day period of time. However, given the unseasonably warm temperatures with days at the 70 degree mark, the tree flowers are rapidly bursting forth . This eclipsed flowering window coupled with a possible decreased number of pollinators may spell additional trouble for wild fruiting. The trees only flower once a year and whatever flowers can be picked and processed over the next few days will have to satisfy their customers.
For the Fraziers it means a quick pick. Since beginning their work with native plant flower essences the Fraziers have developed numerous affiliations with product manufactures in the health and beauty products field. The wild plum flowers have become sought after for use in anti-aging skin products. The flowers have been used in Europe for blood purification, convalescence, exhaustion, fatigue as well as skin disorders. The Fraziers have been the first in Missouri to harvest and distill these native trees for their phyto chemicals which are becoming highly prized ingredients in the organic health and beauty industry.
Health and Beauty products represent he fastest growing segment of the Organic products industry. It showed a 28% growth and sales in excess of 282 million dollars last year. The demand for Certified Organic non-foods items exceeds 1 billion dollars as consumers clamor for pet foods, flowers, and clothing made from certified ingredients.
The Fraziers are careful to harvest just the flowers on the tips of their trees limbs. This enhances the size of the wild plum fruits which will appear later in the season and keeps the fruit closer to the core of the tree lessening limb breakage. These wild plums will then be available for sale to jam makers. Goods From The Woods is also planning on launching a line a boutique certified organic wild fruit leaf teas. The blend will include mulberry, persimmon and wild strawberry leaves.
The growing client list for Goods From The Woods is beginning to see some of the movers and shakers in the high end of health and beauty. "We are getting inquiries from spas and manufactures in places like Australia and Great Britain," Mrs. Frazier reports. "I am just glad we do lots of native flower distillation and not just wild plum."
The Fraziers also produce flower essences from such native plants as elderflower, wild bergamot, and heal all. Each distillation represents a finely crafted artesian product with a pedigree USDA wild plant certification.
Next time you stop and smell the flowers, you might think and wonder what is making this flower smell so good! It might just be the next wonder of the natural world and part of the newest beauty product.
Our very good friends and mentors, Institute For Culture and Ecology wrote up some of our work in this publication. IFCAE specializes in the relationship between culture and ecology. Highly endorsed organization and work. Partners also teach at Oregon State University.
Email: Penny@Pinenut.com
Giving Thanks And Giving Back
Traditional Holiday Food Makes a Comeback
Licking, MO November 1, 2006 Giving thanks for the bounties of the Earth – is never more pertinent than at Thanksgiving. Family and friends gather together to celebrate old cultures, and past traditions. For Penny Frazier, giving thanks is her life work. Working with native forest plants, she has found a way to help Americans reconnect with their wild lands in a traditional way -- through their foods. Starting with the Pine nut, a food native to 58,000,000 acres of land in the United States, Penny has found a way to give something back to nature while protecting wild lands. She hopes that the growing popularity of reviving traditional Holiday food will inspire others to do the same.
Pinenuts are a gourmet, non-timber forest product with a $100 million U.S. market. Pine nuts are known throughout the world as a nutritious healthy snack (raw or roasted) and are an essential ingredient in many gourmet food dishes. Traditionally, the pinenut was a life-link food with gatherings and celebrations -- the Washo, the Shoshone, Paiutes, Hopi and their ancestors ate pinon nuts as a storable, multi-faceted food. In more recent times, consumers were introduced to the New Mexico pinon during lean times many Native Americans harvested and sold these nuts as part of their livelihood. Blight and drought have severely impacted the availability of Indian Nuts (pinon) making them unavailable in major markets for the last 5 - 7 years. This year marks the first harvest in 10 years in New Mexico.
While pinenuts are harvested in many regions of the world, their commercial value has been underestimated here in the US. As a result, over 99% of pine nuts consumed in the U.S. are imported. Natural stands of pine nut producing pinyon pines in the U.S. are not specifically managed for pinenut production. Millions of acres of land producing pinon pine trees have been cleared by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to create grazing land for cattle and sheep. It is possible the New Mexico harvest may be the last for decades as experts theorize that we are seeing the "Apple tree" effect. Apple trees are known for giving one last bumper harvest before death.
Known as "Pinon Penny", Penny's advocacy work on behalf of wild lands for their food values began 10 years ago. This work has been noted by many environmental and land use organizations. Awarded the highly competitive S.A.R.E. for her work with Native plants, Penny has been actively involved in creating sustainable land use management on public lands for pinenuts. As a result, the large Nevada pine nut has become popular in New Mexico over the last few years. She has created the premier site on the internet to teach and advocate on behalf of the wild foods, (www.Pinenut.com).
Along with her husband, George, they own and operate Goods From The Woods. Goods offers both the Nevada Soft Shell Nuts, and the New Mexico Pinon, both of which are sold with the shells on. By contrast, commercial pine nuts have already had the shell removed and are preserved either by roasting, cooking, or spraying. Penny likes to explain the dramatic difference in this way, “Imagine you never had eaten a fresh banana, but had only had dehydrated banana chips...well that is the difference between a pine nut processed and un-shelled. Roasted and preserved is not too bad, but dehydrated is cardboard by comparison." The Fraziers are hopeful that the recent revival of interest in Piñon Pinenuts will lead to increased domestic sales, and better land management.
Among the website features are a downloadable Pinenut Recipe Flyer, as well as a handy Roasting Guide. To find out more about the work that Goods From the Woods is doing, or to start your own pinenut tradition, visit them online at www.Pinenut.com.
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