Wausau, WI, US, North Central --
Ginseng fields throughout Marathon County are the site of intensifying activity as the time of year for both planting and harvesting arrives.
Outwardly, it's similar to what has been going on in Marathon County at this time of year for decades, with hired help picking seeds and digging up beds while harried landowners direct operations or pitch in to help.
What's not so obvious is the mindset of "shang" growers--a pessimism that's born of a declining ginseng market and could mean smaller future harvests.
The sale price for ginseng roots, believed by many in Asia and elsewhere to be a versatile health elixer, headed south in the mid- 1990s. Growers who were accustomed to receiving $40 or more a pound began getting far less. And now they are taking various actions to deal with a loss in profits.
Some are waiting to sell roots harvested this year until they have a better idea of what is happening in the market. Others are reducing the size of their planting this year, and some are even electing not to plant at all.
"It's not profitable at all right now; in fact, we're losing money," said town of Maine grower Herry Berens, who educed his planting acreage this year. "When the market pays only half the cost of production, that means you can't make money."
With the cost of production running $18 to $20--a range generally accepted by most growers--the farm price for ginseng throughout the county is often lower than $10 a pound. Combine the low return with the fact that many growers still hold unsold ginseng from last season, and the decision to reduce planting is logical, growers said.
The smaller crop that results on a reduced 1998 planting won't be harvested for three or four years. But this year's crop could be as 15 to 30 percent smaller because of weather conditions, several growers and buyers said.
"We've had some pretty adverse weather conditions, with the dryness this year, and that's caused some problems with the crop," Wausau grower Roger King said.
King's harvest is complete. His roots are now in cold storage--a process said to improve their marketability in Asia--and they'll stay in cold storage until he can get a better price.
The reduced local production could help, King said. If reports that bad weather in China and Canada--two other major ginseng production areas are true, it will help even more, he said.
"We've had some buyers looking at our ginseng , but we haven't actively pursued selling," he said. "We assume from past experience that if the production is down, the price will accelerate, and we hope that will happen. If the harvest is down, things actually could be looking up.
An area buyer said he knows growers are depressed by the sale price of ginseng . Part of the problem results from the Asian financial crisis, which reduces ginseng buying prices in Asia, Marathon buyer Raymond Chao said.
"In south Asia ... purchasing power is down 60 percent," he said. "Now, we must rely mostly on the Chinese market."
A ginseng grower who asked not to be identified said he dramatically reduced his planting acreage this year. Based on current prices, he's losing money with every seed he plants, he said. Nevertheless, he believes prices will eventually begin to rise.
"I'm just hoping this turns around before I'm bankrupt," he said.
Jerry Petrowski, a Wisconsin Ginseng Board member with gardens in the town of Stettin, said he decided not to plant at all this year and instead will tend crops planted during the last few years.
He summed up the attitudes of many growers.
"Right now, there are a lot of people depressed with the ginseng industry," he said.
BY : Chris Carroll
SOURCE : Wausau Daily Herald
1998. 09.
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