Forest Farming Could Boost Southeast Ohio’s Economy
TL/DR –
Funding from the federal Inflation Reduction Act is being used to support forest farming in southeast Ohio, incentivizing landowners to preserve forested areas while generating income from non-timber forest products. A program established by non-profit Rural Action, which recently received a $6 million partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, teaches landowners how to cultivate plants like ginseng and blue cohosh sustainably beneath the forest canopy. These initiatives aim to combat climate change by preserving trees that absorb carbon gases, while also providing a renewable source of income for landowners in the region.
Forest farming in southeast Ohio benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act funding
Kaleb Wilkins from Blue Rock, Ohio is turning almost 200 acres of family-owned forest into a renewable income source through the cultivation of non-timber forest products. Primarily focusing on herbs like ginseng and blue cohosh, Wilkins is demonstrating the potential for a sustainable income without leaving Appalachia.
With assistance from Rural Action, a community development nonprofit focusing on sustainable economic growth, Wilkins is transforming his family’s woodland into a profitable forest farm. The organization’s sustainable forestry manager, Andrea Miller, provided invaluable advice on what plants were already growing and where to plant new seeds.
A recent partnership with the U.S. Forest Service has given the program a $6 million boost. This funding is part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, aiming to battle climate change by promoting greener practices in the U.S. economy. In this scenario, landowners are provided with training and tools to earn money from their forests, without resorting to deforestation.
One of the key benefits of non-timber products is their potential health benefits. For example, blue cohosh is often used in treating menopause while ramp, akin to garlic, is a popular cooking ingredient.
Rural Action plans to use funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to extend the program’s outreach and tackle one of the biggest challenges: reaching the market. The idea is to establish an “herb hub” to process harvested herbs, potentially based out of ACEnet in Nelsonville.
The impact of trees on climate change
Climate change is primarily caused by an excess of heat-trapping carbon gasses in the atmosphere. Trees can help balance this by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. “A mature tree will put on about 200, 220 pounds of carbon in a year,” explains Rural Action Chief Program Officer Joe Brehm. This process is called sequestration and can be a key strategy in the fight against climate change.
Forest farming as a market-driven preservation strategy
Preserving forests traditionally involved legal documents called easements that prevent development on land. However, these require enforcement and entail legal costs. By growing non-timber forest products, landowners like Wilkins and Morgan Hager, another up-and-coming forest farmer, are given a market-driven reason to preserve their trees.
The forest farming approach offers an attractive alternative for landowners with full-time jobs due to its low day-to-day maintenance requirements. Once the seeds are planted in suitable environments, nature takes care of the rest, eliminating the need for irrigation systems, fertilizers, and other treatments associated with traditional farming.
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