MSU Hosts Medicinal Botanical Symposium
December 02, 2002

Mountain State University will host Appalachian Opportunities: Growing and Marketing Potentials for Medicinal Botanicals on January 23-24, 2003 on the University campus. This two-day symposium will focus on issues surrounding the commercial viability of medicinal botanical micro farming in southern West Virginia. The symposium will include sessions on the propagation and production of medicinal herbs, market analysis of current trends, demand, and wholesale pricing, and scientific discussions about expanded integration of naturopathic and homeopathic therapies into western medical practices.

Guest speakers will include: Ed Fletcher, Strategic Sourcing, Inc., Banner Elk, NC; Jeanine Davis, North Carolina State University Extension, Fletcher, NC; Scott Persons, Tuckasegee Valley Ginseng, Tuckasegee, NC; Zoe Gardner, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA; Tom Hammett, Virginia Tech Center for Forest Products Marketing and Management, Blacksburg, VA; Cynthia Barstow, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Massachusetts; and David Cooke, Extension Agent, Boone/Lincoln County, WV.

Mountain State University's medicinal botanical research program is a cooperative project with the United States Department of Agriculture, and was made possible through the efforts of Senator Robert C. Byrd and a Congressional appropriation. The goal of the project is to develop new and varied crop production methods along with effective propagation and cultivation techniques for medicinal botanical crops.

Advance registration is required for attending the Medicinal Botanical Symposium. A printable registration form is available online. For further information, please contact Mr. Ray Lafferty, coordinator of the medicinal botanical program at 304-929-1360 or rlafferty@mountainstate.edu

MSU Medicinal Botanical Program