Farmers interested in growing medicinal herbs as a cash crop are eligible for grant assistance from the N.C. Specialty Crops Program.

The program is one of several initiatives to diversify and develop new agriculture commodities, which is crucial to preserving the rural farm landscapes rapidly disappearing from the mountains as it gets harder for farmers to make a living.

The Southern Appalachians has long been a leader in the medicinal herb market due to the numerous wild-growing native medicinal herb species found here, from ginseng to black cohosh. Domesticating those wild herbs that prefer woodland environs has been the subject of much state funded research in the past few years, with much of it being conducted at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center in Fletcher under the N.C. Specialty Crops Program.

The grants will be funded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, the Golden Leaf Foundation and the Rural Center.

“Although we will be placing an emphasis on recruiting tobacco farmers needing to diversify, all farmers interested in exploring new crops to increase the profitability of their farms are welcome to apply,” said Jeanine M. Davis with the N.C. Specialty Crops Program.

Deadline is May 15. Contact 828.684.3562 or www.ncspecialtycrops.org.