Farm Type Guide

Medicinal and Culinary Herbs in New York

Growing herbs for teas and herbal products, and raising forest botanicals like ginseng under the trees in your woodlot. What the rules are, how growers sell, and the help available to veterans.

The Industry at a Glance

Demand for herbs keeps growing. According to the American Botanical Council, U.S. retail sales of herbal supplements rose from $6.92 billion in 2015 to $13.23 billion in 2024, up 5.4% from 2023. That is a national figure, not a New York one, but it shows a market that has nearly doubled in under ten years.
New York is one of 19 states and one tribe that allow the harvest and trade of wild American ginseng under federal rules, and its ginseng must be certified by the state before it leaves New York.
Many small growers raise ginseng as a wild-simulated crop, planted from seed in hardwood forest and left to grow like a wild plant. Cornell's longtime ginseng educator reported that good 8 to 10 year old wild-simulated roots sold for upwards of $800 per dry pound in 2015.
Field-grown ginseng under shade cloth is a different business. The same Cornell article put the cost at at least $65,000 per acre to establish and grow a three year crop, which is why most small New York growers start in the woods instead.

New York has the forests and the farmland to grow herbs and forest botanicals, and the demand is there. If you’re a veteran interested in growing herbs or raising ginseng in your woods, talk to us about joining the effort to grow this kind of farming in New York.

Growing Ginseng in Your Woods

Wild-simulated ginseng needs a specific kind of forest. Before you buy seed, walk your woods with Cornell's free Visual Site Assessment tool, which grades a site by the trees, shrubs, and plants already growing there. Your DEC Cooperating Forester can also help you understand your woodlot.
Start small. Cornell's guidance is to plant test plots of about 3 by 3 feet, at least 10 per acre, then expand the ones that do well. Seed runs about $25 an ounce, and two ounces is enough for about 16 test plots.
Plant in the fall, from September until the ground freezes, and buy only stratified seed. Seed can't be held over to spring, even in a refrigerator or freezer.
Expect slugs to be your first problem. Cornell names imported garden slugs as perhaps the main reason ginseng seedings fail in year one, and recommends beer traps to check how many you have.
This is a long wait for income. Wild-simulated roots are usually dug at 8 to 10 years, and a good planting might yield about 300 pounds fresh weight per acre. Plan other income while it grows.

Ginseng Rules: Harvest, Dealers, and Export

In New York, wild ginseng may be dug only between September 1 and November 30. Plants must be at least five years old, which means four stem scars on the root neck, and plants with green, unripe berries can't be taken.
When you dig a plant, you must plant all of its seeds in the soil within 50 feet of where it grew. Only the landowner, or someone with the landowner's written permission, may harvest, and digging on DEC land is allowed only for research.
Anyone in New York who buys ginseng to resell needs a DEC ginseng dealer permit, good for a calendar year. Dealers keep records of every transaction for three years and report the past year's ginseng business to DEC by January 15.
All New York ginseng headed out of state must be certified by DEC before it leaves. Dealers make an appointment with a regional inspector, who checks the roots for maturity. Out-of-state ginseng can't be certified as New York ginseng.
American ginseng has been on CITES Appendix II since 1975, so international shipments need a federal export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wild and wild-simulated roots for export must come from plants five years or older, so keep the root neck attached for inspection.

Selling Herbs and Herbal Products

Most new growers start by selling fresh or dried herbs by the bunch or the pound to farmers markets, restaurants, and small herbal product makers. Ask buyers what they need, how they want it dried and packed, and what quality they expect before you plant.
Once you start blending, packaging, or making teas and other products, the rules change. Call NYS Agriculture and Markets food safety before you sell anything processed, and ask whether you need a food processing license or home processor registration.
Don't make health claims about your herbs, on a label, a sign, or a website. If you plan to make products that are sold as supplements, read FDA's rules on supplement labeling and manufacturing before you start.
Some growers find it simpler to sell raw herbs to an established herbal company and let that company handle the product rules. If buyers want organic herbs, NOFA-NY can explain certification.

Organizations

United Plant Savers is a nonprofit that works to conserve native medicinal plants. It offers a free Forest Farmers Handbook, its at-risk plant list, a Forest Grown Verified program, and memberships for growers and herbal businesses.
The Cornell Small Farms Agroforestry Project helps farmers turn forested and marginal land into farm income. It shares forest farming resources and runs workshops, field tours, and an email list on ginseng, mushrooms, and other woodland crops.
The Agroforestry Resource Center at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties, in Acra, teaches ginseng production, mushroom growing, and plant identification on its 142-acre demonstration forest.
Northeast Forest Farmers Coalition is a regional network based at the Yale School of the Environment that supports forest farming of medicinal and edible plants in the Northeast. Free membership includes workshops, technical assistance, and a seed and root stock purchasing program, and the group has hosted a Northeast forest farming conference.
Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition is a network of forest farmers, landowners, universities, and agencies centered on the Appalachian region. It holds Forest Farming Office Hours open to growers from any region, offers webinars and a resource library on non-timber forest products, and hosts the Gather to Grow forest farming conference.
Herb Society of America is a national membership organization for people who grow and use herbs. It offers webinars, online courses, an Herb of the Month series, a weekly blog, and herb gardening basics.

Training and Help

Cornell Cooperative Extension offices host hands-on ginseng workshops in the woods. CCE Allegany County has a free ginseng cultivation workshop on October 29, 2026, in Franklinville, covering site selection, planting, and the rules. Your county office on our regional pages can tell you about others.
Cornell Small Farms' Getting Started Right for Successful Ginseng Production is a plain guide to wild-simulated growing in New York, written by a longtime Cornell ginseng educator.
Farm Ops from Cornell Small Farms offers training for veterans, and Armed to Farm runs farm training built for veterans.
SUNY Reconnect may cover tuition for an agriculture degree at a SUNY campus.

Benefits for Veterans

How to Get Started

Key Links

Sources: American Botanical Council; NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (6 NYCRR Part 193); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Cornell Small Farms Program; Cornell Cooperative Extension; United Plant Savers.