Leader In Spearmint Production

Leader In Spearmint Production

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service Washington farmers grow mint on over thirty thousand acres and produced 3.6 million pounds of mint oil valued at $75.6 million in 2012. Rod Christensen, Executive Director with the Washington Mint Commission reports that so far this year the state’s mint crop looks good and has no major issues.

CHRISTENSEN: There’s two kinds of spearmint that we have Scotch and native, and both of them are enjoying good market conditions, and so far this year very good growing conditions.

Christensen explains that there was an increase in planting of Scotch spearmint over native spearmint by about 40% this spring in response to retail demand.

CHRISTENSEN: The market conditions are the result of some indications that end users are more disillusioned than usual over foreign produced oil and are turning back to U.S. oil because it’s good quality and stable quality and stable supply. So that’s all good news for us out here in the far west especially where we produce most of the spearmint.

Generally mint fields produce two cuttings, one in early summer and one in early fall.

CHRISTENSEN: Yeah, we’ve heard there was a grower that called today and said “I’m running”, which he’s always the first one out there, but most guys will probably be in the next week to two weeks they’ll start their first cutting.

Christensen says that recent rains haven’t hurt the mint crop but that it is getting to a point now that if it keeps raining it will definitely affect those growers who are in the process of knocking their mint down, since it’s not good for mint to be rained on once it’s cut.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.