Change Must Occur in Kentucky's American Ginseng Legislation

The people of Kentucky do not have access to obtaining ginseng rootlets, seedlings, and other things related to ginseng production from out of state. This is a travesty. Wild-simulated, woods-grown, and cultivated ginseng should not be regulated the same as true wild American ginseng. We the people are calling on Anna Lucio to push for a change in Kentucky ginseng legislation. These are the changes that we believe should be made in forming a wild-simulated, woods-grown, and cultivated ginseng grower's program in the state of Kentucky:

Wild-simulated ginseng should be defined as being roots grown from woods-grown ginseng seeds. Wild-simulated, woods-grown, and cultivated ginseng should have completely separate legislation rather than being regulated as if it were true wild American ginseng.

Woods-grown ginseng should be defined as ginseng grown from purchased seeds, planted in a forest setting with amendments to the soil, or grown in ground that has been tilled. These amendments would include fertilizer and pesticides if necessary.

Growers of wild-simulated, woods-grown, or cultivated ginseng should be allowed to transplant rootlets at any age, or sell rootlets to buyers within or outside of the state of Kentucky.

Growers of wild-simulated, woods-grown, or cultivated ginseng should be allowed to collect and stratify seeds from these plants and make those seeds available to the general public.

Ginseng growers should be allowed to sell potted plants from wild-simulated, woods-grown or cultivated seed from a nursery, or at a farmer's market.

Ginseng growers who have established a crop of wild-simulated, woods-grown, or cultivated ginseng on their property should be recognized, and be protected from plant confiscation.

The state of Kentucky should allow legally harvested wild ginseng rootlets to be transplanted to private property for protection and stewardship. Also, wild ginseng transplants on private property should be labeled as woods-grown or wild-simulated allowing for rootlets and seed propagation sales. The state should also allow the sale of value-added products created from wild-simulated, woods-grown, or cultivated ginseng  including but not limited to alcohol tinctures, jellies, cosmetics, supplements, or tea leaves.

Kentucky growers should be allowed to certify their own wild-simulated, woods-grown, or cultivated ginseng roots on personally-owned scales that will be certified by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Upon certification of any roots, a copy of the certified grown ginseng document will be sent to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for record keeping.

Ginseng growers should be allowed a set date/time to certify their scales along with wild ginseng dealers on an annual basis.

American ginseng that is confiscated should be replanted in a designated area, owned by the state of Kentucky, to be used as a seed bank to replenish our wild American ginseng population.

Ginseng growers will provide a record of all activity once a year to the Kentucky Ginseng Management Program. This document(s) will be mailed to their address and returned with any and all information pertaining to seeds planted, seeds sold, rootlets sold(whether for export or personal use), and any other pertinent information as required by the state of Kentucky.

The state should allow an unlimited number of lots of wild ginseng to be certified, allowing for private sale of single certified wild ginseng rootlets through eBay, or any other online marketplace.