Ginger produced in the North Country can sell for four times the price of “conventional” ginger and therefore could be a high-value crop, according to recent field trials conducted by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

The recent field trials included budgeting for growing the alternative high-tunnel crops of ginger, turmeric, summer lettuce and basil. Growers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, at farms in Carthage, Glenfield, Malone, Peru, Potsdam and Willsboro hosted field trials for the project. The development program provides grants for on-farm research and projects in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

A project survey evaluated market opportunities for North Country-grown ginger.

“Buyers indicated they enjoy the pleasant, light and surprisingly fresh taste of the northern New York-grown ginger,” said Cornell Cooperative Extension regional marketing specialist Bob Weybright, who conducted the survey. “Small-volume, high-margin ginger sales for fresh market sales appear feasible for farmers with high tunnel or greenhouse structures.”

However, Weybright states in the project results report that the limited survey and the noted high-return income opportunity do not necessarily support large-scale production expansion without evaluating value-added processing costs to extend crop value beyond the short fresh harvest window.

NNYADP says the project is a response to grower-identified needs and opportunities related to extending the growing and sales seasons in northern New York. The group also claims the project draws on previous projects.

Some farms in the six-county region currently grow ginger on a small scale for community supported agriculture or farmers markets.

The Advancing Season Extension and Protected Cultured Efficiency report is on www.nnyagdev.org.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the state Senate and administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.