Forest Grown Verified Program

The Forest Grown Verified program was established to create a voluntary, third-party verification process for non-timber forest-grown products that are produced and harvested in a sustainable and legal manner.

Forest grown verification will benefit producers by:

Building consumer confidence, demand, and premium pricing
Protecting forest “crops” in the event of theft, land development, and legal matters through documentation
Making a difference in the conservation of forest botanicals

The program standards currently apply to producers, harvesters, processors, and handlers of select forest botanical products on forestland in the United States.

FGV Program Fees & Application

We are blessed in Appalachia with a diverse forest ecology when you compare the region to other temperate forests, but we are losing healthy forests at an unprecedented rate due to development and resource extraction. United Plant Savers' Forest Grown Verified program is not just any label – it is a compelling story.

The Forest Grown Verified program was established in 2014 by PCO with the support of UpS. In the summer of 2019, PCO passed control of the program to United Plant Savers. A new logo was developed and the transfer of the program completed.

Each verified forest farmer has a dynamic story of land stewardship, often taking decades of dedication to grow the forest botanicals in their care.

The Forest Farmers Handbook (Free Download)

The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in forest farming. And if not, perhaps you should be—forest farming can provide economic opportunities to the forest landowner or land steward while also providing significant environmental benefits, such as preserving forest cover and enhancing biodiversity through the reintroduction and establishment of new populations of at-risk forest ...
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Cultivation & Conservation Classes

A Grower's Track and Cultivation & Conservation Track were presented at the 2017 and 2019 International Herb Symposium. Both have been made available here with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Select a track title below to read the class descriptions and listen to the audio recordings. Grower’s Track (IHS 2017) Botanical, Macroscopic and Organoleptic Assessment of Herbal Ingredients for cGMP | Steven Yeager This hands-on workshop will provide a comprehensive orientation of botanical, ...
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Forest Grown Verified with Reflection on 19th Century Forest Farming

Click the link below to read and download a copy of the first issue of the Mountain Rose Herbs Journal. https://mountainroseherbs.com/content/journal/index.html Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest ...
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Farmers Head Into the Woods by Jane Tanner

Here’s a great article by Jane Turner discussing agroforestry growing as a way to diversify farms. She includes many examples of farmers who have begun incorporating and benefiting from its practice — taking pressure off wild populations at the same time. Download PDF Here Originally published in Growing for Market, Vol. 29 / Issue 9. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest ...
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Black Cohosh Cultivation & Growing Guide.

Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview (Actaea racemosa)Ranunculaceae Black cohosh is a perennial species that is commonly found growing along forest edges and in deeply shaded forest interiors throughout eastern North America. Black cohosh plants can grow as a single or multiple stem, each with three compound leaves containing multiple serrated leaflets. Plants are ...
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Bloodroot Cultivation & Growing Guide.

Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview (Sanguinaria canadensis)Papaveraceae Bloodroot is one of the most iconic and well-known spring wildflowers found in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. As an ephemeral species, bloodroot is one of the first plants to emerge and bloom in the spring, thus ensuring sufficient time for plants to capture ...
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Goldenseal Cultivation & Growing Guide.

Originally published in The Forest Farmers Handbook: A Beginners Guide to Growing and Marketing At-Risk Forest Herbs by United Plant Savers & Rural Action (available here). Overview Hydrastis canadensis(Ranunculaceae) Goldenseal is considered to be one of the most at-risk medicinal plants in the United States and is estimated to be at a high risk of extinction throughout its native range (Oliver, 2017). Goldenseal is typically found growing in densely clustered patches (Burkhart and Jacobson, 2006) on ...
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