Alternative crops, including herbs, spices, flowers and decorative grasses, are making their presence known in the marketplace.
These novel crops are starting to be recognized for their commercial opportunities.
For those interested in this new sector, deciding what to grow is difficult because assessing demand for different crops isn’t easy.
“This year, pussy willows were in great demand,” said Katie Benschop, owner and operator of Blooming Prairie in Edmonton.
“The business turned over almost twice as many pussy willows as last year and ran out of stock every few days. It was reported that in New York city, pussy willows were selling for $70 U.S. a bundle.”
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Some of the crops with commercial potential in the ornamental plant area are millet, durum, oats, poppies, flax and numerous varieties of flowers.
Across the Prairies, the dried flower business has developed with quite a few growers and many customers.
“One of the next steps in the ornamental grasses and flower industry involves value-added processing, such as glycerine treatments and dyeing,” said Benschop.
“There is a very strong interest in herbs, too. St. John’s Wort is being planted from Lethbridge to Grande Prairie and many growers are trying echinacea. The demand for dried culinary herbs is also growing and there is room for many more growers in this market.”
Fresh herbs are also under-produced and new growers on a medium scale would likely find a market supplying the local restaurant and grocery trade. Larger volume growers usually concentrate on the dried herb market.
A big area of interest is the production of seeds of native wild flowers, grasses and woody plants for reclamation and horticultural uses. Municipal and industrial plantings make up a large part of this market.
Collecting seed from the wild isn’t sustainable so some farmland must be used for these specialty seeds. The market for non-native seeds of all types is also underdeveloped and is another area growers could consider.
Production of fresh flowers for the summer market isn’t keeping up with demand this year, either.
Supply is low and that means there’s room for new growers of field-grown fresh cuts for urban markets.
Alberta Agriculture’s crop diversification centres are researching alternative crops, said Stan Blade, special crops agronomist with the department.
“Alberta’s special crop growers need to develop all the skills and the infrastructure for production, processing, handling and marketing.
“It is something that will take time, a little trial and error and success, but growing herb, spice, essential oil, decorative grasses and flower crops can be a profitable venture.”
For information on special crop field days and workshops, contact Blade at 403-422-1789 or Katie Benschop at 403-431-1451.
A list of events is also available on the Blooming Prairie website. It is:
www.agric.gov.ab.ca/ministry/agrinews/agrn9829.html#blooming.
