Mint production falls

Drop in yield comes when prices are up

By Ty Beaver

Klamath Falls Herald and News

September 6, 2007
   

   A variety of problems are resulting in a diminished mint harvest this year in the Klamath Basin as well as the rest of the Pacific Northwest . 

   Harry Carlson, director of the Intermountain Research and Extension Center in Tulelake, said the loss could be as much as a quarter less than average with fields typically producing only about three-fourths of their normal mint oil output. 

   “Just about all the fields were down,” he said. 

   About 2,000 acres of mint grow around Tulelake and just north of the Oregon-California border. The mint is then distilled into oil. In normal years, yields can be from 80 to 100 pounds of oil per acre. 

   This year most fields were at 70 pounds of oil per acre, with the rare one reaching 100 pounds.
   
Reasons for loss    

   Among the speculated causes is mint root bore, which causes stand loss. Carlson said winter kill, a result of late spring frosts, also may be a culprit. Mint growers throughout the Pacific Northwest have had their own problems leading to diminished harvests. 

   Prices for mint are strong, but Carlson said they will need to increase if the industry wishes to maintain the acreage it has instead of losing growers to other crops. 

   “Mint prices are up, but so is everything else,” he said.

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