Final report for ONE21-393
Project Information
Elderberries have potential as a cash crop for small, diversified farms in Appalachia. Lack of information about any specialty crop translates into risk for beginning farmers. There are still many unknown factors related to elderberry production in West Virginia. For example, 1) What are the most vigorous, highest-yielding cultivated varieties available for producers? 2) What is the establishment time; and, 3) Can wild-harvested elderberries be located and used for value-added processing An additional objective of this Partnership Grant was establishing a connection with new producers. Establishment of a perennial crop such as elderberries exceeded the time period of this SARE Partnership Grant. However, we have rated 'Marge' and 'Nova' as two vigorous cultivars which will likely result in high marketable yield. Clonal wild plantings have been identified in 5 counties in West Virginia. Germplasm from these sites have been taken and added to the ongoing variety evaluations. We are continuing to get information on additional wild elderberry plantings. Establishment of the varieties was observed to take approximately 3-4 years, and the crop can be established on sloped terrain. Input costs are continuing to be recorded to modify the existing budget in the new West Virginia-Kentucky Elderberry Production Guide. Conferences, workshops, classes and on-farm tours promoted elderberries and educated landowners on this potentially profitable crop.
This SARE Partnership Project will increase knowledge and skills related to elderberry as a cultivated and wild-harvested non-timber forest crop for small farms in West Virginia. This will be accomplished by:
- Ten cultivars of elderberry including the varieties 'Adams', 'Johns', 'Nova', 'Bob Gordon', 'Pocahontas' ,'York', 'Marge', Wyldewood', 'Samyl' and 'Samdal' were planted in April 2022, 2023, and 2024. The drought of 2024 resulted in a loss of some (approximately 10%) elderberry plants in the cultivar trial. Additional plants were ordered and will be replanted in 2025 to establish a full stand of plants for future evaluation. Also, we have enlisted one additional organic farm cooperator in the trial.
- Evaluating organic and conventional production of cultivated elderberries.
- Create awareness of wild-harvested elderberries plantings in West Virginia.
- Evaluating the economics of (organic- and conventional-grown) cultivated and wild-harvested elderberries in West Virginia.
- Expanding the knowledge of landowners and small farmers on elderberry production, value-added processing and marketing as a commercial crop.
An average West Virginia or Appalachian small farm is a patchwork of pasture, riparian bottom land, and woodlots. Using all components of the farm to produce food and fiber is the formula for keeping small farms viable. In land area, West Virginia is the fifth most forested state in the United States. Research, development and promotion of non-timber, woodlot crops will significantly increase farm or landowner income across West Virginia. Woodlot crops such as ramps, ginseng and elderberries are native to central Appalachia and can have strong market potential both in and out of state. Some of these specialty crops have been overharvested from public lands such as the Monongahela National Forest. Creating a supply chain from private landowners and cultivated production will prevent excessive over-harvest and damage to public lands.
Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis sp.,) are native perennial fruits to eastern North America and Appalachia. Throughout West Virginia, there are many native plantings of elderberries which are often adjacent to woodlots, streams and other areas of otherwise idle or uncultivated land. The demand for elderberry food extracts and nutraceutical products has dramatically increased in the last 10 years. Surprisingly. much of the domestic production of elderberries has been in other U.S. regions such as New England and the Midwest A significant quantity of elderberry extracts and products are imported from Europe. Moreover, there is very small production of cultivated elderberry varieties in West Virginia. Unlike other types of berries (e.g., blueberries. brambles, etc.), elderberries may require value-added processing infrastructure.
WVU Extension will partner with Chris Yura, a food entrepreneur, native West Virginian and beginning farmer. Leasing his family farm in central West Virginia, Chris is investing in processing infrastructure to create new, value-added Appalachian food products with the West Virginia Harvest label. The farm has successfully aggregated and marketed wild ramps. The processed product will be elderberry syrup and frozen elderberries which will be marketed through the West Virginia Harvest label.
WVU Extension is uniquely qualified to research, facilitate and promote production, harvest and value-added processing of cultivated and wild elderberries. Dr. Jett, the WVU State Horticulture Extension Specialist, WVU Extension Agents and the partner farmer will begin evaluation of cultivated elderberry varieties at the WVU Organic-Horticulture Farm in Morgantown and the partnership farm in Lewis County, WV. In addition, counties in West Virginia will be canvassed to identify native plantings of elderberries for wild harvest. Superior clones of wild elderberries will be identified by WVU Extension team members, cuttings taken and incorporated in the variety trial blocks. This SARE Partnership Grant will create a network of growers who can create a supply chain for a wild-harvested, Appalachian crop. In addition, superior cultivars of cultivated elderberries will be identified.
Cooperators
- (Educator)
- - Producer
- - Producer
Research
- Field plot evaluation of tame and wild elderberry varieties
Beginning in April 2022, 8 cultivars of American elderberry (Sambucus nigra L. subsp. canadensis (L.) and at least 2 European elderberry (Sambucus nigra) cultivars were established at sites in West Virginia. Plantings were established at the WVU Organic Horticulture Farm in Morgantown, WV (39.6⁰ N. lat). The site chosen was a south-facing hillside of marginal soil quality. This site will demonstrate whether elderberry can be grown on marginal agriculture land The second planting site for elderberry cultivar evaluations was at Hall Farm in Lewis County (39.0 N. lat.), WV which is the farm leased by Mr. Chris Yura, owner and founder of West Virginia Harvest. The farm is a representative Appalachian farm (264 acres) with some abandoned mine land, meadows, pasture and forests. The site was in a bottomland with no deer fencing. The Hall Farm may have a centralized processing facility for non-timber forest products such as elderberries, ramps and ginseng, The partnership farm is very close (5 miles) from the WVU Extension Jackson Mills Facility which serves as a education center for thousands of West Virginians each year.
Since elderberry is primarily wind-pollinated, the rows were oriented to facilitate air movement across the planting. A soil test was taken before planting and supplemental blood meal and compost was applied to the plants within the planting hole. In addition, a mid-season application of Chilean nitrate was applied to each plant. Each variety was replicated three times and arranged in a randomized complete block experimental design. The planting will be managed organically at the WVU Farm and conventionally at the Hall Farm. Plants were spaced 4 feet apart with rows 10 feet apart. Each planting block is approximately 0.5 acres in area. Solid-set irrigation will be used at each planting location depending on natural rainfall. The planting was established in 2022 and no data were collected. Beginning in 2024, data collected will include plant height, vigor, days to harvest, average fruit weight and size, ease of picking, marketable yield and brix (soluble solids) of the fruit. Getting the plants established may take several years. Flowers from the plants will be removed to encourage vegetative growth and establishment, Yield will be measured once the plants have become well-established at each location. Data will be analyzed using SAS and incorporated into research reports and fact sheets.
- Facilitating a wild harvest supply chain of elderberries in West Virginia
WVU Extension personnel working with this project will help in identify landowners and sites in West Virginia with elderberries for wild harvest. Using the resources and connections such as the WVU Extension Small Farm Center listserv, Extension Master Gardeners and long-standing, professional contacts with landowners in the state, tracts of land with elderberry plantings will be identified. In 2022, an article published in the West Virginia Department of Agriculture Market Bulletin and in-person conversations with landowners allowed us to identify 10 sites for wild elderberry harvest beginning in 2023. Clonal patches of wild elderberries in northern and central West Virginia counties (Barbour, Braxton, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Ohio, Preston, Randolph and Upshur Counties) with wild elderberry plantings will ultimately be identified. Based on personal communication with Terry Dunham from River Hills Elderberry Cooperative, at least 1000 lbs. of elderberries harvested per year would justify the capital expense of a mechanical washer/de-stemmer (T.E.D. Destemmer). Interested landowners will then have the option of leasing the rights to harvest elderberries and other non-forest timber products from their land from Chris Yura (i.e., West Virginia Harvest). The landowners will be given a royalty from West Virginia Harvest based on the final yield and fair market value of the products. With permission from the landowner, the elderberry site(s) will be GIS-mapped; the planting area size measured (ft2); and multiple-harvested by either the landowner or employees of West Virginia Harvest. An assessment of the planting vigor, days to harvest, harvest frequency, berry size, harvestable yield and fruit brix will be made by WVU Extension Agents, Chris Yura and cooperating landowners involved in this project. If the plants have unique horticultural traits, hardwood cuttings will be taken in late winter and added to variety trials.
Inputs associated with conventional and organic elderberry production will be recorded to generate enterprise budgets. Harvest labor for the wild plantings will be recorded as well as other production and marketing costs.
Elderberry production, harvest, postharvest handing and processing education and training
To expand interest and knowledge related to elderberries in West Virginia, a series of workshops detailing culture and marketing of elderberries as a specialty crop will be conducted. To expand interest and knowledge related to elderberries in West Virginia, a series of workshops detailing culture and marketing of elderberries as a specialty crop will be conducted. As part of the West Virginia Small Farm Conference, elderberries will be presented as a small fruit track and Patrick Byers, University of Missouri Extension, will be am invited speaker. On-farm workshops or tours will be conducted est Virginia Small Farm Conference, elderberries will be presented as a small fruit track and Patrick Byers, University of Missouri Extension, will be am invited speaker. On-farm workshops or tours will be conducted
Table 1. WVU Agriculture and Natural Resource Extension Agent Collaborators and Partner Farm.
|
Name |
County |
|
Jodi Carpenter |
Barbour |
|
Lewis Jett/Chris Yura |
Gilmer |
|
Jennifer Friend |
Harrison |
|
Bruce Loyd |
Lewis |
|
Lisa Jones |
Ohio |
In 2022 and 2023, research and on-farm, replicated elderberry cultivar trials were initially established. Plant establishment (i.e., survival) was approximately 70% at the WVU Organic Horticulture Farm and 50% at the Hall Farm. Additional planting were conducted in April, 2023 to replace plants which exhibited low vigor or death. In 2024, there was a significant drought which affected survival and establishment of some of the plants in the trial. Supplemental irrigation was not available to the planting sites. A vigor rating (1-10) of each cultivar was made in 2024. Vigor was assessed as overall vegetative growth including size and cane numbers.
Vigor ratings of the cultivars indicated that the most vigorous cultivars were 'Marge' (8.8) and 'Nova' (7.0) followed by 'Samdal' (7.0) and 'Samyl (6.8).' 'Marge' is a hybrid between the American canadensis elderberry and the European elderberry. Berry size of 'Marge' was also large, and the variety is self-pollinated. 'Samdal' and 'Samyl' are European cultivars with large berry size. It was determined that data from berry yield could not be taken since the cultivars were not equally established. Flowers were removed from the majority of plants at each site to enhance vegetative growth and vigor while new plants were being planted to fill-in lost plants and create a planting in which all of the cultivars were at par with each other. The challenge with conducting research with perennial crops is that establishment may take a variable length of time.
Elderberries are a perennial crop which can be established on sloped, marginal land in West Virginia. The organic planting block is a sloped hillside pasture paddock. The crop had a significant stand loss, but approximately 65% of the plants were established across all varieties. At the conventional planting site in Lewis County, WV, the percent establishment was lower (50%), given the higher density of deer which surprised us. It was initially hypothesized that elderberries, being a native Appalachian plant was not a preferred browsing food for deer. However, it is now certain that deer exclusion fencing will be added as a fixed cost associated with growing elderberries commercially.
Five wild elderberry sites were identified in a 5-county (Harrison, Barbour, Monongahela, Lewis, Upshur) region of northcentral West Virginia. Each of these sites is within a 75-mile radius from the Hall Farm in Lewis County, WV. Thus, Chris Yura will be able to source wild elderberries from these sites for future aggregation of his wild elderberry products. Cuttings from the most vigorous clones was taken from these of these sites and were added to the variety trial block. Given that the planting date will vary with other varieties, it was decided to forestall data collection on marketable yield, quality, postharvest attributes and processing until all varieties were at equal stand percentages and vigorous enough to support a crop load. This is one of the challenges to perennial crop research and production. The establishment phase is often variable and usually does not occur within the time period initially planned.
Output activities such as popular press articles, a fact sheet, conference classes, field days and tours all developed the interest in growing elderberries as a cash crop in West Virginia. Plants were exhibited and production practices discussed and presented to interested producers. The partnership cooperators in this project are stewarding the planting blocks to first harvest and the data collected over time from these partners as well as our WVU planting will provide data for growers to make an informed decision about whether to grow elderberries in their region.
Education & Outreach Activities and Participation Summary
Participation Summary:
Output from the SARE Partnership Grant has included printed and digital fact sheets, workshops, field days and conferences. An elderberry production and marketing fact sheet was created in 2022 and will be revised with additional information from the elderberry variety trial through the SARE Elderberry Project.
In addition, WVU Extension jointly created a regional elderberry fact sheet with the University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification which reaches a wide audience of farmers in Appalachia. In 2023, a new Elderberry fact sheet was written with Matt Ernst from the University of Kentucky Crop Diversification Center.
Approximately five workshops, meetings and tours were conducted at Cooperator's farms and the WVU Organic Horticulture Farm over the course of this project duration. In 2023, elderberries were featured at the WVU Organic Farming Systems Farm Field Day on August 19, 2023 in Morgantown, WV. In 2024, elderberries were established on a new cooperator's farm (Turtle on a Post Farm) in Harrison County, WV. This farm also hosted a Farm Crawl event that exhibited the new elderberry planting to approximately 40 attendees.
The WVU Extension Small Farm Conference is held each year in Charleston, WV and has an attendance of nearly 500. The attendees are eager to learn new information on specialty crops. In 2023 and 2024 there was an elderberry track discussing the production and processing potential of elderberries for West Virginia land owners. Each session was recorded and made available to the public through the WVU Extension Small Farm Center website (https://extension.wvu.edu/agriculture/small-farm-center)
Popular press publications such as the West Virginia Dept. of Agriculture Market Bulletin, West Virginia Farm Bureau News and the West Virginia University Extension Small Farm Advocate Newsletter, in which Dr. Jett is an invited contributor were used as outlet publications for sharing and promoting elderberries as well as recruiting interested landowners with native, wild elderberry plantings.
Learning Outcomes
At the 2023 West Virginia Small Farm Conference in Charleston, WV exit surveys of attendees indicated that their was a significant increase in knowledge related to growing and marketing elderberries. During the presentations given by Chris Yura and Lewis Jett, there were many questions from attendees on planting, spacing, fertilization, harvesting and processing elderberries.
Project Outcomes
The elderberry project was an interesting project since it exposed beginning farmers to an entirely new crop. Elderberries have drifted to the background of crops that growers often think about when diversifying their farms. Many of the attendees (based on discussions) at the field days at conference sessions had never seen elderberries up close. Thus, exposing a new crop option was a measurable output for this project. For the cooperating farm partners, the elderberries were added to their existing farm business. At this stage, the crop is still in the process of getting established. However, cooperators have become knowledgeable about elderberry variety characteristics, planting, mulching and fertilization.
The objectives of this Partnership Grant were planned on the basis that a certain timeline would be achieved. However, it was discovered that the establishment period for elderberries was significantly longer than projected. We thought we could be measuring yields by year 2, but based on our trials, 4 years may be a reasonable lag time to have the crop established and ready to support a crop. Perennial crops are uniquely variable, but accomplishing the goals of introducing elderberries as a potential cash crop and connecting with dedicated, interested young producers was a significant achievement. Often, a grant is just a catalyst for creating something new. This Partnership Grant enabled me to "introduce" a native crop to beginning farmers in West Virginia. I addition, many home gardeners who attended the tours, field days and classes become interested in growing elderberries as a garden or landscape crop/plant. I feel the results are incomplete at this time, but are on track to be fulfilled in the coming years and will provide a base of knowledge which will be helpful to new producers in the future.