"Ginseng Queen" Buys From Hunters

Ginseng Queen Buys From Hunters CROPS New Crops After nearly 35 years of buying ginseng Marian Ahnen has earned the title Ginseng Queen according to her children and the ginseng hunters who’ve become part of her extended family In September Ahnen celebrates her 82nd birthday and if it’s like past years customers will bring treats and help her celebrate as she inspects weighs and buys the ginseng they bring her The hunters ages 15 to 81 appreciate having a local buyer in southwest Wisconsin The rich soil is ideal for growing ginseng which provides welcome income for ginseng diggers Last year prices were good and Ahnen paid $1 000/lb for dried ginseng but bought mostly green ginseng which takes 3 to 4 lbs to yield a pound of dried ginseng Ahnen explains that she buys for Paul Hsu in Wausau Wis He pays for the $500 buyers license that allows her to buy up to 1 000 lbs of dry ginseng As a buyer Ahnen is required by the local Department of Natural Resources to keep detailed records including names and license numbers of people she buys from and how many pounds she purchases from each county Ginseng hunters travel from about a 100-mile radius to sell to her Over the years she’s noticed a decrease in the size of ginseng roots as all the older ones have been harvested It’s also harder for ginseng harvesters to find places to hunt They can’t dig on public land and many landowners stopped giving permission to hunt when prices topped $500/lb “There’s a lot of red tape ” Ahnen says “Ginseng should be at least 10 years or older to dig You count the rings on the neck of the root ” She also needs to know the difference between wild ginseng and woods-grown ginseng planted from seed “I can’t buy it woods-grown That requires a different license ” she says Buying ginseng begins in September and runs through early January Most hunters deliver the ginseng personally but Ahnen also receives shipments from Iowa which have been certified by that state’s DNR Last year Ahnen filled out more than 800 receipts Though September can be very busy and the paperwork overwhelming Ahnen says she is grateful for the work Initially she was reluctant to take over the job from her late husband in 1980 after he became disabled from two heart attacks emphysema and diabetes But the money she makes has been important in supplementing her social security so she can remain in her home When she talks about retiring the ginseng hunters insist she can’t quit “You get so attached to them - not only as good customers but as good friends also ” Ahnen says She adds she has another “family” in the spring when she buys morel mushrooms at $18 to $19/lb That’s another story about a business that Ahnen developed on her own in 1984 She bought 2 000 lbs of morel mushrooms her first day in business and never looked back Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Marian Ahnen 209 S Fourth St Readstown Wis 54652 ph 608 629-5117

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