Contributed by Ariel Pressman
You’ve probably seen elderberries growing in backyards and farms across the Upper Midwest. Maybe you have seen farmers selling elderberry products at the local farmers market. But did you know that the vast majority of elderberry concentrates and powders used in the US, essential to creating everything from nutraceuticals to elderberry-flavored foods, are imported from Europe?
Over $320,000,000 worth of elderberry ingredients are used in the US every year—with 95% of them being sourced from abroad. This is because most large scale purchasers of elderberry (like food and supplement companies) cannot purchase elderberries fresh—but rather need them in a different “format.” American Elderberries are unique in that they are both highly perishable and need to be “de-stemmed” before they can be processed into food or supplements. These two issues mean that most end-users need to purchase elderberries as juice, concentrate, or most often, powder.
Because the process of creating elderberry powder is complex, and requires a number of different pieces of specialized (and expensive) equipment, there has been little to no powder production in the US. This means US elderberry farmers that want to grow their production beyond a farmers market scale often don’t have enough sales opportunities to justify expanding their elderberry acreage.
Renewing the Countryside has spent the last several years working alongside, and supporting the work of, the Midwest Elderberry Cooperative (MEC) along with the Food Finance Institute in trying to remove barriers to increasing production of elderberries and other perennial fruits in the Upper Midwest.
The issues are complex and range from new market development, to funding infrastructure, to providing technical support to elderberry farmers. However, there have been a number of promising developments over the last two years to accelerate opportunities for Midwest elderberry production.
First, Midwest Elderberry Cooperative has received two grants through the Minnesota Department of Ag’s Continuous Living Crops program. The first is funding the development of a unique commercial scale de-stemmer which will allow farmers to efficiently de-stem their elderberries. This is an essential first step before American Elderberries can be processed that will significantly reduce costs for farmers, making it viable for many of them to add additional acres of elderberry production. The second grant will allow MEC to purchase a large cargo container freezer that will allow area farmers to quickly bulk-freeze and store their elderberry harvest.
Finally, MEC (with support from Renewing the Countryside) has received a multi-year grant from NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Services) that will allow for the first-ever production of Midwest-grown and -processed elderberry powder. The project will lead to 8,000 lbs of Midwest elderberries being processed into powder while also providing resources to establish a national customer base. Additional funds will go to support technical assistance and field days for farmers interested in starting to grow elderberries, or expanding their production acreage.
Increasing production of elderberries and other perennial crops in the Upper Midwest is essential to having a positive impact on climate change and soil health. Perennial crops can grow without the need for annual tillage, and have deep root systems that can prevent soil erosion while reducing the amount of annual fertilizer or other inputs needed compared to annual crops.
In addition, compared with more traditional row crops, elderberries and other perennial crops provide the potential for a different economic path for farms compared to traditional row crop production. Elderberries have a high profit potential per acre and can provide much needed crop diversification, helping family-scale farms stay economically viable into the future.
Keep an eye out for exciting developments in the coming year as we move forward in increasing elderberry production in the Upper Midwest.
This work is made possible through funding from the Walton Family Foundation and the Builders Initiative.
Photos courtesy Midwest Elderberry Cooperative