An ARC ARISE Implementation Pre-Application

Accelerating Forest Farming
in Central Appalachia

Implementing Market Connections and Collaboration
for Long-Term Sector Impact and Sustainability

Accelerating Forest Farming builds on a yearlong ARC ARISE planning project and years of multi-organizational collaboration across Central Appalachia.

The project focuses on five technical pillars that expand the capacity and competitiveness of a rapidly growing base of forest farmers and associated businesses. Virginia Tech leads region-wide initiatives that amplify community and industry commitments to improve livelihoods and private sector investment.

Virginia Tech University is the lead organization and coordinates all integrated partner organization activities over five years across 159 counties in six states.
Appalachian Sustainable Development directs marketing, processing, aggregation, and distribution enhancement.
North Carolina State University manages field cultivation and nursery production programs.
Rural Action focuses on workforce development.
Future Generations University leads business planning and tourism initiatives.

The project also supports scaling advanced training and education services for forest farmers throughout the region led by six partner organizations.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont

Grow Appalachia at Berea College

Organic Association of Kentucky

Organic Growers School

United Plant Savers

Yew Mountain Center

Kentucky: Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay, Elliot, Estill, Floyd, Garrard, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Metcalfe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Whitley, Wolfe;

North Carolina: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surrey, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, Yancey;

Ohio: Adams, Athens, Coshocton, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Noble, Perry, Pike, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, Washington;

Tennessee: Bledsoe, Blount, Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington;

Virginia: Alleghany, Bath, Buchanan, Caroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Highland, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Bristol City, Wise and Norton City, Wythe;

West Virginia: Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Dodridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia, Monroe, Nichols, Ohio, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, Wayne, Webster

Pre-Application Narrative

Accelerating Forest Farming - Statement of Need or Opportunity

Appalachian Non-Timber Forest Products & Markets

Appalachian forests are home to more than 100 commercial NTFP species. Indigenous uses of NTFPs in Appalachia date back generations and commercial trade to the 18th century. Today, 50% of the medicinal NTFP species harvested and sold into the global nutraceutical market – a multi-billion-dollar sector that has grown annually for more than 20 years – are native to Appalachia. Focused studies (Kruger et al. 2020a, Smith et al. 2022) estimated that over 1.5 million pounds of fresh raw material of 11 medicinal NTFP species (excluding ginseng) were sold in the eastern US in 2014, with Appalachia accounting for most of the volume. In 2018, herbal woodland botanicals, many native to Appalachia, contributed $12.35 billion in retail sales to the $42.6 billion US dietary supplement industry.

Traditional Medicinals Creating Jobs in VA

Herbal tea company set to break ground in Franklin County, 5 years after initial announcement

July 29,2025 - Herbal tea company set to break ground in Franklin County, VA, 5 years after initial announcement

Strengthening Appalachian NTFP Economies –

Wild Harvesting Constraints and Forest Farming Opportunities

Virginians Are Restoring a Forest Economy Built on Herbs and Tradition

Virginia-Farmers-Are-Reviving-a-Traditio

May 20, 2025 - NYT: Virginians Are Restoring a Forest Economy Built on Herbs and Tradition

NTFP markets are rapidly scaling and evolving, and NTFP-dependent companies and businesses are increasingly concerned about the effects of growth on resource sustainability, workforce capacity, and product development and quality (Chittum et al. 2019). Appalachia’s historical prominence presents a place-based economic development opportunity. Yet the full potential is hampered by the informal and imperfect nature of the region’s status quo NTFP economy (Vaughan et al. 2013).

Forest Farming is an agroforestry practice involving the intentional cultivation and stewardship of marketable NTFPs in forested habitats where they naturally grow. It ranges from intensive understory monocropping to simple field horticulture techniques that sustain wild stand health and productivity. Forest farming is well-suited to leverage and amplify local to international consumer investments in the Appalachian marketplace because it overcomes market informalities and imperfections by standardizing production, improving quality, connecting communities and industry, sustaining NTFP resources, and inspiring enterprise and product line innovation.

The Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition – One Appalachia Model

The Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition (AFFC, formerly the ABFFC) is a ten-year old multiorganizational and multistate partnership led by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) serving over 3,100 forest farmers and stakeholders. The coalition’s goal is to increase awareness and cultivation of value-added forest-grown NTFPs across Appalachia through education, technical training, and networking, as well as to support conservation efforts through NTFP stewardship. AFFC organizations have long collaborated across state lines focusing on expansive Appalachian forested ecosystems not accorded to state boundaries where habitat for marketable NTFPs exists.

Strengthening the Appalachian Forest Farming Economy

AFFC-Partner-Map-Google-My-Maps-01-24-2025_05_02_PM.png

The AFFC has improved production capacities and financial opportunities for Appalachian forest farmers. Product price points are six to 10-fold higher, at a minimum, for forest farmers who have worked with the AFFC to secure purchase orders from discerning industries and businesses. AFFC forest farmers apply cultivation and stewardship methods learned through coalition offerings as well as tap into organized farm assistance programs and buyer networks.

AFFC efforts, particularly in Central Appalachia, over the past 10 years have accelerated forest farming uptake and increased value-added market connections. AFFC member surveys indicate that more than 100 forest farms have been established in the past 8 years. The AFFC was highlighted in the Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) 2022 report Agriculture and Local Food Economies in the Appalachian Region, which noted forest farming has “…an opportunity to meet the growing demand for native, locally grown edible and medicinal forest products …” and grow and diversify income.

Increasing Appalachian NTFP market value is especially important given many areas with high volume NTFP trade align closely with the ARC-designated Distressed counties in Central Appalachia (Kruger et al. 2020b). Much of this region has experienced multidecadal employment decline in industries such as coal and manufacturing (ARC 2024).

Accelerating the next phase of Appalachian forest farming requires investment to increase market share and price premium capture, boost industry investments in contracts and infrastructure, inspire Appalachian product line development, ensure resource and sector sustainability, and enhance livelihoods and communities

With Virginia Tech (VT) as project lead, 11 AFFC partner organizations completed ARISE Planning in 2024 focusing on six states in the Central Appalachian region. Seven plans provide a blueprint for a Five-year Implementation Project with 11 partners serving 159 Appalachian Regional Commission Counties in six Appalachian States (OH, KY, NC, TN, VA, WV).

Market scale is large in Central Appalachia and capturing additional market share and increasing value requires Technical Advancement on five fronts:

Accelerating Forest Farming - Project Description

1) Increasing MPAD services enhances price-premium market opportunities by providing post-harvest NTFP processing and sales assistance that coordinates raw material chain-of-custody, meets consumer quality requirements, and is afforded to all producers throughout the project footprint;

2) Expanding Workforce Development expands the number of trained individuals and organizations that possess appropriate knowledge and skills to participate in and support forest farming production systems as well as secondary sectors such as MPAD services, nursery production, and education and technical assistance;

3) Improving Planting Stock Production and Improved Farm Practices addresses gaps in secondary businesses and farmer support, such as nurseries and farm equipment suppliers, and seeks to improve production-function models that increase forest farm efficiencies and profits and support adjacent advancement initiatives;

4) Business Formation elevates the durability of forest farming and enhances opportunities for financial assistance and safety nets as well as local enterprise paralleling technical growth;

5) Tourism and Culture initiatives raise Appalachia’s local-to-international forest farming profile, generate from visitors and locals alike, and complement other regional destination-driven networks on the rise across the region.

AFFC technical training and education programs have been the backbone of producer recruitment and support. Baseline Services provide technical training, education, and outreach programming, recruit new forest farmers, and assists those presently farming, as well as leveraging unique partner initiatives to increase a capable base of Appalachian forest farmers as well as leverage technical advances.

Groundwork Initiatives focused on enhancing industry investment as well as revisioning community NTFP connections bolster economic prospects. Strengthening industry investment in Appalachia’s forest farming economy and establishing Appalachia as an international forest farming model are goals, as well as revisioning the cultural and historical importance of NTFPs in Appalachia by reconnecting communities to NTFP resources and affording agency in shaping the future economy.

Accelerating Forest Farming - Partnerships

AFFC member Appalachian Sustainable Development in Virginia has made significant strides in the past eight years improving forest farming MPAD services and will expand efforts throughout the project footprint.

AFFC member Rural Action in Ohio has led NTFP Workforce Development for the AFFC and other forest farming and agricultural initiatives and will expand efforts throughout the project footprint.

AFFC member North Carolina State University’s Mountain Horticultural Crops and Research Center in North Carolina has a rich history studying and transferring Appalachian NTFP production science and applications and will focus on expanding Planting Stock Production and Improved Farm Practices throughout the project footprint.

AFFC member Future Generations University has a demonstrable track-record supporting Business Formation among forest farmers and will also use the ARISE tourism-focused plan to conduct Tourism and Culture initiatives throughout the project footprint.

AFFC members Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMI) in Tennessee, Grow Appalachia (GA) and Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) in Kentucky, Organic Growers School (OGS) in North Carolina, United Plant Savers (UPS) in Ohio, and Yew Mountain Center (YMC) in West Virginia will provide Baseline Services including technical training, education, farmer support programs, and stakeholder engagement, among others.

Accelerating Forest Farming - Outputs and Outcomes

Building Appalachian Businesses

This project establishes the entrepreneurial framework needed to empower business creation and innovation in the forest farming sector. Additionally, the project stimulates growth of existing businesses through value-added production lines that attract new industry investment and partnerships as well as increase local and regional engines of economic development.

Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem

The multi-organizational project team leverages expertise to develop a forest farming training and workforce support pipeline. This programming will be accessible through multiple delivery modalities and support services and integrated into the fabric of all project facets. Activities will equip a workforce with the necessary skills to be competitive in a growing Appalachian industry. Outputs and Outcomes below will be accomplished during Implementation.

Accelerating Forest Farming - Feasability

The proposed Implementation Project is the result of a year-long ARISE-funded Planning Project. Planning was completed in December 2024 with grant documentation and reporting finalized in 2025. The Planning Project was a comprehensive assessment across three focal areas: Technical Advancement; Baseline Services; and Groundwork Initiatives. The Planning Project expanded collaborators across the project footprint. Advisory committees, listening sessions, and industry panels, the regionwide survey, and active presence among all partners expanded the number of entities informed about the project and elevated stakeholder input on future needs and involvement by nearly ten-fold. These associations generated new avenues for investment or influence, which will be actualized during the proposed Implementation Project. The Planning Project also resulted in a comprehensive tracking methodology to illustrate project impact, which will allow for easy-to-report performance metrics.

Accelerating Forest Farming - Financial Sustainability

Project partners have long envisioned a multi-state economic development funding program that would provide the ideal regional prescription for addressing known forest farming sector bottlenecks. Previous funding sources largely confined efforts to technical training, producer startup funding, promotional and awareness programs, and often restricted resource distribution according to state boundaries. Integrating partners in support of a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem with economic development at its core represents an unprecedented opportunity to achieve a lasting outcome that has otherwise been elusive.

Support for the broad array of integrated partner activities will drive a comprehensive response to multiple challenges and cement Appalachia’s ability to capitalize on the fast-developing and high-profile forest farming bioeconomy. This is a game-changer for regional producers, associated businesses, and forest-dependent communities. Many of the beneficiaries including forest farmers and local and regional businesses will increase and/or realize new value-added revenue, signaling a lasting impact as demand for Appalachian forest farming products continues a growth trajectory fueled by Implementation Project accomplishments and impacts.