TOPIC: Ginseng Reality Show coming to a holler near you

I thought it must be different there. We dont have the same here about the gun being unloaded either, and we dont need any permit for open carry of a handgun. Only a permit to conceal.

Hello Tony

I didn't say that the farm where he lives is not his and im sure it is especially after you said that you had been there, but I didn't say that any way.. What I said is that the ginseng patch is not true. The 1/4 mil or the 1 mil patch that they claim. The fields of ginseng was filmed at another place and they are using that film to edit in for the farm ginseng that is what I was saying.

Tony I know a big dealer that is good friends with me and he speaks well of you. I want you to know that I have not got a problem at all with you and I honestly do not believe that no other person on this site is personally upset with no one as a person or individual.

It is a misleading and miss informing TV show that no one cares for here. Now there may be 2,000,000 a week that tune in and that has nothing to do with how the people on this site and many other sites feel. The people of this site are Good Stewards of the Mountains and we love what we do and are thankful to God for it. We respect it we do not disrespect it and when any thing does disrespect and represent so falsely as this show does then we do not like it and we speak out against it, but that does not mean that any one holds it against you. I know I don't.

What troubles me is that the show is leading young ginseng hunters and even more new ginseng hunters to believe that it is ok to trash your best friend, threating to kill others even on public lands. Sit out at knight with the intent to kill. Beat up shoot up any one who does not like it or any thing like a car, burn a truck etc. It is ok to dig immature ginseng, and that you can dig 4 pounds 12 pounds etc. in a day. I have dug ginseng all of my life these things are not so. People are going to go into the mountains thinking that they can make a million dollars a year. $1,200 a day etc. when they actually go and learn that it is not that easy and they hunt and go sell what they do find and see the real prices they are going to be mad if they have any real thought they should not be mad at no one but them selves for falling into that, but if I know any thing some will feel that well im going to get mine so they will rape the mountains of every 3 leaf and 2 prong in them they will enter properties that they should not pack a gun for the wrong reasons. It is just not good. The show teaches to many lies and misleading things and it is going to hurt the wild ginseng population for one season for sure and that is the next one. What it does after a few 100,000 learn the facts I do not know. They could just drop away or maybe they will keep going who knows. That is what I do not like.

It is not any thing against you or another person. It is the show that is not appreciated.

Billy.




Strong Prong wrote:

Hello Everyone,
I keep telling myself not to comment but I can't keep from it when I see folks making assumptions and and gossiping,especially when that gossip includes me.
I appreciate you guys watching the show and I hope you enjoy it. But if you have questions about certain things that I can help with like the purchase of Ron's ginseng please ask me. Remember I was there !
Ron sets the bag if ginseng on the scale and it weighs 14.27 lbs. and he negotiates a price of $900.00 lb...I will assume your math was correct if you will assume that the ginseng was inside of other paper bags and I deducted the tare wt.and paid only for the net weight at $900.00 lb.
The TV guys have 45-50 minutes to tell their story so why would they waste time showing the entire transaction ? He walked out with $11K and Change.
Same as I read for Mike driving a Ranger instead of a S-10..I don't know how many trucks he drives or owns..do you ?
And Billy..your friend is wrong if he told you that Mike doesn't own that property or at least lives there and it's his family's. I was there in person and spoke to the man and he had no reason to lie to me.
I wasn't out in the woods with those guys while they filmed but they did sell me ginseng and it wasn't woodsgrown.
Like I said earlier. .I'm sure and know they cut and edit for the most bang for the buck and I see nothing wrong with it. I'm getting 20 calls a day from all over North America asking about growing and wanting to learn where and how to harvest it. Most are from places it doesn't grow naturally and some just had ginsenged as kids and wanted to grow some around the house. This show isn't a bad thing for the industry and I intend to make sure that stays that way.

Looks like the fall-out from this show is starting to pick up steam. I am currently following some email traffic that indicates some possible future actions will be forthcoming in June or July concerning a moratorium on west-virginia ginseng harvesting for the 2014-2016 season in order to send a message. To include all the federal lands there as well as private lands. Several folks in the herbal conservation and also several big dealers are preparing to launch this initiative. Will keep you guys posted as this gets underway. Thanks Appalachian Outhouse.

Looks like the fall-out from this show is starting to pick up steam. I am currently following some email traffic that indicates some possible future actions will be forthcoming in June or July concerning a moratorium on west-virginia ginseng harvesting for the 2014-2016 season in order to send a message. To include all the federal lands there as well as private lands. Several folks in the herbal conservation and also several big dealers are preparing to launch this initiative. Will keep you guys posted as this gets underway. Thanks Appalachian Outhouse.

K DUCE . .I highly doubt the the validity of this report Since I am a member of AHPA and have heard nothing of this. I will also call Robin Black (Head of WV Ginseng Program) first thing Monday concerning any closing of our program. ..I let you know what the truth is with two phone calls.
I will add that I know of a couple of \" large dealer \" who are members of AHAP and competitors that would love to keep me from buying. Also with WV out of market could you imagine what the price of wild will soar to ?
I assure you that those two or three dealers motives aren't for noble reasons and are more on the greedy side if they are plotting behind the scenes.

Well said Billy!!

Thanks for the post too K_Duce.

At first and on the surface a Moratorium sounds like a great idea. Hell yea lets send a message!!!!

However, I think it would punish the wrong people. The good ethical WV digger has no dog in this fight. They did not do anything to deserve this. So before a moratorium is put into affect I hope the ethical WV digger is considered.

Furthermore, I have a question to pose. Will all of the good WV ginseng diggers that have followed the law and have been good stewards of the woods follow a moratorium?

I have no way of knowing this for sure and it is only a presumption on my part, but I think even some good WV diggers may choose to dig seng even with a moratorium in effect.

Why do I think a good WV digger that has always followed the law and been a good steward of the woods in the past choose to break the law. It's simple, I feel the diggers will surmise the moratorium is a punishment and not a moratorium to protect the wild ginseng. Therefore, in their mind if they are not hurting the plant by digging it, then they are going to dig it.

I truly feel that these same WV diggers that care about the future of WV wild ginseng would not dig under a moratorium if the moratorium was intended to give wild ginseng a chance regroup and repopulate.

Now we all know that the unethical diggers, no matter what state they are in, are going to dig regardless of the law or any moratorium in place for any reason.

Under a moratorium I think it is possible that some or possibly many of the WV diggers would possibly feel it is an unfair moratorium and they might possibly feel it is their God given right to dig the root that they have dug for generations.

If I am correct I would surmise the WV digger would need a place to sell their root. I would surmise it may be possible that they would hold on to it until the moratorium is eventually lifted. Most likely tho, if they would be willing to dig roots under a moratorium then perhaps they would be willing to cross state lines to sell their seng.

Lets face it folks, some of these good honest people in WV are living at poverty levels and they depend on digging root to feed their family etc.

Furthermore, if a WV digger does not depend on digging root for providing for his family then it is possible he has grown accustom to having a little extra cash every year to buy gifts for Christmas or other things needed.

So it may be possible that the ones that could end up being hurt the most under a moratorium in WV could end up being the WV dealers/buyers.

So perhaps they have already foreseen all of this and this is why they are considering a moratorium. To send a message to the dealers. If this is the case, even the dealers/buyers that are not a target are going to be hurt under a moratorium. What's fair in that??? Nothing!!!!!

As I have stated, this is just my opinion. I have no factual information to back what I have said. So keep that in mind. However, I do not feel I am far off the mark either.

Latt

As a long time digger and so are a lot of you guys,you know how hard it is to dig a lb. of dried ginseng(during the legal months). It takes several trips of searching and digging. As a buyer of seng I see mostly ounces from diggers not lbs. A 2 lb. purchase is really good.
Sometimes diggers will pool their seng together to get a better price and have a larger quantity. That is your true reality show!

To me poaching is hunting out of season. Digging someone else's ginseng on posted land is being a Thief plain and simple. No different than stealing gas,batteries,or anything else.

God Bless everyone here. Everybody just hold on to what we have left and teach the generation to come what was passed on to us. We must leave it in gods hands. Never give up but don't overly force the issue.

Billy and TNHUNTER please don't ever stop making videos while you are able. My inner circle and I cherish those videos dearly. True stewardship of something we love.

I've read from a few different places that the show will be good for the ginseng industry because more people will be in the woods, planting seeds, and helping the plant reach new areas. While that may be good in theory, the show certainly doesn't promote that activity. Newcomers to the ginseng industry who watch the show should be seeing people carry a pound of seeds in their pack, and be planting 5 seeds for every root taken. I have seen a few shots of the diggers planting the berries back, and have never seen anyone put a seed into the ground.

Also, in my opinion these \"actors\" are on the show, fully aware of the cameras filming their every move, and they have no second thoughts about performing illegal actions. They know the camera have 100% proof of their every action, yet they dig on private property, dig immature roots, knife and shoot out tires, carry weapons on state land, blow up vehicles, etc. Obviously the show is nearly 100% staged, and the whole thing is planned out in advance so there is no fear of having charges pressed. And I'm curious how Corby is always buying bags of ginseng without even having a scale in the truck. Makes me laugh. I wouldn't be surprised that some of these diggers all went out to dinner together after a day of filming the show.

This story reminds me of an article in the New Yorker a few years ago about digging in the Smoky Mountain National Park, which is illegal and swat teams were used to chase poachers who set up lights and dug at night. Quite the story.

A guy called me and said West Virginia looks like the place to dig, with twelve pounds a day available. I think hamburger stands on the roads to the hills would be a good investment.