SUCTION TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, October 5, 1978-NINE
New
crop leaves Morrow fields in 'mint condition
First County mint crop
is now being distilled
By Rick Steelhammer
Portable stills are operating in the
irrigated croplands between North Lexington
and Boardman.
Don't get the wrong idea, the mobile
distilleries are not producing white lightning.
But they are manufacturing an equally
valuable, and infinitely more legal pro
ductmint oil.
Morrow County's first commercial crop
of mint entered the distilling boilers at Far
West Farms last week, a bit behind schedule
due to the unseasonably wet weather we have
been experiencing.
A half-dozen County farmers have
devoted a total of about 215 acres to the
fragrant, green herb. It appears that mint has
sunk its roots firmly into the Morrow County
agricultural picture.
augured into a large holding wagon. The
wagon is then brought to the still, where the
mint is cooked and the oil condensed.
On a productive acre of mint ground,
about eight tons of chopped mint will be
yielded, which in turn yields about 70 pounds
of oil. "Mint is the only crop I know of that can
be carried in the back of a pickup truck at the
end of harvest," noted Morrow County
Extension Agent Harold Kerr.
While the yield is relatively small, noted
Towery, "one pound of mint oil will flavor
16,500 sticks of chewing gum."
The Scotch Spearmint variety being
raised by Far West was last year used as the
main source of flavoring for Freshen-Up
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While a certain amount of mint oil will be
produced locally in years to come, the real
bread and butter for Morrow County mint
producers is expected to come from selling
diseasee-free, certified root stock to other
Northwest mint growers.
All of Morrow County is included in a
Mint Disease Control Area, to guard against
the introduction and spread of verticillium
wilt disease. All County mint growers must
use only root stocks that have been certified
by Oregon State University, and their mint
fields must. be,, inspected annually by OSU .
officials to guarantee that verticillium wilt
has not entered the county.
The equipment used in harvesting
Morrow County's first mint crop is either
brand new, or has been sterilized to guard
against introduction of the wilt disease.
Far West Farms launched its mint
program two years ago, with 1,500 "nuclear"
plants, which yielded enough root stock to
allow a 15-acre stand to be raised the
following year. This year, Far West has a full
circle about 128 acres devoted to Scotch
Spearmint, making it the largest certified
field of the mint variety in the world. Far
West also is growing three varieties of cert
ified peppermint stock.
"The inspector said this is the best field
he inspected this year," said Bill Towery, a
Madras mint grower, who is a partner in the
Far West venture.
When mint ripens, it is mowed into rows
with a swather, just like hay. Then, a
tractor -pulled chopping machine drives up
the cured windrows, with the chopped mint
brand chewing gum.
Jim Kindle of Madras, who designed,
built and operates the still being used to
process the Far West mint crop, said that his
mobile distillery can process about 30 acres of
mint per day. The still's holding tank has a
capacity of 7 to 8 tons, depending on moisture
content, with each load taking about 90
minutes to be processed into oil.
" The product that remains after the oil has
been extracted from mint may be used as
cattle fodder.
While use as a flavoring agent may be the
only commercial purpose for mint oil, Kindle
said the fragrant liquor has received some
use as a home remedy for arthritis and the
treatment of burns.
While mint oil prices peaked at a
whonping $8-12 dollars per pound for
pepp -mint oil last year, sellers this year are
lucky to get $4-5, according to Towery. Scotch
spearmint oil marketed for a sky-high $16 per
pound last year, but is currently selling for
about $7, he added.
"The market goes in cycles," he said.
"You've got to expect to live with that."
Oregon currently far and away leads the
nation in peppermint production, with 58,000
acres devoted to the crop out of 104,000 acres
grown in the entire U.S.
Certified root stock from Morrow County
is expected to be mainly used in plantings in
the Madras area of Central Oregon, in
Eastern Washington, and in the Willamette
Valley the region's mint-growing hotspots.
v
Steps involved in harvesting
mint are shown clockwise
from top in series of photos.
After mint ripens (top), it is
swathed into windrows, chop
ped, and loaded into wagon.
Wagon is then brought to
portable still for processing
into oil. Mulch that is left after
distilling may be used for
cattle feed.
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