<b>By ANN ALLEN<br>
Indiana Correspondent</b></p><p>

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ballots sent out earlier this month allow Indiana’s registered mint growers to vote on the future of the state’s mint checkoff program. In addition, voters will have an opportunity to approve a one-cent increase in the fee assessed per pound of mint oil collected.<br>
If approved, the fee, totaling five cents per pound of mint oil, would help fund mint research programs in Indiana and nationwide.
Peppermint and spearmint have been grown in Indiana since the late 1800s and for many years, Indiana and southern Michigan were the major U.S. production areas. After the 1950s, mint acreage increased rapidly in Oregon and Washington, now the major mint-producing region of the country.<br>
Mint is grown as a short-term perennial, the first year as a row crop and the next three to four years as a solid stand. Because its production requires an initial high capital investment in planting, harvesting and distillery equipment, a base of 300 or more acres is required for long-term profitability.<br>
Raised for the essential oils they produce in specialized glands on the leaves and stem, mints are widely used to flavor chewing gum, candy, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste and oral hygiene products.
In the past 20 years, mint oil prices have gone as high as $55 a pound and as low as $7 a pound, according to San Pierre, Ind., mint grower Larry Wappel, who described mint farming in an article in The Vegetable Growers News as labor-intensive.<br>
Another mint grower said today’s market is controlled by India, China and Wal-Mart. “India and China grow a lot of inexpensive mint,” he said, “and Wal-Mart controls the prices. It’s a cutthroat business.”<br>
Northern Indiana has lost many of its mint farms. Farms near Nappanee, once a hub for mint growers whose distilleries produced a delightful aroma on warm summer evenings, are now devoted to soybeans and corn, though mint continues to be grown in the Bremen-South Bend area. Those farms, too, have diversified and are raising other crops in the muck needed for raising mint.<br>
The one-cent increase was discussed at the December 2007 meeting of the Indiana Mint Council, according to Jerry Fankhauser, assistant director of Purdue Agricultural Research Programs.<br>
“The fees assessed fund our national organization, the Mint Industry Research Council (MIRC), which provides many research benefits to the growers,” he said. “The money also helps sponsor Indiana-based research at Purdue.”<br>
He added the benefits of the fee increase would provide more support for the expansion of MIRC research programs and continuing research by Purdue.<br>
Questions about the referendum or requests for unregistered growers should be directed to Fankhauser at 765-494-8368 or by e-mail to fankhaus@purdue.edu<br>