Mint production in Idaho continues to thrive despite competition and wilt

It’s a secret with a fresh burst of flavor. Mint, a crop that arrived in America from England more than 200 years ago, is still widely produced in the Pacific Northwest, particularly here in Idaho.

And with a fresh smell of mint in the air, Idaho mint farmers, along with their counterparts in Oregon and Washington, a trifecta that make up the largest area of mint producers in the nation, are still facing several challenges in maintaining American mint production.

Some of the biggest obstacles include competition from overseas markets, the evolution of synthetic mint oils, and the lengthy history of a pesky fungal pathogen known as Verticillium wilt, a disease that continues to keep a stranglehold on domestic mint production.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pacific Northwest produced about 93% of U.S. mint oil in 2023. However, the agency reported mint production nationwide dropped 17% this past year, a figure that represents just under half of the nearly 6 million pounds of mint oil produced in 2014.

On top of these actual farming issues, mint is not exactly considered a crop that is widely talked about, or even easily recognizable by many who call the Gem State home.

“I don’t think many people could identify it by sight,” Galen Lee, owner of Sunnyside Farms in New Plymouth and a board member with the Idaho Mint Growers Association (IMGA) said. “But you can smell it, and it’s a great smell that I think most people can correlate to what mint is.”

Idaho farmers devote about 18,000 acres statewide to growing both peppermint and spearmint, a unique crop whose oil can be used to produce more than 5 million sticks of chewing gum and more than 300,000 average sized tubes of toothpaste from a single 181-kilogram drum of oil.

While mint maintains a long history of being grown in Idaho, the wilt that impacts its production follows it in every region where it is grown. Researchers, including those at the Mint Industry Research Council (MIRC) are constantly exploring ways to protect mint from the fungus, but have yet to come up with a profound solution.

For most farmers, rotating crops is the cheapest and quickest manner for dealing with the disease.

“We can manage the wilt issue with our crop rotations,” said Chirs Mio, who, along with his father, owns and operates Mio Farms in Fruitland. “We know what fields are going to be more sensitive to the wilt pressure, so we try to keep those crops out of rotation as long as possible. Overall, I think we are managing it fairly well.”

At Weitz Farms in Canyon County, Joe Weitz, who has grown mint for about two decades and serves on the IMGA Board of Directors, said most people don’t realize mint grows extremely well initially, especially in the climate of Southern Idaho.

“The first time out it grows extremely well, rather healthy,” Weitz said. “We’ve grown it up to eight years consecutively in the same field. That is a lot and the most we’ve ever done. Usually, it’s only about three to four years in a row.”

“On my farm, I have enough acres that I am not coming back to plant mint again for about 15 years,” Lee said. “That seems to help with the wilt issue. I can stay out of it for a while, and it provides time for the wilt or disease to dissipate.”

If fighting the wilt through crop rotation does not work, fumigation can be the remedy, but a costly one. Scientists have concluded that once the wilt is in the soil it never goes away.

“Gradually over time, after growing for two or three seasons, you have to fumigate due to the wilt and the product is not as healthy and does not last as long,” Weitz said.

Weitz estimates fumigation can run about $600 an acre, a costly process for the perennial plant, making crop rotation the economical choice.

“Fumigation has become quite expensive for most farmers, unless you have a really high dollar crop such as onions for which you can justify that cost,” Mio said.

Another issue for Idaho and U.S. mint producers is the emerging market of synthetic mint oils, cost-effective alternatives to the actual plant that is harvested domestically.

“Mint is a product that is grown, produced and processed under strict guidelines and qualities and standards for use in a multitude of consumer products,” Lee said. “We sell to intermediate brokers who, after they buy the oil from us, run an analysis on it. They test for multiple characteristics of the oil.”

The USDA reports that American mint farmers help produce and export about 36% of the world’s peppermint oil. Through these middlemen or buyers, the oil is eventually sold to major companies such as Colgate and Procter & Gamble.

Amanda Schmitt, a local buyer and an area manager for Callisons, said her firm serves as a “link between the end-users (customers) and the farms (growers)” located throughout Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Canada.

“We spend many hours scouting fields and meeting with growers to discuss not only harvest needs but also pre- and post-care of fields during the growing season,” Schmitt said. “We have customers all over the world and they rely on us to purchase and blend quality oil that will fit their needs.”
Industry statistics indicate that up to 45% of mint oil is used in oral care products such as toothpaste and mouthwash. For local mint farmers, there is no substitute for real mint produced under strict regulations that provide accountability for U.S. growers.

“Here in Southwest Idaho, we produce a nice, strong mint oil and keep the consistency strong for the end users,” Lee said. “The synthetics have a little different flavor or taste, and people can tell and don’t like that.”

Despite the competition of the man-made oils, Mio, from his farm in Fruitland, said he remains “highly optimistic” on his outlook for Idaho mint producers.

“I’m confident in this area because companies like Colgate have a good relationship with farmers here and they have told us they want a reliable, high-quality oil,” he said. “And they don’t always get that overseas. As long as we have good companies that enjoy the quality of the American oil and reliability of it, I am confident in the industry in that aspect.”

As a buyer, Schmitt said Callisons remains “committed to supporting” the Idaho mint industry and taking “great care to make the exact blends” consumers come to expect in toothpaste, gum and mints.

“There is always a buzz that synthetics will take over some day, and that is simply not true,” she said. “Callisons will continue to work hard to keep the industry robust while maintaining quality oil production in our different growing regions.”
Even so, Lee said his farming experience has taught him that it all comes down to the actual “product” and what those who are buying expect or are willing to pay.

“Buyers who want quality oil are going to buy it, but others who aren’t concerned about whether the product is produced domestically will buy whatever is cheapest,” he said. “And that is where the synthetics come into play.”

As a grower of Black Mitcham, considered to be the healthiest and most wilt-resistant form of mint, Weitz said he believes in the purity of Idaho mint production, and that local farmers will continue to maintain a strong market position despite the emergence of synthetic oils abroad, and the issues they face domestically posed by Verticillium wilt.

“Here in Idaho, we have a solid reputation of producing a very high-quality product,” he said. “When Colgate or Procter & Gamble come calling, they know exactly what they are getting and that the mint is regulated, and all the right pesticides are being used. It’s pure, 100% mint oil.”

But with more than four decades of farming experience, Weitz also knows things can quickly change one way or the other, depending on the economy, supply and demand, and any potential advancements made in the fight against a costly fungus.

“Right now, the market in Idaho and the U.S. is steady where it is,” Weitz said. “That could certainly change with the oils produced in India or if demand picks up. Or even if a wilt-resistant variety of mint is created that we could grow cheaper. All of that would make things more competitive with the foreign oils.”

At Sunnyside Farms, Lee maintains a sunny disposition, not only when it comes to mint farming, but for all farmers in Idaho and nationwide.

“The agriculture game is big and we are in it for the long haul,” he said. “Farmers are kind of eternal optimists. We’re always hoping for the best. Things get thrown at you and you have to deal with it and move on and always be looking for the bright side.”

Or, as he called it, “the same old story” for farmers in the country simply working hard to remain competitive worldwide.

“All of agriculture is a global market now, not just a domestic market,” he said. “American farmers are working hard to produce food for our nation. And it’s always most helpful when people buy American, domestic products. Costs are going up and there are some stresses there for sure. But we keep doing it.”