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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2014 Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com
Farm grows so-called ‘living fossil’ trees Ginkgo biloba leaves harvested for extract BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
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inkgo biloba trees are often called “living fossils”
because their ancestry traces back to the Permian Era 270 million years ago. For centuries, extract from the leaves has been used as a remedy for dozens of ailments, and it is often used to improve memory and blood circulation. Because the trees can live to be more than 1,000 years old, some claim the herb can increase longevity. One of the largest, if not the largest, farms producing leaves for the extract is Garney Inc. on Ebenezer Road near Dalzell. Ronald Ross, vice president of operations for Garnay, said they have about 1,000 acres of ginkgo biloba in cultivation. Ross said the farm produces leaves for shipment to Europe. Garnay Inc. is a joint venture between two European pharmaceutical companies: Ipses in France and Schwabe in Germany. While ginkgo biloba trees are known for their beautiful golden color in the fall and their graceful growth patterns, anybody expecting to see a forest of ginkgo biloba at the farm will be disappointed. “It is a row crop,” Ross said. “We prune them back to two or three feet so we can handle them mechanically.” The green leaves are stripped off the plant by a modified cotton harvester in late summer, he said. Shop foreman Frank Johnson said the harvesters require several modifications. “They need bigger fans, more hydraulics and more horsepower,” Johnson said. “Most of the work is shipped out, but the design is done here.” The beefed-up harvesters strip the leaves off with a header, and the leaves are blown up into a basket, Ross said. After harvest, the leaves are dried in a huge, rotating cylindrical bin inside a metal shed before being pressed
Garnay Inc. Vice President of Operations Ronald Ross, above, stands in a field of ginkgo trees at the company’s farm near Dalzell on Tuesday. Garnay shop foreman Frank Johnson, right, maintains the farm’s modified cotton harvesters. PHOTOS BY JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM
into bales. “We load bales in 40-foot containers and ship to Charleston by truck,” he said. “From there they go to Ireland or Germany.” Ross said it takes about three weeks for the shipments to reach the extraction facilities in Europe. He said the parent companies did a nationwide search before locating the farm in Sumter County in 1985. “This area had just the right climate and soil,” he said. The farm was originally planted with 600 acres of ginkgo biloba, and the acreage was doubled to 1,200 in 1988. Ross said the reason the acreage is a little less now is because some of the acreage did not have proper drainage. “We lost some areas that are low and not well drained,” he said. “Ginkgo biloba likes well-drained soil. The wetter areas died out.” The ginkgo biloba trees have a reputation for giving off a foul odor, but Ross said that is not a problem at the Garnay farm. “The fruit of the female tree is fleshy, and when the flesh starts to deteriorate is when they smell,” he said. “With our pruning cycle, we never let plants mature. It takes 15 years before they produce fruit.” Because the leaves are used for a pharmaceutical product, the crop is carefully tracked and documented. “Every 10th bale is probed and analysis given to extracting facilities,” he said. “Everything is documented, from pruning process to end product. You can trace the product right back to which field it was grown in and when it was harvested.” The farm does not use herbicides, he said, and weeds are controlled by burning in a method similar to that which cotton farmers once used. The final product is extracted and put in pill or capsule form and sold all over the world, Ross said, adding that sales of the final product have been holding steady. “We plan on being here another 30 years,” he said. Ross said any consumers who wish to find a Garnayproduced extract in a locally available product can find it in Nature’s Way Ginkgold. “Some of the leaves will be from this place,” he said.
‘Fear index’ could signal more wild weeks on Wall Street NEW YORK (AP) — Europe’s economy sputters, oil prices plunge, and stocks start swinging wildly. Wall Street’s long-dormant “fear index” now predicts more turbulence ahead. The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index, known as the VIX, doubled during the past month: from 12 to 26. Although that’s nowhere near the 80 reached in the financial crisis, the recent spike
means traders are bracing for more big jumps and steep drops. Slowing growth in Europe and the developing world has stirred up lingering doubts among investors just as the Federal Reserve plans to wind down a bond-buying program that many considered a driving force behind the stock market’s five-year run. Traders have knocked the Standard & Poor’s 500 index
BUSINESS BRIEFS STSM offers training to serve hearing-impaired survivors As part of its new Underserved Survivor Series, Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands is offering free training about providing services to deaf and hard-of-hearing survivors of sexual trauma. The event designed for social workers, counselors, law enforcement and
down 4 percent this month and retreated into their old hiding spots, U.S. and German government bonds. All of a sudden, Wall Street’s fear gauge looks relevant again. “We’ve gone from the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs to losing all its gains for the year in just a month and a half,” said JJ Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief strategist, referring to the benchmark index for U.S. stocks.
health care providers is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 12 at Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, 2711 Middleburg Drive, Suite 115, Columbia. In some cases, the course can count for continuing education credits. For more information or to register, visit stsm.org. This event is co-sponsored by the South Carolina Council Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. STSM is a private, nonprofit entity that provides a variety of support to
“There has been a sea change in how people are viewing the market.” The past week was especially turbulent. As markets plunged Wednesday, the VIX reached levels last seen in June 2012, when worries about the European debt crisis gripped global markets and the U.S. economy’s fitful growth kept investors on edge. By Friday, as markets rallied, it slid back to 20 — its historical average.
survivors of sexual assaults as well as preventative education.
SAFE opens new branch in Lugoff A credit union organized in 1955 at Shaw Air Force Base now has a 3,900-square-foot facility at 624 Highway 1 South, Lugoff. Replacing the Springdale Plaza location, the new branch features: • Four drive-up windows with twoway audio and video;
The index gained popularity during the financial crisis in 2008. With the global economy looking shaky, the “fear index” seemed to offer a useful look at what Wall Street insiders thought would happen next. The VIX is based on prices for S&P 500 options — contracts to buy or sell the stock index at a later date — and measures how much traders expect the stock market will move in the next 30 days.
• Four inside frontline stations; • Two member service representative offices; • A drive-up ATM; • A safe-deposit vault; and • Other improved services. SAFE has more than 108,000 members, 18 branches and two in-school facilities serving eight counties. It also has $886 million in assets and 299 employees. For more information, contact Lynn Wright at (803) 469-8600, extension 2265.