In Saskatchewan spice production and research started about six years ago while herb research was initiated over the last three years in response to industry development. It is needless to say that at the present time, many questions ranging from herb production to marketing oriented ones, still remain to be answered. The latest information on herb and spice production in Saskatchewan, as per the two following tables, indicated that acreage under spices is about five times higher from the acreage under herbs. Main herb crops are mint and borage. Scotch spearmint, an aromatic plant used as a source of essential oil widely applied in food and cosmetic industry, was first grown in Outlook area under irrigation in 1994.
Borage is well adapted to prairie conditions.
Ginseng 20 Echinacea 10 Valerian Yarrow Milk thistle Angelica, etc. Although Saskatchewan is considered as one of the most desirable areas to cultivate medicinal herbs in North America because of the climate, clean environment and wealth of experience in agriculture, commercial production is obviously still minimal. This could be explained partially by the uncertainties over the selection of medicinal herbs to cultivate, and also over competitiveness on the international market. Two companies, Prairie Plant Systems in Saskatoon and Mircogro International in Biggar, are vegetatively propagating medicinal and aromatic plants. Detailed listing of herb companies in Saskatchewan is provided in Appendix I .