Pictured here: An 1891 circular for American chestnuts reveals the value of chestnuts to our community of growers and the agricultural pipeline that fed our families and communities. This circular shows $271,527 in sales from TWO months of harvesting. Today's value would be almost $9 million! The seller of these chestnuts probably paid less than $2/bushel wholesale but market rate was about $10 to $12 per bushel. According to research, the legal weight limit of a bushel of chestnuts was about 50 pounds (in TN) and 57 pounds (in VA). This two months of harvesting amounted to approximately 1.3 million pounds of chestnuts.
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Today is the deadline for the public comment period regarding the deregulation of the transgenic American chestnut tree, Darling 58! The USDA-APHIS will collect comments until 11:59PM (EST) today, January 26, 2023.
To learn a little more about these restoration efforst, check out this article that was published in December, by the Genetic Literacy Project. Please note the article mentions the prior deadline before the 30 day extension was granted. The deadline is today, January 26, 2023. Article link: buff.ly/3j7OIwh
To submit your comment, head over to our website at acf.org/resources-deregulation-darling58/ .
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youtu.be/2VYviSHyB98
Meet Ciera! Our nursery manager at Meadowview Research Farms.
This interview is episode 1 of our new YouTube series "Behind the Bark."
Behind the Bark is a casual interview series by The American Chestnut Foundation to dive deeper into the lives of the wonderful people who are behind the mission of returning the iconic American chestnut to its native range.
The American Chestnut Foundation's Meadowview Research Farms
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One of the biggest questions we receive is "how do I submit a public comment, what am I supposed to say?" The answer is pretty simple: why does the American chestnut tree matter to you? When submitting a comment, you just need to be unique and authentic. Tell your personal story of why the American chestnut is important to you: maybe your family grew up with chestnut trees and can remember when they filled the forests, or maybe you're passionate about forest health and restoration, or maybe you grow chestnut trees on your land and want more.
The USDA looks for unique and custom comments. You don't have to be a scientist to support the restoration of the American chestnut! You can be anyone, all you need is a few sentences of why you support this effort. Check out these helpful tips and sample comments that we've compiled if you're still unsure of what to say. Be sure to submit your comment by midnight on Thursday, January 26.
Visit acf.org/resources-deregulation-darling58/ to learn more and to submit your comment.
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