National Future Farmer

It's an FFA crop program that
can, when Kevin Hetrick is distilling
it, make the whole Orovada,
Nevada, valley smell like an
after-dinner mint.
Kevin raises about 24 acres of
peppermint. That's enough to fill
three 55-gallon drums with peppermint
oil, which is enough to
flavor about 120 train-car loads
of chewing gum.
It's an oil crop
that sounds like
a specialty crop
that tastes like candy.
Peppermint oil is extracted from mint
leaves. The Winnemucca FFA member
actually distills the oil on the farm, which
is, to Kevin, the most interesting part of
peppermint production.
During the harvest, peppermint leaves
are chopped directly into large iron tubs
that are sealed and injected with steam.
Steam from the boiler vaporizes all the
water and oil in the leaves and creates a
mixture that runs through the condensers.
After it condenses, or cools, the oil rises
to the top of the water and is drained.
Kevin said at this point the oil is 98-99
percent pure and usually doesn't need to
be purified any further, although quality
does vary. "Oil raised in different areas
has different qualities. Differences in
temperature, soils, elevations and other
factors will give you variations in the oil.
And changes in the oil will change the
Kevin Hetrick checl^s ttie output of liis peppermint oil distillery.
By Rachel Vining
The Peppermint Twist
final product," Kevin explained.
He ships his oil in 55-gallon drums to a
cooperative seller in Oregon. The coop
sells the oil by the pound, rather than
volume, to buyers who are satisfied with
Kevin's quality and price. Buyers of Kevin's
peppermint oil include Colgate and
Wrigley's Companies.
For the three years he's been raising
mint, Kevin said his oil has been sold for
$9.50 a pound, although some areas
receive up to $ 1 3. Prices have been stable
for several years and he expects the
market to remain strong in the future,
unlike many crops. By making about
$250/ acre, Kevin said his mint venture
has been "pretty profitable so far."
Mint oil starts at a ceihng price which
lowers as the quality decreases, so Kevin
works hard to keep weed and insect
impurities to a minimum. Because the oil
Kevin cuts and
windrows peppermint
leaves
to sun dry in
the Orovada,
Nevada, Valley.
—
is extracted from the leaves, he sprays for
any insects that will eat the foliage and
decrease his yields.
He said raising mint is not too different
from raising hay or alfalfa. Mint is a
periennalthat uses a lot of water, requiring
irrigation in Nevada, and demands
large amounts of nitrogen.
The large initial investment for mint
production is the distillery, which Kevin's
father already had from raising and
distilling dill. Two years ago Kevin took
classes and received a boiler operator's
license and now he runs every step of his
mint operation.
The high school senior is looking to
expand his operation to about 40 acres
and attend college crop science classes
for a few years. After that, he said, "I'd
like to return to farming because I think
there'll still be a future there."
Kevin has done well enough so far to
have been named the western region oil
crop proficiency winner. Although he
said mint isn't listed on the FFA oil crop
award applicaton, during the proficiency
award interviews he had the chance to
explain his crop and the special qualities
of raising mint.
Because of the final products—candy,
chewing gum, mouthwash, medicines
and the small acreage grown, he said
peppermint is often considered a spe-
cialty crop. But when Kevin's distillery is
running 24-hours a day, and the minty
smell drifts for miles, just a sniff will tell
you, "there's oil in them there
leaves."
•••
The Sttlional FVTIRE FARMER