Posts Tagged ‘lavender’

The Lavender Supply

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Finding joy in the Young Living lavender fields in Mona, Utah.

In the years ahead, who will produce true Lavandula angustifolia oil—true lavender oil? The future is only secure with Young Living, the World Leader in Essential Oils. Why? Because I have paid the price and built a foundation by developing the farms first while others have built their foundation on marketing and hype. I moved forward in spite of the criticism that I was wasting my time and money in building the farms and the greenhouses to grow the starts to secure a solid future for Young Living.

Every year we have expanded our fields in Utah, and we are currently replanting in Idaho, constantly preparing for the future. As a drop of oil falls from the bottles, few people think of what it takes to get the oil into that bottle. It takes thousands of plants with a maturity of three years before they can be harvested and distilled to extract the oil.

Keep in mind that used car salesmen sell cars day after day because there are buyers who want cars day after day. No, it’s not exactly the same, but lavender oil is wanted daily around the world; and for the uneducated and trusting, if the label says “lavender oil, therapeutic grade,” who is going to question it?

Do Young Living distributors have a concern? Yes, of course they do. However, according to the current sales of lavender, Young Living has about a two-year supply of lavender in inventory, even considering our accelerating rate of growth. As long as we do not have a crop failure, we can maintain and stay ahead of the demand. With proper crop rotation, field expansion, and good farm management, Young Living will be the only company with true Lavandula angustifolia.

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The Lavender of Tomorrow

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Experience Young Living's authentic Lavandula angustifolia during the Run Through the Lavender 5K Race at the Mona, Utah, farm July 9, 2011.

What is the future of lavender? What is going to happen? Are there places where it is being grown successfully? Yes, there are. But what kind of lavender are they growing?

For example, in Tasmania, Australia, a cloned hybrid that does not produce seed is very beautiful to see with a perfectly even color and manicured picture perfect. Without education, anyone visiting would think it is the most beautiful lavender in the world.

Most of the lavender coming into the U.S. is coming from China through France. It is first bought by French brokers, synthetically altered and extended, and then shipped to the U.S. as French lavender. And who would know the difference? England and Bulgaria are growing hybrid lavender.

If you challenge what I am saying, then make a world trip, get educated, and see for yourself.

Do not sit back and listen to the people from a marketing and sales company tell you that they can be trusted to give you the highest quality of pure lavender. They likely don’t know the origin of their oil, so how can they give you any kind of a guarantee? Be bold—ask them to take you to their farm where the lavender is being grown or to tell you where the farm is located, so you can go see for yourself.

Go to Tasmania and see the lavender as Mary and I did. Ask them why they don’t sell seed in their gift shop.

Besides France and Australia, go visit the small farms in England, Belgium, and China and look at the beautiful fields of one-pristine color, which is not caused because they are using organic practices but is caused because the fields are genetically modified through hybrid breeding.

Then come visit the Young Living fields in Utah and Idaho and see the multiple-colored lavender from light to deep purple. See the look of true lavender for yourself.

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The Lavender Deception (Continued)

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

One of the chemical compounds in lavandin is camphene, which is known for its antiseptic, antibacterial, and analgesic properties. When used for these purposes, it is very valuable, as in the essential oil blend of Purification. However, camphene can burn the skin, which is why some people are uncomfortable using straight lavandin. Any burning sensation should be the first clue in discovering the mislabeling, since pure lavender does not contain camphene.

Lavandin may or may not be a little caustic to the skin, depending on its percentage of camphene, but when properly blended with other essential oils, it becomes pleasant to the skin and yet still has its same therapeutic effect. Obtaining this desired result is all in knowing how to formulate.

That also explains why some people complain about not getting the results they want with the lavender they buy from various retail outlets. They don’t know they are actually buying lavandin with camphene and not pure lavender. However, when lavandin is diluted with sufficient linalol, the camphene becomes undetectable to the end users, who then, unfortunately, think they are buying pure lavender.

There is a great example of how adulterated lavender causes problems. In Jean Valnet’s The Practice of Aromatherapy, he writes about a man being treated with lavender for a problem in his “sit-down area.” The man went on a journey but forgot his lavender, so he purchased a fresh supply. Valnet then writes about what happened. “Unfortunately this essence was neither natural nor pure: one single installation was followed by a painful inflammation of such severity that the unfortunate person was unable to sit down for more than a fortnight” (14 nights).

While I was visiting one of the distilleries in France, I watched the synthetic solution being put into the extracted oil that was poured into the barrels. I was very surprised when I saw the export tags on the barrels showing they were going to a new company in Utah. I even took a photo of the tag. I’m sure the people in Utah had no idea what they were getting, which is typical of most buyers.

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When Will French Lavender Return?

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Gary and Jean-Noel Landel, the manager of the Simiane lavender farm and a guest speaker at the 2002 Young Living convention.

While visiting with Benoit Cassan, the former president of CRIEPPAM (the technical research center for lavender growers and distillers in Provence, France) and the largest grower in and around Simiane, Jean Noel asked him if he would have any angustifolia that I could buy.

He said that wouldn’t be possible, and even the orders of his buyers who he has supplied for the last 15 years were being cut back by 50 percent, and the 50 percent that he was supplying them was being mixed half and half with lavender angustifolia and cloned lavender.

He went on to explain that in their latest association meeting, they discussed the possibility of taking all of the lavender out in all of France to sterilize the soil and kill the virus that has been attacking and killing the lavender for the last 10 years.

Then in 5 years when the soil had been nourished and built back, they would replant and start over. But even if they were successful, it could be up to 8 years before the lavender would be back on the market.

However, the farmers cannot wait 8 years for a crop, so they will replant a different crop. Once the new crop is established, the farmers will not take it out and put lavender back in again.

Thankfully, the lavender in our valley in Simiane was not affected by the virus, only by the drought.

When the French Agriculture Department stopped subsidizing lavender production in the early 1990s, many farmers quit growing. Then in 2000, the government started subsidizing the farmers again, but the farmers never went back to growing lavender.

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The Loss of French Lavender Farms

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

Drought and a plant virus strike lavender farms in Provence, France.

As we drove over the plateau on the mountain top, field after field was in the same condition. Ten years ago I wanted to buy a farm on the plateau that I fell in love with and had taken many distributors to see. It was a beautiful 300-plus-acre, organic, Lavandula angustifolia farm that was nestled high above the main plateau in a valley at 5,000 feet. Over the years I had visited this farm, and three times I tried to purchase it, but the farm was never for sale.

However, the owner was able to grow and supply the oil for us to make up the difference when our own production was short because of our growing demand. This year the farm is sadly for sale. The dead and dying plants, caused by the drought as well as by a virus that has attacked and killed the lavender plants, caused a rapid drop in production and, of course, income, which put so much stress on the family that it resulted in a divorce.

This year the production on his farm was down 60 percent from previous years. There is no way this man can recover, and if he doesn’t sell the farm, he will simply lose it to the bank. Unfortunately, he is only one of many farmers in similar situations. In addition, many distilleries on the plateau were out of operation this year.

Jean Noel and I had a lot of discussion about our farm and distillery. We wondered what to do about the distillery simply because there was no crop. Many farmers who are hoping the lavender will come back are talking about keeping just one central distillery in operation and selling the others, if they can find buyers.

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