MDC buying native tree seeds and fruit in St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) office in St. Joseph will be buying bulk native fruit and seeds from the public for a variety of tree and shrub species around northwest Missouri.

MDC’s Northwest Regional Office on the Missouri Western State University campus at 701 James McCarthy Drive in St. Joseph will be buying select fruit and seeds priced by the pound from 8 – 10 a.m. on July 29, Aug. 26, Sept. 23, and Oct 21. 

Needed Seed and Fruit 

• Black Cherry: $6 per pound of fruit. Fruit must be ripe and black in color. Peak ripening is around July 6.
• Butternut: $3 per pound of fruit. Peak ripening is around September through October.
• Chinkapin Oak: $2.50 per pound of acorn. Acorns ripen around September through October.
• Deciduous Holly: $4.50 per pound of fruit. Fruit ripens around September through October
• Hazelnut: $4.75 per pound of fruit. Fruit must be mature with the seed being light brown and easily pulled from the husk. No green or partially green fruit will be bought. Allow the fruit to mature on the plant. Peak ripening is around Aug. 24.
• Kentucky Coffee: $8 per pound of seed. No pods. Seeds must be clean. Peak ripening is around October
• Mixed Hickory: $.75 per pound of fruit. Hickory nuts ripen around September through October.
• Ohio Buckeye: $.95 per pound of seed. Clean seed only. Hulls must be removed. Peak ripening is around September through Early October. No Horse Chestnut will be bought. The tan-colored “eye” on the buckeye is smaller than the size of the seed. Horse Chestnut “eyes” are much larger and almost cover a side of the seed. 
• Pawpaw: $1.50 per pound of fruit. Fruit must be ripe with a yellow skin color. Fruit with green skin will  not be bought. Peak ripening is around Sept. 8.
• Persimmon: $.75 per pound of fruit. Fruit must be ripe (soft). No partially green fruit will be bought. Peak ripening is around Mid-October through November.
• Pin Oak: $1.25 per pound of acorn. Acorns ripen around September through October.
• Post Oak: $1.50 per pound of acorn. Acorns ripen around September through October.
• Red Buckeye: $.95 per pound of seed. Clean seed only. Hulls must be removed. No Horse Chestnut will be bought. Peak ripening is around September through November.
• Shellbark Hickory: $.90 per pound of fruit. Nuts ripen around September through October.
• Wild Plum: $1.95 per pound of fruit. Peak ripening is around July 6. Fruit must be ripe with a skin color completely red, yellow, orange. No green or partially green fruit will be bought.
• White Oak: $.95 per pound of acorn. Acorns ripen around September through October.

The MDC office is offering free plastic bags, onion bags, and labels to make collecting seed and fruit easier. Each bag should be labeled with the seed or fruit type and the seller’s contact information. 

MDC reserves the right to stop buying seed once needs are met  and reserves the right to reject seeds that are poor quality, not mature, or mixed with refuse such as leaves and twigs.

A special use permit is required to collect fruit and seeds on conservation areas. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/permits/special-use-permits.

Call the MDC Northwest Regional Office at (816) 271-3100 ext. 1437 or contact MDC Forester Timothy Wolfe at Timothy.Wolfe@mdc.mo.gov with questions or to set an appointment other than the dates and times listed.

What Happens to Collected Seeds

Collected seeds are taken to MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking. Nursery staff grow the collected seed into bare root seedlings used for conservation work and available for purchase by the public. 

Each year the State Forest Nursery processes more than 10,000 orders and ships about 2 million seedlings. To grow all these species, the nursery collects or buys tens of thousands of pounds of seeds each summer and fall. For example, about 2,000 bushels of walnuts, 6,000 pounds of white oak acorns, 500 pounds of hazelnuts, and 500 pounds of plum seed are needed just to establish seedlings for these four species. 

Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-seedlings/about-missouris-state-forest-nursery.