Truffles Being Grown in America

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There are more than 100 truffle orchards associated with the North American Truffle Growers Association (NATGA). One of those is in rural Virginia, finally producing black truffles— a decade after planting their first trees. “There is a demand for this type of truffle, and we need to be able to get it so that it is something that is replicable,” said farm co-owner Pat Martin. “It’s a finicky truffle, it’s not easy to cultivate, and we need to try and streamline it.”

Truffle grower Margaret Townsend, who heads NATGA, said part of growing the young American truffle market is giving farmers the tools they need to understand the science behind truffles. “I am very encouraged that we’ve transferred enough information that those orchards may really get up to significant production quantities,” she said. PBS News producer Casey Kuhn looked into how science is helping this new market grow.

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