The
limited availability of organic and open pollinated heirloom seed
adapted to area conditions is negatively impacting the growth
of organic agriculture in the southeast through:
-
Recent
heavy consolidation within the seed industry
-
Unique
offerings dropped as seed companies shift to more profitable,
widely adapted hybrid varieties
-
Minimal
attention paid to the needs of the organic farming community
-
Low
availability of certified organic seed required under the
USDA's National Organic Program
On-farm
seed saving is a dying art, and with its disappearance is the
loss of many generations of farmer selected and bred crop variety
improvements.
Seed
production and saving can be an excellent avenue for:
-
Diversifying
farm income
-
Supporting
local enterprise
-
Accessing
regional varieties
-
Preserving
our food's genetic heritage
-
Putting
seed variety control back in the hands of farmers
On-Farm
Grow-Out Program
Saving Our Seed is organizing an on-farm organic seed grow-out
program for the 2005 seasons, with the aim of developing detailed
regional seed crop production manuals, supporting the creation
of a seed network for southeast growers, and increasing seed
production practices and knowledge sharing in the southeast.
Each season, the program will focus on several crops, identified
as top open pollinated, regionally adapted organic seed needs
by our recent grower survey. The crops for the 2004 season were
tomatoes, beans, soybeans, and cover crops. CFSA has worked
with thirty southeast certified growers over the course of the
season to plant and manage the seed crops. Seed production management
plans, as well as seed from our collaborating partners, will
be provided to all participants.
In
2005, our three focus crops are Brassicas, Peppers, and Squashes.
We will also continue to focus on Tomatoes, Beans, and Cover
Crops. Growers will be asked to maintain field records, and
attend all seed production workshops. Though we do ask that
a portion of the seasons end seed is returned in support
of the SOS project, growers will be able to keep half of their
produced seed, and will be given assistance in finding marketing
opportunities for the seed, if desired.
We
are currently looking for certified growers to participate in
the 2005 on-farm grow-out program. We are also seeking folks
that are interested in raising Certified Organic winter cover
crop seed this year. If you are interested in participating,
or in getting more information, please contact Cricket at (540)
894-8865.
Information
For
more information about Saving Our Seed, please contact:
Cricket Rakita
Seed
Project Coordinator
286
Dixie Hollow
Louisa, VA 23093
Phone:
(540) 894-8865
Resources
For
a current list of seed production resources:
books, websites, and seed companies,
Click
here to view our seed resource guide.
Click
here to read the 2003 Seeds and Breeds conference preceding.
(Warning, this is a 5 megabyte file, it may take a long time
to download)
Click
Here for some important reasons to eat organic food.
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