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The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) continues to work with Cornell University in Cornell's Public Seed Initiative, under a 2004 USDA organic farm research grant, for expansion of on-farm vegetable breeding, on-farm trials, and farmer education to develop and deliver improved vegetable varieties for organic systems. According to a NOFA-NY newsletter,
Issues with the Conventional Seed IndustryHeretofore, the increasingly consolidated seed industry has served as the main engine of commercialization and distribution of new introductions by producing certified (for grain crops) and registered (for vegetable varieties) seed. The industry has sought greater returns for its crucial service by acquiring intellectual property rights to seeds of unique varieties, limiting the number of varieties sold, and most significantly, finding advantageous legal or legislative avenues. A main attraction of biotechnology for seed companies is enhanced worldwide market share, not improved yields (as the case of Bt corn has shown). Accordingly, Gunnar Rundgren, president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)—concurring with the assessment of World-Watch Institute—asserts that
Acquisition of exclusive ownership of seed varieties is limited under the 1970 Plant Variety Protection Act, which safeguards the rights of farmers and gardeners to use their own saved seed, and the rights of plant breeders to use PVP varieties for breeding new varieties, while affording seed developers a means to recoup their investment. Lobbying groups demanded protection for small farmers in the PVPA legislation. Seedsaving farmers and gardeners had become concerned by the European ban on many traditional open-pollinated varieties as part of a program of varietal "standardization." However, under an obscure 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Pioneer Hi-Bred International vs. J.E.M. Ag Supply), companies for the first time could freely patent plant varieties under the 1795 U.S. Utility Patent law, without any reservations to protect small growers or farmers who wished to save (and sometimes sell) seed from their own crops.(13) So far, this has affected mainly U.S. commodity grain crops. At the end of 2004, owners of patents on genetically engineered varieties had fi led 90 lawsuits, involving 147 farmers and 39 small businesses, alleging seed patent violations.(14) Issues in Organic Seed Sourcing for Commercial GrowersIn setting as a key goal for the future of public breeding, "development of 'a road map for invigorating public domain plant and animal breeding to meet the needs of a more sustainable agriculture,'" the 2003 Seed Summit committed itself to the totally new area of breeding for organic production. In doing so, it shifted ground beyond increasing the supply of currently available varieties of organic seed to developing new varieties designed specifically for organic production. Two Major Regulatory Issues that Directly Affect U.S. Organic FarmersShould U.S. Organic Producers be Required to use Organic Seed?Seed companies complain bitterly that for the past two years organic farmers have used the availability exemption in the USDA/NOP standards to avoid buying organic seed. Organic seed may be more expensive, and farmers may have to go outside their usual seed sources to find it. Farmers also say that organic seed is simply not available for their preferred varieties. Because the rule that encourages the planting of organic seed is relatively new, many types of organic seed have been in short supply. This situation is improving, as organic production for the seed market grows. Organic certifying agents differ in their interpretations of this regulation, which simply states that the producer must use organically grown seeds except "when an equivalent organically produced variety is not commercially available." Some certifiers require only that a farmer document three instances in which seed companies that are likely sources for organic seed cannot provide a specific variety. Where a farmer has found organic seed of the desired variety, but it is of poor quality, some certifiers have not required the farmer to use the low-quality seed (i.e., seed with poor germination, low purity, low test weight, etc.). In this instance, the certifier is interpreting the word "equivalent" in the rule to include seed quality characteristics. The quality problem occurs mainly when an organic farmer attempts to use "bin-run," on-farm produced seed that is not certified.
However, in 2005 NOFA-NY began cautioning its certified organic farmers (mainly vegetable growers) to use organic seed. In the fall of 2004 NOFA staff compiled an updated organic seed list that included organic varieties available in 2005 and comparable conventional varieties.(11) For certified organic farmers in the U.S. as a whole, the access problem seems to have been solved for now by the certified organic sourcing service the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Save Our Seed Project has begun providing to growers.(15)
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has recently met with NOP to request that NOP manage an organic seed database. According to the Organic Observer:
The problem of varietal "equivalence" has emerged mainly in vegetable production. Seed companies acknowledge that many, practically identical vegetable varieties are sold under different names by different suppliers—in part to get around trademark or copyright issues. Growers have apparently been claiming to their certifiers that an organic variety under a different name is not equivalent to their preferred variety. (Seed companies have favored interpretation of the regulation as "kind," rather than "variety" equivalence. For more on this question, see the statement by Rob Johnson, at www.johnnyseeds.com.) Other farmers argue that high prices alone exempt them from using organic seed. Some farm support organizations counter that farmers should be willing to pay higher prices to support the efforts of seed companies to produce organic versions of the major crops. An article in The Land asserts that there is no shortage of any type of organic seed for 2005 for Minnesota farmers, and they should voluntarily use organic seed.(17) Some farm support groups (and the American Seed Trade Association's Organic Division) have proposed an integrated national database of organic seed availability to forestall the "three-call" rule-of-thumb. The hard question of determining "equivalence" remains, but it should subside with increased availability of varieties especially bred for organic production. Should Testing be Required to Insure that Seed Producers do not use or Distribute Seed that may Contain Unintended Genetically Modified Material?Requiring testing for GM material is another contentious issue. Some organic grain producers have had export lots rejected by foreign buyers because the lots were contaminated with GMOs. The sheer number of GMOs that have migrated into U.S. food crops leaves the organic industry in a quandary. It's an immediate problem for crops such as canola, soy, and corn, where GMO varieties predominate, and it threatens potential migration of stray GMO material to related weeds and nearby food crops. Two schools of thought have proposed two different solutions. The American Seed Testing Association favors a system of testing organic seed to certify it as GMO-free before it can be planted or sold. On the other hand, the American Seed Trade Association guidelines include this statement:
New procedures are increasingly able to identify GMOs, even in large quantities of seed, with a high degree of accuracy. Some U.S. export grains are tested, and many suppliers of organic grain seed verify that their stocks are free only to a certain tolerance level (usually .05 or .01). Tolerances have yet to be set by NOP. Monsanto recently conducted a lab analysis seminar at its St. Louis facility to demonstrate the latest methods of detection. European scientists have detected GMOs in 100% of samples tested.(19) Iowa State University has developed a new software program, using weather data and other geographical parameters, that can predict genetic purity at harvest for hybrid corn in the field, to aid farmers in marketing decisions.(20) A big problem for on-farm seed producers is that certain crops with GMO analogues already exhibit pervasive, low-level GMO contamination. According to a 2004 study conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) on conventionally produced U.S. soybeans, canola, and corn, representing a wide array of popular varieties with no history of genetic engineering, "more than two-thirds of 36 conventional corn, soy, and canola seed batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties." The report concluded, "The US may soon find it impossible to guarantee that any portion of its food supply is free of gene-altered elements, a situation that could seriously disrupt the export of US foods, seeds, and oils. Many believe it could also gravely harm the domestic market for organic foods." The lab tests were commissioned by UCS and conducted on certified seed.(21) Many scientists, universities, farmers, and other have questioned plans for GMO wheat. Canola is a major oilseed; domestic corn and soybeans are major ingredients in many products—including starches, emulsifiers, and animal feeds. Some sources have suggested that bacteria can spread GMO material from a genetically engineered crop to a nearby unrelated crop or weed. In fact, this mimics the process used in genetic engineering.(22) These developments raise serious questions about geographically indiscriminate on-farm production of organic seedstocks for grains and oilseeds. Moreover, many varieties of GE crops—including "pharmacrops"—are being grown as trial crops in undisclosed locations in the U.S.(23) As a result, some western organic growers increasingly discriminate among seed suppliers.(24) Industry Positions on Testing for GMOsOrganic spokespeople like Jim Riddle, recently elected to chair the National Organic Standards Board, point out that required testing for GMOs would deeply alter the concept of organics from a process-based system to a testing system. (This is also the position of ASTA.) However, there is a marketing issue. The public now believes organic is 100% GMO-free. Will the public accept a chance of pharma-crop "pig vaccines" in its organic corn flakes? Or will it demand testing? A system of tolerances for GMO contamination may eventually need to be established for certified organic crops—especially wind-pollinated crops like some grains and oil-seeds.(25) Governmental agreements, especially on harmonization of organic standards, would open the door for U.S. organic farmers to participate in foreign trade. Other suggestions include setting aside areas of the world still remote enough to produce foundation stock of wind-pollinated crops or establishing a U.S. government public seed bank of pure stock (before it is too late). Quality Issues in Farmer-saved and -traded Seed vs. Purchased Commercial SeedThe highest quality grain seed sold to farmers is "certified," with minimum standards for purity, germination, test weight, trueness to type, and absence of physical damage. Ideally, seed for planting organic grain crops would be both "certified" and "certified organic." Shortages of certified organic grain seed have sometimes led farmers to use "bin-run" seed from a nearby organic farm or from a previous year's harvest that (while it is "certified organic") may contain light or broken seed, weed seed and other foreign matter, or pathogens. Such seed is also likely to germinate poorly. This is not invariably the case, of course. According to many certifiers' interpretations of NOP regulations, farmers can by-pass available low-quality organic seed in favor of untreated conventional seed of higher quality. Value in Going Back to Certified Seed Every Few Years if You Save Your OwnAlthough Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser asserts that he selected and saved seed most of his 35 years of growing canola crops—thereby developing a landrace adapted to Saskatchewan conditions—the unfavorable outcome of the internationally publicized court case in which he was involved with Monsanto underscores the advisability of commercial farmers going back every few years to a reliable source of organic seed of their preferred variety. This practice guards against disease buildup, inadvertent contamination of the stock, and reversion of the crop to undesirable traits. This reliable source can be certified seed from a conservator university or commercial seed company. Jeff McCormick, a pioneer new-breed seed company owner, has suggested that vegetable farmers growing a contract seed crop may find it to their advantage to go back to the company every year for "select" (certified) seed for the vegetables they are raising for market, as well.(5)
The Global PictureWhile European Union (EU) and global standards are beyond the scope of this publication, there was extensive discussion of the need for global harmonization of organic standards at the 2004 World Seed Conference in Rome. (See Proceedings.) Differing standards, of course, affect trade policy, and intense negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union continue. As of 2005, some GMO plantings in Europe, as well as exports of U.S. Bt corn to Europe, had been approved. Another major issue at the World Seed Conference was intellectual property rights, or the implications of governmentally approved lists of permitted varieties. This is a special concern for traditional farmers in many countries, who are used to saving seed from year to year and have over the centuries developed unique landraces. A recent example is in Iraq, where a new report by GRAIN and Focus on the Global South cites a U.S. edict in occupied Iraq that "prevents farmers from saving their seeds and effectively hands over the seed market to transnational corporations." (See www.grain.org/nfg/?id=253.) This was also reported in In Good Tilth, February 2005.(26) Traditional practices of indigenous farmers are mostly compatible with organic production: planting a mix of adapted types (landraces) to ensure some survivors, despite vagaries of weather and insect/disease attacks; use of older varieties geared to minimizing capital investment; hand-harvesting and other labor-intensive practices precluded by modern, uniform, machine-harvestable varieties; and use of labor-intensive crop protection strategies like hand weeding and watering, rather than purchased off-farm inputs. For information on breeding in Europe compared to the U.S, see SeedWorld, November 2004.(27) But can hand labor feed burgeoning urban populations, or is it a relic of a younger, less densely populated Earth, where 98% of people grew their own food? In the best of all possible worlds, a blend of traits uniquely adapted to organic production (not only resistance to local pests and diseases, but improved vigor and flavor) will result from horizontal breeding. This implies a far more decentralized food production system than we have at present. For a more detailed comparison of the different positions taken by the European Seed Association and the American Seed Trade Association—especially in regard to trialing and proprietary rights—see the handy table in the November 2004 issue of SeedWorld.(27) Geography of organic seed production has ramifications mainly in the context of GMOs. Spain and Italy raise seed for the rest of Europe. Traditionally U.S. garden seed has been produced in Idaho and other arid West Coast and Intermountain regions. Relative severity of pest and disease pressures is a major consideration in producing quality seed. However, labor costs for seed production became an issue in the 1980s, leading to seed production for commercial growers as far away as Taiwan and Argentina—a development worrisome on several counts, not the least of which is the newly announced Chinese plan to invest billions of dollars in Argentina and Brazil in return for access to land and natural resources, an agreement finalized at the recently concluded (December 11, 2004) Summit in Chile. Argentina has been identified as an emerging leader in GMO crop production.(22)
Tubers and AlliumsCommercial growers rarely try to produce their own starts or sets; they rely on specialized suppliers or on grower associations to provide high quality propagation material each year. (For more information on how this works for sweetpotato starts, see the section on cultivars and propagation in the ATTRA publication Sweetpotato: Organic Production. Also see http://fps.ucdavis.edu/sweetpotato/background.html.) In 2004 growers temporarily obtained organic vegetable starts from their associations or even from state departments of agriculture, in the absence of commercial production. Handling IssuesRecently, the Saving Our Seeds Project, with funding from USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, has published several detailed seed production guides, including Seed Processing and Storage. These publications are available on the SOS Web site. They are being distributed at a series of SARE-funded farmer workshops and are also available on CD from Saving Our Seed, Carolina Farm Stewardship: Order by fax (706-788-0071), mail (Carolina Farm Stewardship Ass'n, 49 Circle D Dr., Colbert, GA 30628), or e-mail.
Topics covered in the handling publication include dry processing, wet processing, threshing and cleaning equipment, storage and longevity, seed dormancy, germination enhancement techniques, labeling, record-keeping, shipping, and federal and state seed laws. ConclusionThe trend toward globalization, centralization, standardization, uniformity, substitution of capital for labor (and even for management) in agriculture underlies many of the seed conundrums that organic agriculture faces. Most new seed varieties in the West have come out of university research, funded by industry. A countermovement is gathering momentum to protect indigenous landraces from Western patents by securing intellectual property rights for traditional landraces/ genetics that have been improved over thousands of years by indigenous farmers. Many grassroots seed conservation groups are saving varietal types from mandated extinction. Solutions are emerging for specific procedural issues that have arisen with the implementation of the USDA National Organic Standards—such as equivalence and perhaps even testing, as well as setting tolerances for GMO presence. The farmer-led move toward developing specific varieties for organics through participatory breeding, while in its infancy, is well underway. References1) Colley, Michaela, and Matthew Dillon. 2004. The next great challenge: Breeding seed for organic systems. Organic Farming Research Foundation Information Bulletin. Winter. p. 1, 4, 5, 29. 2) Dillon, Matthew. 2003. E-mail attachment. Summit on Seeds and Breeds for 21st Century Agriculture, Washington, DC, September 6–8, 2003. 3 p. 3) Kelemu, Segenet, et al. 2003. Harmonizing the agricultural biotechnology debate for the benefit of African farmers. African Journal of Biotechnology. October. 50 p. www.academicjournals.org/AJB/manuscripts/manuscripts2003/ 4) Staff. 2003. MFAI participates in summit on seed breeding in the public interest. MFAI newsletter. September. p. 1. www.michaelfieldsaginst.org 5) McCormick, Jeff. 2005. "Saving Our Seed" Conference, Twin Oaks, Louisa, VA, February 24, 2005.
6) Robinson, R.A. 1996. Return to Resistance: Breeding Crops To Reduce Pesticide Dependency. AgAccess, Davis, California, and IDRC Books, Ottawa, Canada. 7) Rich, Deborah K. 2004. Seed crossings bring back old traits for organic farmers. The Chronicle. August 28. 3 p. www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/28/HOGHV8E6EE1.DTL&hw 8) Jones, Stephen. 2004. Breeding resistance to special interests. OFRF Information Bulletin. Fall. p. 4–7. 9) Kandel, Hans, and Paul Porter. 2004. Small grain cultivar selection for organic systems. The CornerPost. Fall. p. 11. Includes table of varieties. For more information, contact Hans Kandel at kande001@umn.edu 10) Staff. 2004. Of note. Organic Trade Association News Flash. February 4. p. 2. 11) NOFA certification staff. 2004. NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC. Organic Farms, Folks & Foods. Mid-Fall. p. 5. 12) Rundgren, Gunnar. 2003. EU organic seed regulation adapts to reality. The Organic Standard. July. p. 16. 13) Guebert, Alan. 2001. Supreme Court blesses plant patents; bye-bye bin-run seed. The Land (MN). December 21. p. 3. 14) Center for Food Safety. 2005. Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers. www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press_release1.13.05.cfm Also: Staff. 2005. Corporate farming notes: Monsanto vs. U.S Farmers report released. Center for Rural Affairs. February. p. 3. 15) Organic Trade Association Staff. 2005. News & Trends: Sourcing Organic Seed. The Organic Report. p. 7. Also: Rakita, Cricket. 2005. Seed sourcing. Carolina Farm Stewardship News. March–April. p. 4. www.savingourseed.org/ 16) Staff. 2004. Database development. The Organic Observer. December. p. 3. 17) King, Tim. 2004. Growing organic seed fits farm's rotation. The Land. December 17. p. 9A–11A. 18) Condon, Mark. 2003. The View of the American Seed Trade Association on Organic Agriculture. p. 2. www.amseed.com/newsDetail.asp?id+74 19) Staff. 2004. Genetic ID Augsburg receives perfect scores in ISTA proficiency test. The Non-GMO Source. August. p. 15. 20) Brook, Rhonda J. 2002. Pollen tracker. Farm Industry News. mid-February. p. 30–32. 21) Mellon, Margaret, and Jane Rissler. 2004. Gone to Seed: Transgenic Contaminants in the Traditional Seed Supply. Union of Concerned Scientists. Washington, DC. p. 33, 36–47. Also:, Phillabaum, Larry. 2005. Change blows in on the wind: Pollen from transgenic grass runs amok in Oregon. In Good Tilth. February 15. p. 12. Transgenic effects were found outside the genus of the test grass and 13 miles distant. 22) Cummings, Claire Hope. 2005. Trespass. WorldWatch. January–February. p. 24–35. 23) Staff. 2005. Government forced to disclose locations of test sites of biopharmaceutical crops [in Hawaii]. February 8. www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press_release2.8.05.cfm 24) Lipson, Mark. 2005. Presentation to NCAT staff. April 6. 25) Staff. 2004. Should there be a GMO tolerance for organic? The Non-GMO Source. April. p. 1–2. 26) Staff. 2005. Iraq's patent law hurts farmers. In Good Tilth. February 15. p. 20. 27) Dansby, Angela. 2004. EU vs. US: Is a compromise position possible? Research exemptions and patents sticking points. SeedWorld. November. Chart. p. 9. Further ResourcesOrganic Seed Production Materials Bean Seed Production: An Organic Seed Production Manual Isolation Distances Seed Processing and Storage Tomato Seed Production: An Organic Seed Production Manual Connolly, Bryan (with C.R. Lawn, ed.). 2005. Organic Seed Production and Saving. NOFA, Barre, MA.
Participatory Breeding for Organics Pepper Genetics and Genomes Selfers and Crossers Organic Seed Research Programs Cornell. Public Seed Initiative Organic Seed Alliance Seeds of Change Washington State University Other ResourcesIf a source is not indicated, contact your local librarian to order the publication or article through Interlibrary Loan. Publications or articles cited in the text are not included. Farmers Guide to GMOs
Journey to Forever. Moeller, David R./Farmer's Legal Action Group, Inc., and Michael Sligh/Rural Advancement Foundation International. 2004. Farmers' Guide to GMOs. 51 p. www.flaginc.org Books2005 Non-GMO Sourcebook (global)
National Research Council. 2004. Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms. National Academy of Sciences. 219 p. Tokar, Brian (ed.). 2004. Gene Traders: Biotechnology, World Trade, and the Globalization of Hunger. Toward Freedom, Burlington, VT. 124 p. Genetic Engineering vs. Organic Farming. IFOAM. New periodical. ArticlesAmerican Seed Trade Association. 2003. News Release: The view of the American Seed Trade Association on Organic Agriculture. 3 p. www.amseed.com/newsDetail.asp?id+74 Beck's Hybrids. 2003. Final Report: Promotion of Organic Seed and Farming Practices, USDA Block Grant for Promotion of Agriculture project. July. 22 p. Bonina, Jennifer, and Daniel J. Cantliffe. 2004. Seed Production and Seed Sources of Organic Vegetables. University of Florida Extension. 18 p. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS227 Brown, Greg. 2004. Commercial organic seed grower continues to spread the word. The Spudman. January. p. 28. www.spudman.com Colley, Micaela. 2004. Organic Seed Alliance hosts Organic Seed Growers Conference. Condom, Mark. 2004. Can organic and biotech coexist? AgBiotech Buzz: Roundtable. DeVore, Brian. 2004. The secret lives of seeds. Land Stewardship Letter. April–June. p. 1, 14–15. Dillon, Matthew. 2005. "We have the seeds": Mon-santo now the largest vegetable seed producer [with purchase of Seminis]. The Organic Broadcaster. March–April. p. 2–4. Dillon, Matthew. 2004. Organic Seed Alliance hosts Organic Seed Growers Conference. The Seed Midden. Spring. p. 1, 5. Dillon, Matthew. 2004. Breeding for organics. The Seed Midden. Winter. p. 3. www.seedalliance.org Dillon, Matthew. 2004. First World Conference on Organic Seed, Rome, Italy. New Farm. (2 part article). August. 8 p. September. 4 p. www.newfarm.org DeVore, Brian. 2004. Public Seeds, Public Goods. Land Stewardship Project (compilation of newsletter articles). 11 p. www.landstewardshipproject.org/pdf/pubseeds_pubgoods.pdf Glos, Michael. 2004. Public Seed Initiative News. The Natural Farmer. Fall. p. 8. Haapala, J.J. 2004. A gardener's guide to blocking the bio-pirates. In Good Tilth. Hamilton, Molly. 2004. North Carolina Organic Grain Project. CFSA. September–October. p. 7. High Mowing Seeds. 2005. Press release: All Things Organic Conference, April 30-May 3, 2005. 2 p. www.organicexpo.net Industries Research and Development Corporation (Australia). 2004. New rule to ensure integrity of organic vegetables. Shaping the Future for Australian Organics. p. 6. Jensen, Erika. 2004. A model of cooperation: Public Seed Initiative unites organic farmers, plant breeders. Organic Broadcaster. January–February. p. 1, 2, 9. Jones, Stephen. 2004. Breeding resistance to special interests. Organic Farming Research Foundation. Fall. p. 4–7. Kandel, Hans, and Paul Porter. 2004. Small grain cultivar selection for organic systems. CornerPost (MN). p.11. Kittredge, Dan, and Hali Shellhause (transcribers). 2004. Vandana Shiva's Keynote to the 2004 NOFA Summer Conference. The Natural Farmer. Fall. p. 23–26. Lawn, C.R., and Eli Rogosa Kaufman. 2004. Organic Seed Crop Production: A new niche for New England farmers. 5 p. www.growseed.org/niche.html Rauch, Jonathan. 2003. Will frankenfood save the planet? The Atlantic Monthly. Rich, Deborah K. 2004. Essay: Seed crossings bring back old traits for organic farmers/Today's varieties grow poorly in natural soils. SFGate.com. August 28. Sonnabend, Zea. 2004. Report from Rome: World Conference on Organic Seed held at FAO headquarters. OFRF Information Bulletin. Fall. p. 9. Staff. 2002. Pollen tracker: New software program predicts the genetic purity of corn hybrids. Farm Industry News. p. 30. http://farmindustrynews.com Staff. 2003. Sociologist surveys public attitudes on food. The Voice of Demeter. Summer. p. 8–9. Staff. 2003. Public Seed Initiative update (Summer 2003). The Natural Farmer. Fall. p. 35. Staff. 2004. News briefs: Commercial seeds of major U.S. crops pervasively contaminated with DNA from engineered varieties…. Alternative Agriculture News. March. p. 2. Staff. 2004. Genetically engineered DNA found in traditional seeds. Michigan Organic Connections. January–March. p. 6. Staff. 2004. Research reports: Engineered DNA found in seeds. In Good Tilth. April. p. 24. Staff. 2004. News shorts: Sweden spreads the burden of organic seed. The Organic Standard. January. p. 11. Staff. 2004. What's new: Bayer withdraws GM crop. Organic Matters. May–June. p. 6. Staff. 2004. Seed merchants must be licensed and bonded. Tilth Producers Quarterly. Summer. p. 18. Staff. 2004. First world conference on organic seed held in Rome. OMRIupdate. Summer. p. 1, 7, 10, 11. Staff. 2004. Organic seed issues discussed at Rome meet. Organic Business News. July. p. 3. Staff. 2005. Organic corn hybrid and soybean varieties test in Wisconsin. The Organic Broadcaster. March–April. p. 5. Staff. 2005. Corporate Farming Notes: Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers report released. Center for Rural Affairs Newsletter. February. p. 3. Williams, Paul. 2004. ATTRA Trip Report: CORNS Bene fi ts for Earth's Low-Income Emergent Farmers conference, Stillwater, OK. Oct. 29–30. 2 p. Wisner, Robert. 2004. GE wheat would harm wheat exports. In Good Tilth. Feb. 15. p. 1. Wood, Robin, and Brian Smith. 2001. Organic vegetable seed production—more difficult than you think. 1 p. www.hri.ac.uk/site2/news/news/organicseed
By Katherine L. Adam
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