Annual Report 2011

Strengthening Community Seed Systems

Friends,

Seed is not just a farm and garden input, but a natural resource that demands careful stewardship. Seed is also a living resource: saved and replanted for thousands of years to provide the foundation of food crops we depend on today. We are responsible for ensuring this essential resource remains diverse and resilient for future generations.

This is the inspiration behind Organic Seed Alliance’s (OSA) work. As you will read in this 2011 report, we lead the nation in training farmers and other seed professionals in skills necessary to safeguard biological diversity, expand choice in the organic seed marketplace, and protect seed integrity and the rights of farmers. Our work is especially critical in the face of troubling trends in the seed industry, including concentrated market power and limited choice for organic farmers.

As we plan our 6th Organic Seed Growers Conference slated for January 19 - 21, 2012 – Strengthening Community Seed Systems – we are reminded of how thankful we are for the growing organic seed community. And we cannot help but reflect on all the reasons to celebrate: successes in organic plant breeding, growth in the organic seed sector, and more organic farmers participating in the conservation of our seed heritage.

Ensuring an organic food future begins with protecting and expanding the fundamental resource of seed. We cannot accomplish this important work without the support of community members like you.

With gratitude,

Micaela Colley
Executive Director
Organic Seed Alliance

Financial Report

In 2011, OSA’s budget, staff, and demand for services continued to grow. With a budget of over $600,000, our financial portfolio was more diverse compared to 2010, providing greater financial stability. This included a 20 percent decrease in percentage of income from government grants and an increased percentage in every other income stream, including a doubling of percentage from individual donors.

Seed Matters

OSA is a proud member of Seed Matters, an initiative of the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Seed Matters was launched in 2010 to support efforts that conserve crop genetic diversity, promote farmers’ roles and rights as seed stewards, and reinvigorate public seed research and education. We are grateful for their generous contribution to our work. Businesses wanting to support organic integrity starting with seed are invited to join the initiative.

OSA Teams with WSU

OSA works collaboratively with university researchers and educators throughout the U.S. In 2008, OSA and Washington State University (WSU) formed a formal partnership by cofunding Dr. John Navazio’s dual position as OSA’s Senior Scientist and WSU’s Organic Seed and Sustainable Agriculture Specialist. This unique relationship allows both organizations to expand regional and organic seed production, as well as develop models of on-farm plant breeding for organic systems. Dr. Navazio taught the first online organic plant breeding course offered by WSU Distance Learning in 2011.

Safeguarding Diversity and Improving Choice for Organic Farmers

OSA’s research program strengthened organic seed systems in two major ways this year: by developing new varieties best suited for organic agriculture and researching cover crop seed production. OSA is breeding new organically adapted carrots, sweet corn, and purple sprouting broccoli, thanks to support from the USDA and organic industry partners. In fact, OSA partnered with the Agricultural Research Service, Purdue University, University of California, University of Wisconsin, and Washington State University on a new Organic Research and Education Initiative project to breed carrots for organic agriculture. We are also evaluating varieties of vetch, oats, buckwheat, clover, and field peas to determine the best varieties to produce as cover crop seed as part of a project funded through the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Serving the Northern Tier Through Participatory Plant Breeding

The Northern Organic Variety Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) continued developing and evaluating varieties of carrots, sweet corn, peas, broccoli, and winter squash for organic agriculture. As a partner in NOVIC, OSA participated in field trials, breeding projects, and education in Washington, Oregon, California, and Minnesota. We also compiled preliminary organic variety trial reports, which will soon be available on NOVIC’s website (launching in January of 2012) to assist farmers in finding the best varieties for their production system. Please visit www.eorganic.info to learn more.

Growing the Next Generation of Seed Producers

OSA’s education program effectively reached more than 500 farmers and gardeners across the U.S. in 2011 through workshops on basic seed saving, seed production, organic seed marketing, variety trialing, and on-farm plant breeding. We also released nine organic seed tutorials on eXtension.org. These tutorials cover seed production in beets, brassicas, carrots, lettuce, onions, wet seeded crops, as well as seed diseases, seed quality, and seed climatic considerations. The tutorials came out of our wildly successful Organicology conference’s seed intensive, an all-day course that taught farmers how to improve their production skills for a variety of seed crops.

OSA Publishes State of Organic Seed

In February 2011, we published our State of Organic Seed report, the first comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities in building the organic seed sector. The report, which is a result of data collection over the course of two years, is part of a larger project aimed at increasing the success and minimizing the risks for the organic farming and food sector by advancing the viability and integrity of organic seed systems. We’ve served over 1,300 farmers, researchers, industry leaders, and advocates with free downloadable copies since its release. OSA will update this report in the coming years to monitor and showcase the growth and success of organic seed systems. Download the report here

Strengthening Organic Seed Systems Through Collaborative Actions

OSA’s advocacy program launched and facilitated four organic seed working groups made up of diverse stakeholders in the organic community. The working groups carried out action items identified in our State of Organic Seed report in the categories of seed integrity, seed concentration and intellectual property, organic plant breeding, and organic seed availability. Working group accomplishments include laying the groundwork for a new national organic seed database (launching in 2012), an organic plant breeding symposium as part of the 2012 Organic Seed Growers Conference, a Farm Bill platform to address seed concentration, and a survey and preliminary report on organic integrity issues within the seed industry. Staff also delivered public testimony in Washington, D.C., on USDA’s priorities and activities related to organic agriculture and to the agency’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture.

Organicology: The Study of a Sustainable Food Future

OSA co-founded the biennial Organicology conference. In 2011, Organicology was a smashing success, with more than 700 participants gathering to discuss a sustainable food future through a forum of workshops; day-long intensives on seed, policy, and more; and nationally recognized keynote speakers. The next Organicology conference will be held February 6 – 10, 2013, in Portland, Oregon.

Organic Seed Growers Conference

OSA was busy in 2011 planning the Sixth Organic Seed Growers Conference to be held in Port Townsend, WA, on January 19 – 21, 2012. Conference highlights include more than two dozen presentations and panel discussions; a seed swap, exhibit hall, and networking events; and local food and entertainment. The conference begins with a one-day tour showcasing organic seed projects and the growing organic seed industry in Washington’s Skagit Valley. Register and learn more here.

Strengthening Seed Systems in the Southeast

OSA is supporting community seed systems across the U.S. through our research and education programs, as well as through fee-for-service technical assistance. In 2011, our advisory service program helped partners in the Southeast develop a survey and preliminary strategy for building infrastructure to facilitate organic seed production and organic plant breeding, and encourage better coordination among breeders, growers, and buyers.

Other 2011 Highlights

• OSA received the Robert V. Menary Award for Excellence in Environmental Issues for our “outstanding work and commitment to the community” from the El Pomar Foundation.

• Our education and research program established new initiatives in California thanks to a generous contribution from the Columbia Foundation.

• To better engage in federal policy work, OSA became a proud member of the National Organic Coalition this year, a national alliance working to provide a “Washington voice” for members of the organic community.

• OSA’s social media presence grew exponentially in 2011. Staff wrote more than 120 posts for our Seed Broadcast blog; our Facebook page following grew by more than 4,500 supporters, thanks to staff posting more than 250 times throughout 2011; and our Twitter following more than doubled.

• In 2011, OSA reached over 6,100 organic seed community members with our publicly available research and education publications.

• Traditional and social media sources continued to see OSA as an expert on all things organic seed, as evidenced by the number of interviews that resulted in our work being highlighted in 30 articles, including the New York Times, Science, and Mother Earth News.

• We are leading in developing seed and breeding related information for farmers through eOrganic/eXtension www.extension.org including our recently released tutorial on organic seed production.

• OSA joined a third lawsuit this year involving genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets. The lawsuit was in response to USDA’s decision to allow some commercial planting of GE sugar beets before the court-ordered environmental impact statement (EIS) was completed. The Court of Appeals also upheld the lower court’s ruling in our first lawsuit that required USDA to conduct the EIS, preserving our 2010 victory.

Flaunting Seed Stewardship

OSA added organic cotton t-shirts and hats to our promotional products in 2011. Now OSA donors can flaunt their seed stewardship with our newly designed wearables. Learn more here

Why I Give

Seeds are all about the next generation, which is exactly what organic is about. The work of OSA is crucial to the future of food and life.

Atina Diffley
OSA Board Member and
owner, Organic Farming Works

No other organization’s efforts match the work of Organic Seed Alliance. They understand that the foundation of organic agriculture starts with the seed. If organic farmers want to grow good food then we need good seed to work within our systems. Their research, advocacy, education and support have had consistent, positive impacts on my organic seed farm.

Beth Rasgorshek
OSA supporter and
owner, Canyon Bounty Farm

I believe in OSA and their mission -- they are accomplishing great things. Their work complements our efforts at Seed Savers Exchange, and we’re delighted to be partnering with OSA on a new seed saving book.

Amy Goldman
OSA supporter and
board chair, Seed Savers Exchange