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Restoring Our Seed

Restoring Our Seed is an extension program to train farmers in organic seed crop production and improvement. Farmers will learn how to integrate seed production into an ecological whole farm system, incorporate beneficial habitats for pollinators, select and breed seed crops for disease resistance and local adaptability, and harvest and clean seed efficiently at the proper time.

A team of cooperative and lay extension, master farmers and seed companies is conducting seminars, field days and producing educational resources for seed growers in three states: Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, over a period of 3 years. The goals of Restoring Our Seed are to increase the number of area farmers trained in organic seed production, increase the quantity and quality of available organically grown open-pollinated vegetable seed and increase community awareness of the importance of regionally-adapted germplasm suitable for organic culture.

Restoring Our Seed is funded by Northeast SARE.

For more information contact: CR Lawn at crlawn@fedcoseeds.com (207-873-7333) or Eli Kaufman at humus1@netvision.il

Save Our Seed Project:

Working with Southeast Farmers and Extension Agents in the Production of Organic and Heirloom Seed

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 offereings 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 varieity control back in the hands of farmers.

Open Pollinated Corn Project:

This new project funded by SARE, USDA aims to evaluate the potential of open-pollinated field corn for growers in the Northeast. During the first partial project year, they established strip trials in NY and NH and small plot trials in NY to evaluate open-pollinated corn varieties for silage and grain use. They have already collected data on plant development, morphology, yield, and silage quality. Additional data collection on grain quality, ear traits, and processing/cooking uses is underway. They have held two field days and one winter meeting to introduce the project to farmers, extension educators, and other interested individuals. They have been very pleased with the level of interest expressed in this work. For more information, please contact Margaret Smith at Cornell University.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association:

CFSA's Mission is: to support and expand local and organic agriculture in the Carolinas by inspiring, educating, and organizing farmers and consumers.

This is an excellent resource for organic growers and seed producers. The site has many printable guides for growers including planting, production, harvest, post-harvest and marketing guides. There is also pages for children and tons of information on the National Organic Program. This site is definitely worth checking out!!!

Kokopelli Seed Foundation:

The mision of the Kokopelli Seed Foundation is:

To promote charitable donations of organic, heirloom seeds and to promote seed-saving education to fight hunger in Third World poor countries.
To help rural communities in Third World countries to create community seed banks, seed savers networks and organic seed production groups.
To promote in the USA, and elsewhere in the world, the creation of a network of voluntary organic gardeners devoted to the production of heritage seeds for charitable donation.
To promote partnership with seed-savers networks, NGOs and international foundations involved in the increasing of food production, in the improving of nutrition and in the pursuit of food security while managing the natural resources.
To promote educational and research programs in organic seed production, managing of genetic resources, reforestation, bee-keeping and organic sustainable gardening through workshops, publication of newsletters and books, and our web site.
To promote seed consciousness: sharing of seeds and of seed saving traditions.