Oregon farms press forward on organic seeds

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Corn variety trials at Gathering Together Farm

A handful of Oregon farmers are teaming up with Oregon State University as part of a nationwide effort to broaden the availability of organic seeds.

Responding to new pressure from organic food certifiers, the effort is aimed at testing new seed varieties on organic farms in hopes of luring companies to produce the seed commercially.

"There are a few companies out there that produce seed that is certified organic," said Jim Myers, a professor in the Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University.

But organic seed can otherwise be tough to find, he said. Instead, growers have to buy conventionally produced seed, Myers said.

Until recently, the practice has been allowed. Organic food certifiers like the United States Department of Agriculture, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and the European Union initially left loopholes in organic certification rules that allowed food to be grown from non-certified seed. The loophole was meant to address concern about a lack of access to organic seed.

"Over time, they expect the shift to occur and they expect these varieties to be available," said Myers.

Yet a market for organic seed has been slow to take hold. Myers said few companies are stepping up to produce certified organic seed because the market for sales is small. Farmers also pay a higher cost for the seed, so some still choose conventional seed instead, which further discourages companies from wading in.

Organic food certifiers, however, aren’t waiting. Instead they are tightening the loopholes for farms, requiring growers to first check for availability of certified organic seed at three seed companies — and document their efforts — before they can buy conventional seed.

Myers and others hope to help by greasing the wheels of organic seed production through the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative, or NOVIC, a collaborative program involving farms and researchers in five states.

The $2.3 million, four-year program, funded by the USDA-NIFA Organic Research and Extension Initiative, links university researchers who breed seed plants with farmers who can test them.

Around the United States, hubs of growers are now providing feedback on trial varieties of broccoli, carrots, snap peas, sweet corn and winter squash. They are centered around Oregon State University, the University of Wisconsin, Cornell University, the Organic Seed Alliance and the USDA, all research partners through NOVIC.

"We’re identifying varieties that do well with the idea that our recommendations will attract companies to produce certified organic seed," said Myers.

In Oregon, five organic farms are serving as researchers’ test tube: Gathering Together Farm in Philomath, Winter Green Farm in Noti, Persephone Farm in the Sweet Home area, and 47th Avenue Farm and Sauvie Island Farms in Portland.

Frank Morton, who manages seed growth at Gathering Together Farm with his family, said there are benefits to pitching in.

"By participating in science on the farm, it’s good business. It gives us insight into what’s new in agriculture and when you’re farming — especially when you’re doing specialty crops — what’s new is what’s profitable," he said.

NOVIC researchers and farmers are looking for key traits in plants. They want plants that show good tolerance to heat and can extend the growing season, provide good flavor, stand up to weed competition and show resistance to fleas, beetles and mildew.

Other sought-after qualities depend on the variety, Myers said. Broccoli should have medium-sized heads, for example, and should be tall, so the workers that pick them don’t have to stoop much. Carrots with long tops are also preferred because they are more competitive with weeds, especially in winter.

NOVIC is sharing the research at www.eXtension.org. A search for NOVIC on the site will turn up access to the variety trial database, opportunities to contribute, updates, workshop dates and new publications.

Lee van der Voo, lvdvoo*at*gmail.com, is a freelance writer for Sustainable Business Oregon.