Wet Chemistry Soybean Series - Seed World

organic seed industryat a crossroadsOrganic seed growers in the United States will potentiallyface some hard production decisions dependant on possiblechanges to certification regulations.In order for organic fruit, vegetables and grain to be consideredtruly organically grown, do they have to grow fromorganic seed? Right now the answer to this question isn’tentirely clear, as the United States Department of Agriculture’sNational Organic Program regulations allow certified organicgrowers to use non-organic (untreated, conventional) seed fortheir organic crops if they first make every effort to use organicallygrown seeds.In a draft guidance issued by the NOP, section 205.204states, “Certified operations may use non-organic seed andplanting stock if organic seeds and planting stock are not commerciallyavailable in an appropriate form, quality or quantity tofulfill an essential function in organic production. Price cannotbe a consideration.”The sale of organic fruit and vegetables in the UnitedStates grew by 11 percent in 2009, commanding 38 percentof total organic food sales worth $26.6 billion. While organicfood purchases came to less than four percent of the total U.S.food purchases in 2009, this market segment increased by 5.1percent, compared to an increase of only 1.6 percent for all foodpurchases. There is no doubt that consumer demand for organicfoods, especially produce, is increasing; this growth providesorganic growers with good market potential, but this doesn’tcompletely equate to a higher demand for organic seed.Organic Seed Not on Consumers’ RadarWhen a shopper in the organic section of a Kansas City grocerystore buys a bag of carrots, or even when they buy organicstrawberries directly from the grower at a farmers’ market, theyare unlikely to know or care whether or not the produce they’rebuying is grown from organic seed.Barb Perkins, owner of Vermont Valley Community Farmnear Madison, Wis., provides about 1,300 boxes of organic produceto the farm’s 2,000 members each year. She says all her membersknow they are receiving organic produce, but none ask aboutthe seed used to grow the fruit and vegetables in their boxes.Even though consumers may not be knowledgeable aboutthe use of organic seed, most organic growers wish to basetheir production on a holistic system that starts with organicseed. However, commercial growers aren’t currently able to buyorganic seed for all the varieties they wish to grow.Support Needed for Organic SeedThe Organic Seed Alliance, a research and education organizationwith a mission to support the ethical development andstewardship of the genetic resources of agricultural seed, recentlyreleased a report on its State of Organic Seed project. The reportstates, “Yet, even with the organic industry’s impressive growth,the organic seed sector has not caught up to meet this demand.There is a limited availability of appropriate organically producedseed for a variety of reasons, including cutbacks in publicplant breeding programs, lack of investments from the privatesector, seed industry consolidation, and ongoing disagreementregarding implementing NOP requirements pertaining toorganic seed, among others.”Vitalis Organic Seeds, a company within the Enza ZadenGroup, was established in 1994 as the first U.S. seed companyconcentrating exclusively on breeding, producing, cleaning and20 Seed World