9:00-10:15 Efficient and Economical Seed Production Presenter: Alan Adesse, Hands On Organics, Oregon

Alan grows seed for 60 - 70 medicinal herbs, flowers and vegetables on 6 - 7 acres of land in the Grant's Pass area of Oregon, USA which he describes as "sort of on the edge of a Mediterranean climate". His presentation was sub-titled "A Year in the Life of a Seed Grower" and was accompanied by colour slides. He was mentored by Dr Alan Kapular and has made organic farming and seed growing a life style choice.

In doing this summary, I have tried to put the calendar details in a month by month chronology and clustered the more general points and tool hints and strategies up front.

Getting Started: keep records of everything! Especially expenses.

Inbreeders won't outbreed (with a few exceptions) ie: lettuce, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers.

Outbreeders are wind and insect pollinated and are therefore more challenging to grow. ie: brassicas, corn, radishes, and umbels such as carrots

Alan thinks it's ok to rename varieties according to their seed-growing location. Plants "shift" by making adaptations to the area where grown in about two years. (A lot of even open pollinated seeds have patented names - but the seed carries a lot of diversity that can be grown out in specific areas with different soil types and climate, and shift genetically very quickly, thereby coming significantly different that the patented one.)

Use a soil thermometer to make sure it's 68 - 70'F at depth seed will be planted to get good germination.

"Bulking" and "selecting" are two different ways of collecting seed. Bulking increases diversity.

Collect seed from the margins separately from that in the centre.

Transplanting: 3 people can do 3/4 - 1 acre per day by hand. More if using a tractor with transplanter. Alan uses a 24 inch wide walk-behind tiller with trencher attached to make straight lines; and speedling trays - but not the "tight" ones - too hard to remove seedlings. One person with hose waters in. Make a dry mix fertilizer of chicken manure, lime, phosphate and kelp in a bucket and drop a bit into each transplant hole.

Seeding: Alan uses a Planet Junior Seeder for small seeds - like brassicas and cilantro, not beans or corn.

Seed production is different than trialling.

Spacing recommendations for various crops available in Osborne and Territorial Seed Catalogues

It takes 5 - 7 years of working the soil to create a balanced soil mix and get primo seed crops.

Pumpable water 24/7 is a gift! Otherwise have to depend on rain and timely planting.

Alan foliar feeds all plants at time of transplanting and once a week in early season to compensate for important micronutrients missing in immature soils. When plants start to set seed, then he sprays once every two weeks. Mix in spray tank: OMRI* - approved fish emulsion (from Crescent City, California) *Organic Materials Review Institute; diluted 35% industrial grade hydrogen peroxide (which supplements oxygen to the plant which increases nutrient uptake and helps suppress mildew); compost tea; and kelp. This treatment improves the quality of the seed germination and storage. Try to spray early in the day when it's not too hot.

Hand weed early (within a week to 10 days of transplanting or direct seeded crops) and often or plants will be stunted and produce both less and poorer quality seed. The first weeding is VERY important. Waiting until two weeks can mean the difference between a good crop or not.

Alan prefers overhead irrigation for cucurbits. Driplines do not service peripheral roots. ie: he got aphids down the middle of a Red Kuri Squash bed where the dripline was inadequate and lost about half the seed crop. Dripline Ok for herbs.

Tomatoes	36 plants	1-2 lbs seed
Peppers	40 plants	1 lb seed
Carrots	600 row feet	20 - 25 lbs
Onions	1000 row feet	40 - 50 lbs
Leeks	1000 row feet	25 lbs
Beans	200 row feet	20 - 25 lbs
Broccoli	500 row feet	10 lbs
Mustard	500 row feet	20 lbs
Chinese Greens	500 row feet	15 lbs (eg tatsoi, bok choi)
Beets/Chard	500 row feet	20 - 25 lbs
Corn	1000 row feet	100 - 150 lbs
Sunflowers	500 row feet	25 lbs (ornamental)
Squash	1000 row feet	40 lbs
Melons	1000 row feet	30 lbs
Radish	1000 row feet	30 - 35 lbs
Radicchio/Endive	200 row feet	10 lbs

Onions will take about 4 harvests. Walk down the rows looking for the heads where the black is coming out of the little florets and the head is about 1/3 open. Start to collect those heads and lay them out to dry. Repeat three more times. Then it's easy to thresh.

Carrots - 1st harvest has biggest umbels, then 2-3 more harvests. Do not harvest the small umbels, not much seed in them. (Can not grow carrot seeds where there is Queen Ann's lace due to crossing)

Beware of shattering which will reduce seed yield if sees are dropped before harvest. (eg browning of brassica seed pods). Cut stems, lay on tarps, all in the same direction, and turn 3 - 4 times while drying. Then easy to thresh out.

Beets are the hardest to thresh out. When the tops yellow, it's time to cut or lose a lot of seed!

Daikon radish needs mechanical mashing, has a hard pod.

Lay seed stocks on tarps and drive over with tractor or dance on them when dry. Winnow with fans into buckets. Use seed cleaning screens of different sizes of mesh (hardware cloth). For round seed use a tilted table, the flat stuff stays put and the seeds roll down.

clean seeds. Makes compost from threshing residue and puts back into fields.

• Review catalogues, network and talk to potential customers
• Make contact with companies re: what they need
• Decide which stock seed needs to be grown out
• Lay out fields - if growing both market and seed crops, use separate beds
• Be mindful of isolation requirements and individual crop preferences (eg Bean varieties need 25 feet isolation distance, lettuces 20 - 30 feet to keep from contaminating seeds when collecting, peppers 500 feet for hot and sweet varieties, 40 feet OK if opposite ends of row)
• The ideal would be to have enough land to work in a fallow rotation.
• Have to learn micro-climate/conditions specific to your own farm eg solar exposure, drainage, wind vectors
• Better to do a few varieties well, attending to detail, than too many poorly and increasing risk of contamination
• Decide whether doing variety trialling (observing) or seed production
• Keep careful records for crop rotations - to prevent diseases
• Prepare seed beds to be ready for spring planting windows of opportunity
• mow down stubble and incorporate into bed or use a fall cover such as paper or hemp so as not to have disintegrating plastic in the soil
• Seed beds need to be good and clean - no clumps or seed does not adhere to the soil resulting in poor germination and blanks in rows that need re-seeding.

mowing,tilling beds,weather permitting

plant flats in greenhouse: lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, leeks

geared to number of pounds of seed projected

eg lettuce: 2000 row feet will yield 50 lbs seed; for 1000 row feet at 16 inch spacing = 1500 plants; allow 10,000 plants/acre in rows 30 inches apart

Always overplant about 10% to allow for transplant loss and roguing out off types (Lettuce averages less than 1% for off types, it's an inbreeder)

Plant broccoli in flats to get big plants while it's still cool and moist, otherwise when temperature goes over 80'F bump into diseases, aphids and bolting resulting in low yields.

Transplanting helps minimize slug damage because plants are more established.

OK to direct seed mustards because they are quick growing and will flower by June.

Lettuces can be done either way, but if direct seeded in April, then they will flower all summer and it is more difficult to collect seed when moist conditions return in August, September.

Poppies are one of Alan's favourites - he direct seeds them with peas in a late Jan/early February window.

Direct seed mustard, cilantro, radish, and endive. Transplant onions.

take a chance on planting corn, beans, squash and melons Bean varieties need 25 feet isolation distance.

replant late May crops if there was a cold streak for 3 weeks and germination didn't happen. Still time for a good seed crop.

Plant biennials like beets, chard, carrots, cabbage and other brassicas and root crops - not in spring, too much maintenance. Alan overwinters all these in the field.

pull and season onions on tables in building (let tops dry back)

For uniformity of cukes, squash, melons, observe BEFORE blossoming. To get 50 lbs seed needs 1200 row feet. If there's one off type, pull it out. If there's four off types or more, the seed is contaminated. Don't collect it. If any offtype gets through to fruiting, pull the plant, remove the fruits from the rest of the plants and harvest fruit from the 2nd and 3rd flowerings.

Collect lettuce seed when 80% have "fuzzed" and the day is dry, bend over plants, rub and shake into bucket then transfer into paper bags.

Plant turnips and parsnip. They make roots in 30 days. Overwinter in field.

You don't want cabbage or kohl rabi to fully head out, just get established enough to overwinter. In late spring they will start finishing their growing cycle and stocking out (producing seed).

re-plant onions with tops just below ground like garlic, roots 5 inches down, overwinter in soil, 120 lb seed produced in 2000 row feet. Alan does sweet onions the same way because there's no hard freeze in his area.

PS: At Glorious Organics we use a 52 week numbering system for planning. This creates a 7 day window for getting the week's work done and is easier to sort in the data base/master crop plan and planting journals.

Presenter: Lindsey DuToit, Ph.D., Washington State University

Summary by Chris Wells

Lindsay started off her talk with the effects of pathogens on seeds. The symptoms of pathogens help diagnose particular diseases and thus help us implement appropriate solutions for dealing with them.

Pathogens affect the germination rate, vigour, and yield of seeds and can be spread to other plants. One of the key things for avoiding seed diseases is to ensure you are growing appropriate crops for your climate. Spinach seed, for example, is grown very successfully in many parts of western Washington - with some of the best conditions in the world - though it is still susceptible to disease.

Not all pathogens found in seeds get passed onto seedlings. Continuous pathogens can be found inside the seed, in the embryo or endosperm, and not necessarily get passed onto the plant, but because the disease is feeding on the seed, it greatly affects germination and vigour. Discontinuous Pathogens can be found on the surface of the seeds, which can then transfer to cotyledons and compete with them in early growth. A disease outbreak can occur with less than 1% of infection.

There are many factors that can affect disease prevalence in seeds: Weather: moisture can manifest and exacerbate problems Injury to seeds while processing - like having an open wound Seeds become less resilient after years of storage Growing the seed in the wrong climate Soil types: alkaline soils high in Calcium cause an absence of Zinc (tied up in high ph) which reduces the effect of fusarium, which needs zinc to be aggressive. Companion plants (mustards) or cover crops may act as biofumigants to reduce wilt prevalence - qualities released when material is chopped up.

On the bright side, genetic strength is not affected by seed disease, though diseases can prevent that seed from coming to fruition! However, fungi and bacteria go easily into a state of dormancy and re-emerge when the seed is planted. Adding water and heat, which helps the seed grow, are also optimum conditions for the growth of pathogens!

Seed diseases are a big concern for organic growers. Conventional growers use a wide array of fungicides to help control seed diseases, which organic growers cannot use. This means great care must be taken to prevent disease and to control it once discovered. Many diseases linger in the soil, so crop rotation is an important tool for disease prevention. Spinach growers in Washington may use a 10-15 year rotation! Also disease can be spread to neighbouring related plants and can be spread by machinery and people as well. In one study, the dust from a harvesting machine resulted in disease spores being found almost a mile away from where the tractor was operating. Disease can also be spread on tools and shoes, and can be found on asymptomatic plants, which carry the disease, but are unaffected by it. Feeding infected seeds to livestock can also spread the disease, as the manure in which they get deposited is an optimum place for pathogen growth.

It is possible to treat seeds that are diseased. The hot water method has proven to be an effective treatment for organic growers. It is important to use accurate data when determining how long and at what temperature to treat your seeds. A difference of 30 seconds to a minute can have a huge impact on seed survival. Hot water has proven to be more effective than chlorine for seed treatment as the heat permeates into the middle of the seed as well.

A good resource for vegetable diseases is the publication: Diseases and Pests of Vegetables in Canada, published by The Canadian Phytopathological Society and the Entomological Society of Canada. The American Phytopathological Society (www.apsnet.org) also has a great deal of information on seed and plant diseases.

Summary by Susan Davidson

Speakers: Awegechu Teshome - USC Canada/Seeds of Survival Chris Wells - IOPA (Island Organic Producers Association) Ron Pither - Varalaya Farm - Canada/Cuba Exchange

Speaker: Awegechu Teshome, Seeds of Survival/USC Canada

Participatory plant breeding is an emerging science AND challenge.

Agriculture is human-created system about 10,000 years ago and farmers have been doing plant breeding all along. Over the last 50 years scientists have been doing much more plant breeding using farmers' materials and causing loss of genetic diversity. And now with emerging biotechnology, the scientists are defeating the purpose (of agriculture?) in an irreversible way. Now we have to bring the farmers and end users, stake holders, to cherish the diversity our ancestors have given us.

Seeds of Survival doesn't call it Participatory Plant Breeding, calls it Conservation-Based Plant Genetic Resource Activities

There has been lots of conventional plant breeding, but it has not taken into account the tremendous environmental heterogeneity and variability.

Science has never addressed marginalized agriculture. It has always they have focussed on the conducive environments.

USC is working to promote a multi stakeholder approach with collaboration between scientists and farmers to address the real issues without undermining farmers.

We need a collective effort to grow for highly variable environments - both marginal and conducive.

What is Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB)? Participatory Plant Breeding refers to the involvement of end users (and sometimes other actors) in any number of the full range of genetic improvement activities.

Dissemination, diffusion, and adoption of newly released varieties Heterogeneous & marginal; favorable and unfavorable environments Widely adapted and niche-specific varieties Farmers and other stakeholders involvement Not only a southern issue

USC Canada, through the SoS program, supports conservation-based plant genetic resources (PGR) activities to increase production while maintaining diversity on-farm.Diversity and production go hand in hand. PPB and PVS are the two approaches to conservation-based PGR enhancement and adding value that USC supports.

Conserve and extend genetic diversity within the local landscape Affirm local people's right and control over those genetic resources, one by one

Improve technical expertise of farmer-breeders

Develop specialty varieties for niche markets eg durham wheat in Ethiopia As a tool for repairing a country's agricultural base, beginning with seed production and distribution to those hit hardest by nature- and human-induced calamities

PPB Approaches - two approaches

Formal-led Farmers join in breeding experiments which have been initiated by formal breeding programs.

Farmer-led Scientist seek to support farmers own systems of breeding, varietal selection and seed maintenance

These approaches represent a continuum, with farmers, scientists, development workers, processors and consumers actively involved in both.

Main issue: Who controls the breeding process, the seed systems, and the scale of work undertaken. Who is the driving force,the farmer, the plant breeder, or multi national seed company?

Crop Development factors Vegetative/clonally propagated Open pollination Self-pollination Tree species

How do Farmers and Scientists Collaborate? Define what type of plant to develop Characterize agro-ecological environment Jointly identify desired traits & collaborators Select plant material & make crosses Select promising plants at early generations (segregate) before traits are fixed. (Conserve those varieities that are not chosen to be bred) Screen advance lines for traits based on farmers' selection criteria Monitor performance of experimental varieties over multi-locations on-farm Multiply and distribute seed & planting materials Share information about new varieties

1. Setting goals
2. Generating variability
3. Selecting experimental varieties
4. Testing experimental varieties
5. Releasing and diffusing variety
6. Multiplying seed and promoting

• Genetic Improvement Activities
• Setting breeding goals
• Creating genetic variability
• Selecting within variable populations
• Evaluating and selecting experimental varieties
• Releasing/popularizing new varieties and multiplying/distributing seeds.

1. The Actors - the stakeholders
2. The Stage - at what stage in the breeding cycle are the farmers are involved
3. The Degree - level of influence & decision making power
4. The Role - functional role of each actor (information & germplasm giver) farmers cannot be expected to continue donating their germplasm

• Skill building to deal with segregating and cross pollinating crops and to select for stress tolerance and disease resistant varieties, cherish the genetic diversity
• Germplasm - local, exotic of both segregating and stabilizing populations and lines
• Build a culture that cherishes diversity and supports the co-evolutionary relationship between farmers and seed.

A range of outcomes can emerge from PPB programs. Since all may not be simultaneously realizable - and partners may have to accept trade-offs in reaching certain goals (achieved by consensus) - it is important in the beginning for researchers and development workers to discuss their aims. Outcomes are dependent on how programs are designed.

• Outcomes - Production gains
• Increased yield (insures stability)
• Faster uptake
• Wider diffusion
• Higher market value of product
• Better identification of farmer-preferred quality traits
• Better performance of genetic material in worst conditions

• Wider community germplasm access to these materials are both plastic and elastic
• Wider access to related knowledge
• Increased intra-varietal diversity
• Increased inter-varietal diversity
• Compatibility: new and existing materials
• Less varietal replacement; more compatibility with landraces
• Improved targeting of micro-niches
• Better strategies designed to enhance diversity in both space and time

• Greater inclusion of stakeholders related to access and benefits
• Improved farmer satisfaction
• Greater inclusion of users, especially marginalized stakeholders like women, the poor
• Improved recognition of farmers' diverse selection criteria

• Reduced research cost; acceptable varieties identified faster
• Reduced number of research dead-ends
• Increased opportunities for cost-sharing in research
• More cost-effective (less expensive) means of diffusing varieties

• Enhanced Farmer capacity to breed more accurately
• Improved understanding of farmer selection criteria & knowledge system
• Improved knowledge establishes trust between formal and informal systems
• Better formal system understanding of informal breeding/seed systems

• Established empowerment indicators
• Recognized farmer breeding skills
• Farmer equality in setting joint breeding agenda, identifying priorities
• Change in access to germplasm development, seed supply, info system
• Change in farmers' critical awareness of research and policy arenas

• PPB decentralized, serving marginal & high potential areas
• Strategy designed to scale up and streamline processes
• Options defined to scale up products
• Links strengthened to insure farmers‚ access to materials and information
• Attitudes changed between communities and formal systems

• Policies implemented to accommodate expansion and institutionalization of Participatory Plant Breeding
• Farmer varietal assessment/acceptability a key condition of release
• More niche specific varieties released
• Support insured to local multiplication and distribution enterprises
• Informal system supported, strengthened

• Setting breeding goals
• Creating genetic variability
• Selecting within variable population
• Evaluating experimental varieties
• Releasing/popularizing new varieties
• Producing seed

• Understand local seed system already in place, any new system must not displace what exists
• Ability of seed systems to move PPB material
• Quality of Phytosanitary materials
• Genetic composition (cross pollinated)
• Quantity needed
• Range of users/geographic coverage
• Diffusion rate and cost
• Storage and exchange system
• Promotion of biodiversity-based approach to increase productivity

• Joint collaboration should mean joint benefit sharing ie the farmers are equal partners
• PPB variety is the product of joint, participatory work
• Release and promotion of new materials
• Ownership, access, rights to benefits, and code of conduct

• PPB/PVS approach has shown a strong potential over conventional breeding for improving both efficiency and impact.
• Cut research costs
• Accurate identification of varieties
• Faster release and dissemination of locally accepted varieties.
• Increase the capacity of farmer breeders
• Equity and people power

Speaker: Chris Wells

Currently big corporations are serving organic growers with non-organic seed which leaves us without a secure source of seed.

Specialists such as Dr. John Navazio are working to disseminate plant-breeding knowledge.

We need people putting the ideas into practice.

The challenge is to apply the USC (Ethiopian) and Cuban success strategies in BC and localize them to our commercial market gardens.

Speaker: Ron Pither

Has links in Cuba and Chiapas and sees possibilities for collaboration Chiapas has twelve years of experience resisting Free Trade. Empowerment through culture: They are using - music and art - to move the concepts along. We can support them by purchasing their CD's and coffee and participating in an international platform to launch programs.

Where is COABC going with this issue? How can we link with the Land Conservancy?

The best way to conserve something is to use it. See www.varalaya.ca for more about all this and links.

Recommended book: Beyond Organics by Michael Abelman

1:30-2:30 Databasing with the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada Speakers: Dan Jason and Marsha Goldberg

Summary by Chris Wells

Dan and Martha operate the Seed and Plant Sanctuary on Salt Spring Island. The Sanctuary started out with surplus seeds from the Salt Spring Seeds varieties that did not make the company's catalogue. Membership in the Sanctuary started locally, but is now all across the country. The idea of membership is to recruit seed stewards, who upon joining are entitled to up to 5 seed varieties from the bank to grow out. To sustain their membership, members must ensure that they are growing out the seeds, and sharing the information with the sanctuary. The Sanctuary covers a wide array of vegetables and medicinal plants. At this point, Dan and Marsha do most of the growing out for the Sanctuary

The Seed Sanctuary is trying to do many things:

• Getting people all across the country saving seeds. This seed saving results in a dynamic seed storing system where varieties can be found throughout the country. Thus, if one's stock is damaged, there is a national pool from which to draw from;
• Saving seeds from medicinal crops. These lesser known crops are often neglected;
• The Sanctuary wants to take over government control of seed banking, involving all Canadian growers. It is growers who should be deciding on the seeds for the future, not the government;
• Growing high protein crops, like quinoa and amaranth, important foods in the case of a disaster.

The Sanctuary aims to be simple and user friendly - easily accessible to all. And while education on seed growing is important, so are enthusiasm and dedication. Many of the Sanctuary's members are urban growers, showing the excitement about food growing in our cities!

Presently, membership is an important aspect of the Sanctuary as there is no secure seed storage space at the moment. Present storage leaves the seeds vulnerable to theft, vandalism, or fire. This dynamic storage system helps keep seed stock more secure.

A couple of other important aspects of the seed bank are education and record keeping. It is important for growers to be well educated on the seeds they are growing. This is especially important for urban growers, whose seeds may be at risk of cross pollination from nearby crops, and whose small growing areas may result in reduced genetic diversity due to lower plant populations. Record keeping is also important to ensure that all details of the seed, plant, and growing conditions are recorded.

Gene Identification may also be used in the future to prevent the patenting of well-known and widely grown varieties. If patent issues arise in the future, there will be a well-recorded history of the seeds and plants, thus making it difficult to patent any variety of seed. This information, then in the pubic domain, can be shard with all farmers to help them identify varieties that they themselves are unsure of.

For more information about the Seed and plant Sanctuary, visit: www.seedsanctuary.com

• "Whatever works is great and we should try to make everything work." Dan Jason
• "We should be defining agriculture." Dan Jason
• "There are three kinds of "ships" needed to building our capacity: mentorships, apprenticeships and stewardships." Sharon Remple
• "Lean into the task at hand and be happy about it." Ron Pither
• "Let's make a database of small equipment and put the plans on the Internet." Kenn Danner kdanner@ssisland.com
• "There are stainless steel containment units that are temperature controlled available for $15.000 US , or sometimes you can pick up used ones for the price of salvage." Alan Adesse

1. On Farm Research
2. Communication/Partnerships
3. Business of Farming Seeds

Summary by Susan Davidson

• Many questions raised such as need to identify what we need to research and why we need to research it. ie: regional adaptability for strawberries, potatoes, longer season blight resistant tomatoes, shorter season egg plants, shelf life for salad greens, white rot in garlic, etc.
• Then need experienced researchers to consult with while keeping the activity farm based
• Attitude and participation of both researchers and farmers important.
• How can participatory research pay off for the farmers on a square footage basis?
• Need seed quality standards ie: population, isolation, germination criteria, ero tolerance for GMO's
• If we are exclusively organic, does it have to be certified?
• Could there be different standards for different uses?
• Need quality standards so purchasers have confidence in product
• Community seed cleaning equipment to streamline the process without giving up autonomy/security - West Coast, company in Oregon sharing tools and machinery
• The Canadian Seed Growers (CSGA) has standards. (They would not accept Sharon as an open pollinated breeder.)

• Canadian/Cuba exchange - Ron Pither
• Farmers Institute
• Agri-future funds - federal
• O. S. D. P. - Organic Sector Development Program, administered by COABC (Certified Organic Associations of B. C. - www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca
• Island Farmers Alliance
• Island Natural Growers
• Garden Clubs
• COG - BC (Canadian Organic Growers - www.cog.ca)
• Churches
• Women's Groups
• NGO's
• Coast Islands Conservancy
• newsletter
• links to other websites

• Clarify intent of bc seedgrowers group- is it exclusive to organic growers?
• Put everybody on bcseedgrowers listserve which is moderated by Chris Wells
• Website Paramaters:
  • Name
  • Links to NFU (National Farmers Union), FF/CF (Farm Folk/City Folk), Saltspring Island Seed Sanctuary, COABC (see above), USC (used to stand for Unitarian Service Committee - now doesn't stand for anything, affiliated with Seeds of Survival)
  • Post resources
  • Searchable by regions within BC like COABC site.
  • Make it interactive
• OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute - www.omri.org) working on a seed data base - how to collaborate or not?
• Education encouraging the culture of seed saving and breeding, supporting Seedy Saturdays
• Develop a seed apprenticeship program - use S. O. I. L. (Stewards of Irreplaceable Land www.soilapprenticeships.org )
• Summary Structural Diagram:
  • Central circle is core active group
  • Next ring includes affiliates, partnerships and networks also working on these issues and can be brought in for strategic reasons
  • Outer ring - build a list of all those we want to keep informed about our work: the public, the government

• Need successful business models for seed growers to utilize
• Entrepreneurial skills needed generally
• Skill-matching needed eg producers and marketers, such as in a co-operative
• High end products matched with seedgrowing eg Red fife wheat/Slow Foods/ -artisanal products
• Influence on economic viability of seed growing for land tenure/ownership
• Seed quality standards influences economic viability because purchasers need confidence in product
• Community seed cleaning, sharing tools and machinery
• Seed apprenticeship program - use S. O. I. L. (Stewards of Irreplaceable Land http://www.soilapprenticeships.org )
• Pricing parameters for seed so we are all on the same page
• What is appropriate /ideal number of seed vendors/companies?
• Need to build basic entrepreneurial skills as well as production capacity
• Live in faith and trust when acting in service, don't doom ourselves to poverty mentality
• Develop mentorships with seed company people or retired BC business people
• Marketing - sell it before you grow it
• How to make a community business plan?
• What is appropriate /ideal number of seed vendors/companies?
• Do we know how much seed is actually sold in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna?
• Who is our competition? - that is the market.
• How to set prices?
• Pricing parameters for seed so we are all on the same page
• Bulk seed sales do not generate the income of small packets to gardeners
• What about bartering lb for lb between seed growers?
• Include BC Seed in COABC trade show
• Link high end customer with seed production, ie: Slow Foods/red fife wheat/artisanal product Land Security access to affordable and appropriate land over long periods of time ownership, tenure, license, First Nations - www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca
• Fong Zhang has skills in molecular biology which, if she had access to a lab, could be used to do DNA "descriptions" to prevent patenting of open pollinated germ plasm

There are many folks growing seed out of passion who face huge frustration with the economic feasibility. We need to develop ways of improving growing and of marketing effectively and matching grower expertise with marketing expertise, such as in a co-operative.

To support this intent, Patrick Steiner is working on a manual scheduled for completion end of Dec 06.

He intends to include:

• profiles of successful seed growers/companies as models, ie: those who grow heritage seeds, bulk organic seed, co-operatives, individuals who incorporate seed growing into a mixed farming operation
• planning data - such as Alan Adesse's charts
• What else would growers find valuable