permaculture

[Jason Gerhardt <jasongerhardt@gmail.com>]

The stat could be a tad out of date, but in 2008 I was a part of early
meetings to start the Family Farmer's Seed Cooperative (which is now
launched, and I encourage anyone who is interested in bioregional seed
production to look into them). The founding members all met in Colorado for
a few days of discussion and one of those guys (John Navazio, Frank Morton,
Don Tipping, Nash Huber, or someone else) mentioned in 2007 that Johnny's
produced 70% of their seed in China. My guess is the current state of
affairs is not too far off that number and very well could be higher. I
know Seed Savers Exchange started shifting some seed production to China in
the mid 2000's too.

What is most concerning about this is that genetic adaptation occurs each
time a seed is produced, and if they are being grow somewhere like China
they are adapting to China's bioregional latitude, elevation, rainfall,
soil types, temp swings, pests and weeds, etc. The same is true if they are
grown in your bioregion. So obviously there is a huge benefit to using
locally produced seeds, simply due to climatic adaptation (adaptation to
organic growing conditions is equally important, so buy organically grown
seed). After generations of saving seed in the same area they slowly become
place-based seeds, which is really what heirlooms are at their best. Second
best is handed down through familial lineage in my opinion.

I totally agree that seed can and should be produced in the US. The work of
Organic Seed Alliance and Family Farmer's Seed Coop is helping us move in
that direction, but we are also losing ground too. Seeds of Change used to
be a great company that did breeding and research and that were supplied by
a network of small bioregional growers, but not so much anymore. In the
end, seed is safest in our own hands as growers, from backyard to
broadacre. Which is why I buy seed from farmer-owned and farmer-produced
seed companies. Plus you get higher grade seed. As a former seed producer
and company manager I can guarantee that seed the farmer's company sells
under their own label is the highest grade. What gets sold to companies
like High Mowing, Seeds of Change, Seed Savers Exchange, etc is second
grade. What gets sold to companies that are just buyers and repackagers
like Botanical Interests, Lake Valley, and other seed companies you might
find at a hardware store are third grade at best, but mostly they just buy
seed nobody wants, like third grade from China. The higher the grade, the
bigger the seed. The bigger the seed, the bigger the cotyledon leaves. The
bigger the cotyledon leaves, the healthier plants grow and get started, and
the quicker they produce and mature.

-- 
Jason Gerhardt
Designer and Educator