As organic production increases, seed sales stay stable

Despite the significant growth of the organic market in the last decade and increasing organic crop acreage in the United States, there is one area of organic agriculture that has yet to gain notable traction—organic seed production.

It's true that grower demand for quality organic seed has prompted more seed companies to develop new varieties of organically grown seed, and growers today have access to a greater selection of organic seeds than they had years ago. But, considering the plethora of organic produce now on the market, the producers providing seeds to grow those crops say they are still experiencing some growing pains.

Patty Buskirk, who owns the Colusa County-based Terra Organics, which produces organic seeds for vegetables, herbs and sunflowers, said in the 15 years she's been in the business, she has seen about a 1 percent to 2 percent growth in her production. And she attributes that growth mostly to demand from small-scale farmers and home gardeners.

She said part of that growth is linked to an overall rise in the home gardening market, as more consumers unleash their green thumbs and grow their own vegetables.

"I think in the past three or four years, more and more people have taken to organic gardening and they're realizing that it starts with the seed, not just their fertilizer. I think people are seeking out organic seed," said Autumn Barr-Engstrom, marketing manager for Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply in Nevada County, a wholesaler and retailer that sells organic seeds for cover crops, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

But on the commercial side, seed producers and dealers acknowledge that sales of organic seeds have remained relatively flat because of farmers' hesitation to use organic seeds. That has led to slow development of new organic seed varieties because seed companies are reluctant to increase investment in that area.

To be certified organic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires farmers to use organic seed, but they may substitute untreated, conventionally grown seed when "an equivalent organically produced variety is not commercially available," according to rules of the National Organic Program.

The regulation also requires farmers to demonstrate they are seeking organic seed by contacting at least three suppliers to confirm that what they're looking for is not available.

As an organic farmer, Robert Ramming, who grows a diversified mix of fruits and vegetables on 40 acres in Yolo County, said he always opts for the organic seed if it's available, but points out that with certain crops the organic seeds that are available are often heirloom or open-pollinated varieties. Those seeds tend to be more susceptible to diseases and other quality issues.

He said heirlooms and open-pollinated seeds are OK for growing some of his minor crops but for his mainstays such as melons and tomatoes, he likes to use hybrid varieties that perform well, and those are harder to find organic and, when available, are typically more expensive.

"I would say the situation is definitely improving," Ramming said. "Every year I see more and more organic seeds available, and more and more high-quality organic hybrids available, so I'm very encouraged by that."

Because his operation is fairly small scale and he's selling his crops at full retail as a U-pick and for a community-supported agriculture program, he said he can afford to pay a little more for his seeds. It's also not critical that all his seeds be high-producing and disease-resistant hybrids, he added. But for larger-scale farmers who are spending much more for seed, paying a premium for the organic version can easily wipe out their profit, he said.

"When you're looking at a large, commercial business, there's less of a margin. The grower is a little antsy. One mistake with a particular kind of seed, you lose a field and there goes a quarter of a million dollars," he said.

Scott Picanso, a seed salesman for TSL Seed Co., which sells seeds to larger commercial growers, said there are some crops, such as processing tomatoes, that currently don't have organic seeds available at all.

That's because organically grown seeds for processing tomatoes have a high threat of virus contamination, which is a big problem in conventionally grown seed as well, said Zea Sonnabend, an organic seed certifier for California Certified Organic Farmers, one of the largest organic certification associations in North America. She said some seed-borne diseases can be eliminated through sterilization methods approved for organic, but viruses tend to be extremely difficult to remove.

Picanso said cost is the biggest stumbling block to getting new organic hybrids that offer disease resistance, since hybridization requires hand pollination and considerable time to develop.

John Bauer, owner of Santa Cruz Seed Co., an organic seed supplier, said more seed companies are making organic hybrids, but often at double or triple the price. More widespread commercial availability of those seeds would also mean that farmers would be required to use them under the current organic rules.

"If you're a big grower and all of a sudden the price of your seed is doubled or tripled, that is a problem financially," he said.

Erica Renaud, manager of Vitalis Organic Seeds, said the price of seed is often based on economies of scale, and larger-scale operations that buy more also pay less. And if there is more demand for the seed to warrant increased production, that will also lower the price.

"It's a Catch-22," she said. "If farmers keep avoiding (using organic seed), then the price stays high."

But she added that more farmers are beginning to make the switch as certifiers become more strict.

Sonnabend said the organic regulations make clear that price cannot be a reason for not meeting the organic seed requirement, but there are other reasons growers may not want to use a particular seed, including poor germination, disease susceptibility and lack of certain variety characteristics such as early maturation.

"Many of our growers in California who are growing for shipping markets—not for just local farmers market sales—need a certain amount of uniformity, disease resistance and precision, and there are not that many organic varieties out there that have all of those things that the growers need," she said.

And while CCOF is not currently tracking how much organic seed growers are using, she said she does verify "that they have made some attempt to try and find organic seed."

"What we look for is an improvement in the amount of organic seed that they're able to source, rather than any absolute amount," she said. "We look for them to try harder each year and to use more organic seed each year, but no absolute percentage."

She said seed companies may want to see farmers move more rapidly toward organic seed because they have a financial investment in the production of those seeds, but she said she thinks "we're going as quickly as we can—which isn't to say that more couldn't be done."

(Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)