MEDIA ADVISORY
October 1, 2012
CONTACT
Chet Boruff, The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies, (309) 736-0120, cboruff@aosca.org
AOSCA Launches Organic Seed Finder Website
Organic Seed Finder to serve as reliable organic seed resource
Moline, IL, October 1, 2012 – The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) today announces that it has launched the AOSCA Organic Seed Finder website. To visit the website, go to www.organicseedfinder.org.
The purpose of the Organic Seed Finder website is to allow vendors of organic seed to post their available varieties in a central, on-line location where potential buyers can search for the varieties they need. It will also be a valuable resource for organic certifiers who need access to documentation of the types and varieties of organic certified seed available to organic growers. The Organic Seed Finder site is available free-of-charge for anyone searching for organic seed varieties.
Steve Sebesta, Deputy Seed Commissioner of the North Dakota State Seed Department and President of the AOSCA Board of Directors says, “AOSCA is well-positioned to provide this website, based on its knowledge and long history of service to the seed industry, as well as its ability to manage and present seed variety information. The core of AOSCA’s mission has been to promote seed or plant products that meet certain accepted standards and providing the Organic Seed Finder is one way that AOSCA can support this growing segment of the seed industry.”
The Organic Seed Finder website is designed to be easy-to-use. With a minimum number of clicks, the user can gain access to listed varieties and links to the companies offering them for sale. In addition, it provides links to sponsoring organizations and related information useful to the organic seed industry and its customers. The variety information on the site is not intended to provide real-time inventories of seed available for sale, but it will be a useful tool for customers to locate seed, then provide them the information they need to contact vendors and complete the sales transaction.
AOSCA and working groups representing various stakeholders in the organic seed industry collaborated on the design, function, promotion, and funding of the Organic Seed Finder website project. The website encourages feedback from its users which will be shared with the organic seed industry as a means of helping identify what types of organic seed may be requested by growers.
For additional information, contact AOSCA using the “Contact Us” box on the AOSCA Organic Seed Finder website or calling its office at 309-736-0120.
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