Program
About the Gathering
Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), along with partners Utopian Seed Project, Southern SARE and North Carolina State University the Organic Seed Growers Conference will be held March 24th – 31st, 2027 in Asheville, NC and online. The conference is the largest event focused solely on organic seed in North America, bringing together hundreds of seed growers, plant breeders, researchers, students, seed companies, food companies, policy advocates, and others from across the U.S. and around the world.
Pre-Conference events will be announced shortly!
March 24th & 25th, 2027 in the Asheville area.
2027 Organic Seed Growers Conference
In-Person: March 26th & 27th at the Crowne Plaza in Asheville, NC
Virtual: March 30th & 31st
Sessions and Speakers
Over 30 sessions offer insight into organic seed production, seed policy, stories, plant breeding, and more. Featuring over 90 speakers!
Keynote Speakers
Join us for keynote speakers at the Crowne Plaza.
Keynote: A Seedy Pecha Kucha
Six presenters, each taking the stage for 400 seconds, will share their seed-focused story, PechaKucha style.
Mini Variety Showcase
Join us for a flavorful exploration of organic breeding, curated by the Culinary Breeding Network
Works of Art
Seeking to unearth and lay bare the human-seed relationship through the work of multi-media artists
Seed Celebration
Celebrate seed and the seed community!
Trade Show
Find great products, superior services, and exhibitors specializing in organic seed, food systems, and more
Somatic Experiences
We’ve hosted dance, yoga, and more to get the mornings started.
Synergy Spaces
Host or attend a synergy space – an opportunity for conference attendees to adapt the conference format
Seed Swap
Join this beloved seed swap to exchange unique seeds and stories amongst a diverse seed community
Lightning Talks
Join us virtually for talks ranging from Potato Breeding to Seed Swaps!
Research Posters
A succinct overview of a wide range of topics related to seed and conference priorities
Keynote: Vivien Sansour
Friday, February 28th from 2:00 – 3:15 PM
Vivien Sansour is an artist, researcher, and writer. She uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. Vivien founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world to preserve ancestral seeds and biocultural knowledge. Her work as an artist, scholar, and writer has been showcased internationally. Vivien was most recently the Distinguished Artistic Fellow in Experimental Humanities at Bard College, and is currently the Executive Director of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library.
A Seedy PechaKucha
Saturday, 10:45 AM – 12 PM
In the LaSells Austin Auditorium/Online
Join us for an exciting spin on the traditional keynote address. Six presenters, each taking the stage for 400 seconds, will share their seed-focused story, PechaKucha 20×20 style. The word “PechaKucha” is Japanese for “chit chat” and the format is a slide show of 20 images, each auto-advancing after 20 seconds.
Featuring:
Hassan Adeeb
Sefra Alexandra
K Green
Chris Keeve
Veronica Limeberry
Holly Silvester
Mini Variety Showcase
Curated by the Culinary Breeding Network
Friday, February 28th from 5:30 – 6:30 PM (during Happy Hour)
Join us for a unique and flavorful exploration of organic breeding at the *Mini Variety Showcase*, curated by the Culinary Breeding Network. This hands-on, one-hour event will feature tables showcasing innovative organic breeding and seed work, including barley, dry beans, peppers, okra seed oil, collards, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, peppers, garlic, and dry farmed squash. Each table will offer insight into the breeding process and include a small bite to taste. Don’t miss this opportunity to dive deeper into the work that goes into shaping the heirlooms of tomorrow—while enjoying a bite and a drink in good company!
Works of Art
On view Friday February 28th and Satuday March 1st
Art captures unexpressed sentiment, emboldens conversation, and reveals alternative vantage points. Reflecting who we are, Art invites us gently into self discovery. As we gather together at OSGC 2025, we seek to unearth and lay bare the human-seed relationship. It is with immense gratitude that we present writers, dancers, documentarians, photographers, designers, and crafters who explore this essential relationship. Please enjoy the virtual and in person galleries, we hope you leave inspired, intrigued, and with more questions than answers.
Featured artists: Emily C-D, Emily DiGiovanni, Eduardo Fernandez, Charly Frisk, Jocelyn Hewett, Tomia MacQueen, Nikki Rose, Holly Silvester, Fionna Fahley, Lorna McMaster, and The Heirloom Gardens Oral History Project: a collaboration of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, Princeton University, and Spelman College.
Seed Celebration
Saturday March 1st from 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Live music! Join Afro-Electro dance band MaziGazi (Olympia, WA) on Saturday March 1st from 8 – 10 PM during the Seed Celebration in the Alumni Ballroom.
Dance in the Garden: Using Dance to Reconnect to Land and Spirit with Tomia MacQueen
7:15 – 8:15 AM in the LaSells Giustina Gallery
Come dance from the heart with us as we use movement to honor the past, acknowledge the present and charge us for the future. In this in-person dance improvisation workshop attendees will learn how to move in their own body language as a form of reconnection to the land they tend and to their own spiritual wellness. Come ready to move! Bare feet and encouraged! This session is adaptive and open to all skill levels.
Synergy Spaces
Synergy spaces disrupt, circumvent, and retool the conference format to meet the needs, wants, and desires of conference attendees. The synergy space is an opportunity to introduce a topic to the wider conference community. In addition to creating a space for discussion, participants will build robust networks and collaborations.
OSGC 2025 offers both in person and virtual synergy spaces via the Organic Seed Commons that can be setup ahead of time or the day of. To sign up prior to the conference, please submit your topic here. When you sign up for a synergy space, you are responsible for hosting the discussion. All participants are required to abide by the conference community guidelines.
Previous Synergy Spaces have included:
- Contract growing
- Flower Production
- Somos Semillas: Farmers of the Global Majority
- Regional Meet ups
- Small seed company discussions
Seed Swap
Join the 2025 Organic Seed Growers Conference seed swap to exchange unique seeds and stories amongst a diverse seed community. OSGC 2025 offers both in person and virtual seed swaps via the Organic Seed Commons. All participants are required to abide by the conference community seed swap guidelines and instructions.
Host a Table
For government, nonprofits, and businesses, the seed swap is an excellent opportunity to showcase your seed catalog to the seed community. Increase visibility while connecting with fellow seed enthusiasts. By hosting a table, you will have the opportunity to showcase your favorite seeds, share, and trade seeds with conference attendees.
Virtual Lightning Talks
Join us online on Organic Seed Commons for virtual Lightning Talks on topics ranging from Potato Breeding to Seed Swaps! Only online in our Virtual Conference space throughout the event.
Featuring:
- The Genetic Improvement of Zinnias for Organic Growers by William Hazzard
- Global Seed Stories from Slow Food’s Terra Madre and the Ark of Taste by Jim Embry and Jennifer Bailey
- Observations from a Citizen Grow Out Participant by Vivian Neal
- Organic Seeds: Sahaja Seeds-A business Model from India by Ravi Kumar Magal, G.Krishna Prasad, Syed Jamal, Keshavmurthy
- Potato breeding for organic agriculture with living labs in Slovenia by Marion Champailler
- Seed exchanges and swaps as a tool for community and biodiversity regeneration by Andrea Toro Ortuño
Farming While Black
Friday 8:00 – 10:00 PM in the Austin Auditorium
Farming While Black is a feature-length documentary film which examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots. Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, reflects on the plight of Black farmers in the United States. From the height of Black-owned farms at 14% in 1910 to less than 2% today. Leah and her Soul Fire Farm cohorts help propel a rising generation finding strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism – and its potential to save the planet.
Theme
This year’s conference gathers participants with the theme Seeds Across Time: Relationships and Resilience. The theme serves as an invitation to strengthen the connections that sustain the seed movement while honoring the distinct yet interwoven histories and collective wisdom of seed stewards around the world.
The Organic Seed Growers Conference is presented by the Organic Seed Alliance in collaboration with the Utopian Seed Project, Southern SARE and North Carolina State University.
