The 2025 Midwest Organic Seed Summit is a virtual educational and community-building event focused on the theme of “cooperative seed economics.”
This event will provide targeted education and knowledge exchange on the cooperative business model as it applies to organic seed production. The agenda will be designed to foster community building and networking among prospective and experienced organic seed growers, as well as individuals working within the seed industry. Identify key needs and opportunities for future grant proposals and fundraising efforts that can further advance the development of cooperative seed infrastructure and support within the organic sector.
OSA will establish a dedicated working group of summit participants who will be offered support in developing and pursuing future projects identified during the event.
AGENDA:
Welcome & Cooperative Seed Economics Presentation
1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern
This presentation from Organic Seed Alliance will provide participants with useful background information on cooperative seed economics and previous Midwest seed summits. Participants will get to know each other through a facilitated ice-breaker activity.
Round Table Discussions
2:00 – 4:00 PM Eastern
Through facilitated discussions, participants will be invited to share and learn about the following subjects:
– Cooperative Economic Models and Compensation
– Governance, Operations, and Shared Accountability
– Justice, Rematriation, and Intellectual Property
– Collaboration, Scaling, and Resilience
Collaborative Project Planning and Working Group Formation
4:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern
Building from the roundtable discussions, summit participants can work collaboratively in small groups, and they will be offered support in developing and pursuing future projects identified during the event.
Short breaks will be taken throughout the event, as needed.
Date: Wednesday, November 12th, 2025
Time: 1 – 5 PM Eastern (Find My Time)
Location: Zoom (link in confirmation)
Cost: Free, registration required.
Event Contact: Michael Lordon, michael@seedalliance.org, 734-234-6230.
This event is supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP). Additional support is provided by the Blooming Prairie Foundation.
