Join OSA at the 43rd Annual EcoFarm Conference to be held January 18 – 21, 2023 in Monterey, California. The event includes over 60 skill-building workshops in English and Spanish, keynotes, pre-conference events, farm tours, seed swaps, tastings, networking, and the EcoFarm Expo.
We’re participating in three seed-focused sessions during the conference. See below for details – we hope to see you there!
Learning to Produce Organic Seed on the Farm
January 19th at 3:30p PT
Speakers: Jared Zystro, Organic Seed Alliance
The seed industry is linked to the global market and the dynamics of goods and services such as petroleum, its derivatives and freight transport. It is evident that the pandemic and many other geopolitical situations have brought instability in the price and availability of both petroleum and transportation, a situation that can affect the quantity and quality of available seed. What can farmers do to reduce their vulnerability to seed scarcity? Key solutions may be learning how to grow, select, harvest, process and store organic seeds as strategies to diversify markets and increase resilience
Producción de semillas orgánicas : Una estrategia para aumentar la resiliencia
January 19th at 3:30p PT
Speakers: Ana Galvis, Organic Seed Alliance
La industria de la semilla esta ligada al mercado global y a la dinámica de bienes y servicios como el petróleo, sus derivados y el transporte internacional de carga. Es evidente que la pandemia y otras situaciones geopolíticas han traído inestabilidad al precio y disponibilidad tanto del petróleo como del transporte, situación que puede afectar la cantidad y la calidad de semilla disponible.
The Global Consolidation of Seed Ownership: Should We Be Concerned?
January 20th at 1:30 p.m. PT
Speakers: Kiki Hubbard, Organic Seed Alliance; Kristyn Leach, Namu Farm; Andrew Still, Adaptive Seeds
In the past few years we have witnessed the greatest amalgamation of agricultural seed companies ever, where four mega-corporations (Bayer, Corteva, Chem China, BASF), now control over 60% (in 2020) of commercial seed sold throughout the world. This workshop will describe the development of the modern commercial seed industry that has led us to this extreme concentration of seed resources and how this has impacted local and regional seed systems across the planet. It will then offer appropriate responses and solutions to the current situation.
