About the Gathering
The Organic Seed Growers Conference is a biennial gathering by and for agroecological seed communities in the U.S. and across the world. The event creates spaces where experienced and emerging seed stewards can convene timely conversations, educational training, and strategy sessions. The gathering serves as a conduit for making new connections and catching up with old friends, networking across organic seed communities, sharing knowledge with other participants, and celebrating the growing movement. Organizers curate a conference agenda that reflects the multifaceted needs of seed growers and advocates, no matter the ease or discomfort of the topics. The goal of the Organic Seed Growers Conference is to inspire individuals, communities, organizations, and businesses to take actions that support and improve the integrity of the philosophical and practical systems that make up the organic seed movement and trade.
Please see the expanded list of session types in this year’s invitation to help shape the event.
Conference dates and location
The last Organic Seed Growers Conference was held as a weeklong virtual event in February 2022, on Organic Seed Commons. Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) heard loud and clear that the next conference must include both an in-person gathering and a rich virtual connection, and took a fallow year to explore hybrid options. The 2025 Organic Seed Growers Conference will be offered as a hybrid event with the in-person gathering to be held February 26 – March 2, 2025, at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. eOrganic will be hosting live-webinars from the event in addition to other virtual offerings TBD and hosted on Organic Seed Commons.
About Organic Seed Commons
Virtual components of the conference will be held in Organic Seed Commons, an online network that OSA launched with the fully virtual 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference. The conference provides an opportunity to introduce participants to this networking tool and its possibilities, including allowing participants to leverage the online network to meet their needs both at the event and beyond. You can explore the 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference event space here.
2025 Organic Seed Growers Conference Call for Proposals
Conference Theme and Additional Details
The conference organizers invite you to help shape the 12th Organic Seed Growers Conference by providing input for the agenda. This is an opportunity to share important skills and research, and ask timely questions related to organic seed. The conference is the largest organic seed event in the U.S. and will be a hybrid event with both in-person and online components, providing a five-day agenda of workshops, demonstrations, farm tours, lightning talks, art, regional/topical/affinity synergy spaces, keynote presentations, and celebration. We welcome your proposals and suggestions.
We are particularly interested in proposals that include growers from Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQIA+ seed communities.
While we welcome a diversity of proposals, those that fit the following categories are encouraged:
Proposals that include:
- Seed grower presenter or seed grower included on panel
- Racial diversity among presenter(s) or panelists
- Presenters from a diversity of agricultural backgrounds / approaches
- Opportunities for audience interaction
- Building equity and justice in organic seed communities
- Policy and advocacy focused on seed equity and justice
- Methods for building community and access beyond the conference cycle
- Nuts and bolts of growing seed, conducting variety trials, and/or plant breeding (e.g. field practices, seed cleaning, and/or processing, packing, and sales)
Topics that reflect ongoing conference priorities with an emphasis on outcomes for seed growers and communities:
- Nuts and bolts of growing seed, conducting variety trials, and/or plant breeding (e.g. field practices, seed cleaning, and/or processing, packing, and sales). Proposals that are geared towards beginning producers and experienced producers are both encouraged.
- Building equity and justice in organic seed communities
- Policy and advocacy focused on seed equity and justice
- Advancements in organic plant breeding
- Breeding for resiliency and biodiversity, including to mitigate the impacts of climate change
- Grower-led and participatory breeding projects
- New models for organic seed production, quality assurance, enterprise development, and commercializing new varieties (e.g., alternative approaches to intellectual property)
- Understanding the economics of seed production
- Timely and emerging policy and advocacy topics that are essential to expanding organic seed systems and that are in need of more clarity, strategy, and discussion
- First-person seed stories from a diversity of perspectives and communities, especially encouraged from growers of historical and contemporary culturally significant crops and/or varieties.
- Emergent topics related to current events
Deadline
Proposals and submissions due by July 5th, 2024.
Past Proceedings
Past proceedings are available here.
Submit a Proposal or Suggestion
Session Types
Long Sessions (Peer Reviewed)
Description
3-4 expert panelists give brief presentations on their particular perspective on a topic, then interact with participants to respond to questions and feedback. Audience participation is expected to be more passive compared to a roundtable.
Duration
1.5 hours
Description
Begins with ~15 minutes of presentation led by a small group of facilitators, then followed by a participatory and interactive live discussion with session participants that’s led by pre-determined questions from facilitators. The point of a roundtable is for speakers to learn more about a subject both from and with participants. Audience participation is expected to be more active compared to a panel discussion and audience sizes may be limited.
Duration
1.5 hours
Description
Presenter(s) will share important results and findings from their recent or current research projects with a focus on outcomes. The last few minutes of the presentation will be reserved for questions from the audience.
Duration
1.5 hours
Short Sessions (Open Submission)
Description
Presenter(s) will present a succinct overview of current or recent scientific research. Time will be set aside in the agenda for conference participants to interact with the presenters.
Duration
5 minutes
Description
A presentation of how to use a piece of seed equipment, how to apply a breeding method to on-farm practice, etc. or a tour of your farm, seed or research operation
Duration
15 minutes
Description
A succinct overview of a wide range of topics related to seed and conference priorities.
Duration
5 minutes
Description
A submission of seed-focused art, music, poetry, zines, performance art, film, or other media. Submissions may be displayed during intermissions, welcoming sessions or in other ways (feel free to suggest).
Format
Most types of media accepted, including videos, photos or photo galleries, music, etc.
Expectations for Submitters
As this type of submission is quite open ended, conference organizers will work together with those submitting works of art to develop a mutually agreed upon set of expectations that honors the artists.
A Note About Organic
Our vision for organic seed systems includes all seed growers committed to agroecological practices and principles that align with equity and justice. We believe in organic certification and the benefits to growers, consumers, and the planet. We also recognize that organic certification is not the right fit for every grower and that barriers to certification and the organic marketplace exist.
Additionally, we recognize that the term “organic agriculture” was formulated in response to conventional agriculture practiced by largely white colonial societies, and that agriculture was used as a tool to dispossess and displace Indigenous peoples from their land on this continent and elsewhere. Agriculture has been and continues to be a means to resist colonization and maintain a cultural identity for Indigenous, Black, People of Color, and immigrant communities in North America and around the world. Organic certification enables transparency and trust of production practices in a distanced and transactional society, but we recognize that many seed-keepers, plant breeders, farmers and gardeners who do not use organic certification are expressing values that encompass the values of the organic community.
Sponsoring the 2025 Conference
Is your company or organization interested in supporting this very special gathering by and for organic seed communities with a sponsorship? We’re dedicated to making the event costs accessible to all and your support helps us do it. Contact Laurajean Lewis to become a sponsor.
2022 Conference Archive
The 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference was held virtually February 4–11, 2022 on Organic Seed Commons. You can explore the archive of 2022 conference materials. We invite you to visit the conference space in Organic Seed Commons for a full archive of the event, including session recordings.
Many thanks to our generous 2022 sponsors!
Gold Level Sponsors
Botanical Interests is a garden seed company in Broomfield, Colorado specializing in organic, non-GMO herb, flower, and vegetable varieties for the home gardener. Their goal is to inspire and educate the gardeners to create beautiful and prolific gardens wherever they are. Not only is the seed inside their packets the highest quality available, their packets are designed to give gardening information that helps to make gardeners more successful!
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned seed producer and merchant headquartered in Winslow, Maine, USA. Our mission is to help families, friends, and communities feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information, and service. Johanna Willingham is the Regional Sales Rep living in Olympia, WA, 207-238-5320 or cell: 360-463-1786, email: jwillingham@johnnyseeds.com.
Organically Grown Company Founded in 1978, perpetual purpose trust-owned Organically Grown Company (OCG), is the largest organic produce distributor in the Pacific Northwest. For the past 40-years, the company’s progressive and entrepreneurial spirit has fueled its mission and growth, meeting the demand for organics in the marketplace while supporting its community of farmers. OGC has been recognized as a leader in sustainable business practices including sourcing 100% renewable energy in facilities, support for fair trade and charitable giving. When people in the Northwest purchase organic fruits and vegetables at their grocery store, there is a very good chance that it’s there because of OGC.
Silver Level Sponsors
Bejo Seeds is a leading company in breeding, production and sales of vegetable seeds. With operations in more than thirty countries, we are an internationally oriented family business. Our 1,900 employees are dedicated to developing the best vegetable varieties for the present and the future. We’ve expanded over the years in an organic, ongoing process, shaped by interaction between growers, dealers, supply chain partners and our own employees. All our partners have the freedom, within their own local market, to get the most out of our products. Exploring nature never stops.
Fedco Seeds a cooperative garden supply company focused on cold-hardy selections and dedicated to organic/sustainable agriculture, offers untreated vegetable, herb and flower seeds, soil amendments, cover crops, garden supplies, fruit trees, berries, ornamentals, seed potatoes, garlic, flower bulbs and more.
Gaia Herbs is the leading herbal brand in North America, with more than 200 patented Liquid Phyto-Caps™, liquid extracts, functional powders and herbal teas to help support and maintain optimal health. From seed to shelf, Gaia is deeply committed to the purity, integrity and potency of each product. The company uses only organic methods to cultivate more than 6.5 million plants each year (representing 21 varieties in 2017) on its farms in the US and Costa Rica, and that same organic approach continues through manufacturing, using patented technology to achieve the highest efficacy of each herb, validated by Gaia’s scientists throughout the process.
High Mowing Organic Seeds is an independently owned, farm-based seed company offering 700+ varieties of USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified seeds for farmers, gardeners and homesteaders. We specialize in providing professional grade organic seeds that are selected to thrive in organic conditions and varieties that are widely adapted to perform in all regions of the U.S. and Canada.
Oregon Tilth In 1974, Oregon Tilth was founded on the idea that food and agriculture should be equitable and sustainable. Each day, we work with a community of changemakers to transform the food marketplace. We provide certification services that sustain organic agriculture and the people who support it. But we don’t stop there. From education to technical assistance, Oregon Tilth designs strategies and tools that address the challenges faced by farmers and food producers. Visit: tilth.org
Riega Foods is passionate about bringing sustainable and quality foods to your kitchen. We are a family-owned business based in America’s heartland, Kansas City. Our family farming roots taught us that quality food starts in the field. We have grown our business from these roots by partnering with farmers to find real, organic ingredients for the foundation of our products. We are proud to supply quality foods that have been grown with generations of knowledge.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange offers 700+ heirloom, organic, and open-pollinated vegetable, herb, and flower varieties, plus garlic, perennial onions and seed saving supplies. Our mission is to ensure that people retain control of their food supply, conserve genetic resources and offer gardeners the option of saving their own seeds.
Vitalis Organic Seeds Founded in 1994 in The Netherlands, Vitalis Organic Seeds is a global leader in organic seed production and breeding. All Vitalis varieties are certified organic for the US, Canada, Mexico and the EU. We believe in building organic production systems with organically produced seed.