Sowing Knowledge and Swapping Seeds: Winter Conference Wrap-up
Registration Now Open for Organic Seed Trainings in Montana
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2017
CONTACT
Kiki Hubbard, Organic Seed Alliance, (406) 544-8946, kristina@seedalliance.org
Registration Now Open for Organic Seed Trainings in Montana
November workshops will teach specialty crop farmers how to improve their organic seed skills
Missoula, MT – Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will host two hands-on trainings in Montana next month focused on seed harvesting, handling, and quality. The first event will teach organic specialty crop producers and experienced seed savers how to improve the quality of the seed they grow.
» Read more about: Registration Now Open for Organic Seed Trainings in Montana »RMA Announces New Cooperative Agreements for Risk Management Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2017
CONTACT
Kristina Hubbard, kristina@seedalliance.org, (406) 544-8946
RMA Announces New Cooperative Agreements for Risk Management Programs
Organic Seed Alliance to Provide Training to Farmers Across the Country
Port Townsend, WA – USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) recently awarded 52 cooperative agreements under the Risk Management Education Partnerships Program totaling approximately $4.8 million. This includes nine first-time award recipients and 10 national projects that involve multiple RMA regions.
» Read more about: RMA Announces New Cooperative Agreements for Risk Management Programs »Montana Organic Seed Assessment: Vegetables
The report includes findings from a statewide survey conducted in 2016 on organic vegetable production in Montana. The survey captured challenges growers face in sourcing organic seed and asked them to identify vegetable crops in need of improvement, including desirable traits.
» Read more about: Montana Organic Seed Assessment: Vegetables »Talking Seed Economics with Fresh Roots Farm
Karl Sutton is an organic farmer in Polson, Montana, who owns and operates Fresh Roots Farm with his wife, Darci Jones. Their farm specializes in mixed vegetable, fruit and seed production. Karl was one of five farm partners collaborating with OSA on a Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant focused on seed economics. The result of that project is this Seed Economics Toolkit. Below is an interview that OSA conducted with Karl following the conclusion of that project.
» Read more about: Talking Seed Economics with Fresh Roots Farm »Seed Quality: Best Practices for Vegetable Seed Handling in Montana
Farmers need quality seed that is free of disease and that delivers on advertised germination rates, vigor, trueness to type, and specific traits for a particular variety. This manual provides recommendations to assure the quality of seed Montana’s specialty crop growers produce. The recommendations are intended as best practices to assist growers in reducing the risk of producing or selling inferior quality seed. The practices in this guide focus on growers who sell primarily vegetable seed.
» Read more about: Seed Quality: Best Practices for Vegetable Seed Handling in Montana »Talking Seed Economics with Terrapin Farm
Judy Owsowitz is owner and operator of Terrapin Farm located outside of Whitefish, Montana. Terrapin Farm specializes in producing vegetables, fruits and herbs from seed that is regionally adapted for Northwestern Montana. Judy stewards and improves many varieties as part of an on-farm breeding program. In this interview between OSA and Judy Owsowitz, Judy shares from her forty years of experience as a grower about how she has made seed production an integral part of her operation.
» Read more about: Talking Seed Economics with Terrapin Farm »Taking Seed Production to the Next Level in Montana
OSA will lead a course next month in conjunction with the Montana Organic Association’s annual conference. The course will take place on December 12, 2013, at the Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.
OSA’s senior scientist, Dr. John Navazio, who also serves as the Extension’s organic seed specialist at Washington State University, will teach the course.
Participants will learn how to strengthen their specialty crop seed production skills and how to adapt varieties to their farms.
» Read more about: Taking Seed Production to the Next Level in Montana »Talking Seed Economics with Wild Plum Farm
Doug Baty is one of the owners and operators of Wild Plum Farm, an organic vegetable and seed farm. Doug was one of five farm partners collaborating with OSA on a Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant focused on seed economics. The result of that project is this Seed Economics Toolkit. This article is based on an interview between OSA and Doug following the conclusion of that project.
Doug Baty traces his agricultural heritage in Northwestern Montana back over a century.
» Read more about: Talking Seed Economics with Wild Plum Farm »Meet Your Seed Grower: Dave Victor, Garden City Harvest
Dave Victor, the farm director at Garden City Harvest’s Orchard Gardens Neighborhood Farm and a new father, has a bushy red beard and a straw sunhat. His hands are tanned and calloused. His trusty companion, Sly Dog, pads through the garden alongside him, finally resting under his special picnic table turned dog house –a saving grace in the summer heat. This plot of land seems to radiate calm even though one of the busiest roads in Missoula swarms with traffic just yards away.
» Read more about: Meet Your Seed Grower: Dave Victor, Garden City Harvest »New Toolkit Helps Growers Understand the Economics of Seed Production
Organic Seed Alliance is pleased to announce a new seed economics toolkit. We developed this online tool to help farmers scale up organic seed production, increase their profits, and have more control over their seed supply. You’ll find tools and case studies related to contracting, enterprise budgeting, inventory management, and foundation and stock seed planning.
We know that while organic seed production is a developing industry and a viable economic opportunity for organic growers,
» Read more about: New Toolkit Helps Growers Understand the Economics of Seed Production »