Blog

FFSC Member Article on OSGATA et. al. GMO lawsuit in Capital Press (Jonathan Spero)

FFSC member Jonathan Spero wrote an article for The Capital Press on the OSGATA et. al. lawsuit against Monsanto. FFSC is a co-plaintiff in the suit, and many FFSC member farms are also co-plaintiffs individually. The lawsuit seeks to overturn Monsanto's patents on GMO seeds and protect farmers who don't grow GMO crops from patent-infringement lawsuits if their crops are contaminated by pollen from nearby GMO crops. A federal judge overturned the suit and OSGATA et al. are appealing the decision. Check out the blog for Jonathan's analysis and call to action to protect organic seed.

Huffington Post: Who Grows Our Food: Theresa Podoll, Prairie Road Organic Farm

The Huffington Post recently ran a piece on organic seed, featuring FFSC member Theresa Podoll of Prairie Road Organic Farm. We've posted it here for you to enjoy and share. "Who Grows Our Food: Theresa Podoll, Prairie Road Organic Farm" Seeds are where it all begins. They promise the start of things. They're "the very basis of our food and agriculture," says Theresa Podoll of Prairie Road Organic Farm. That's why the seeds Podoll and her family grow are organic...As [a member of] the Family Farmer Seed Cooperative, Podoll spreads the way of organic seed far beyond her family's 480-acre farm. Launched in 2008, the cooperative began as a tight network of small family farms devoted to keeping organic seeds in the hands of farmers, increase organic seed production and "produce high-quality seed that is disease-resistant and true to type." Now with 14 members "the co-op allows us to band together and raise the bar of organic seed at the national level."

Family Farmers Seed Cooperative March 2012 E-Newsletter

Happy spring and International Year of Cooperatives! We hope you're enjoying successful, satisfying planting and preparation. If you're looking to augment your winter and spring plantings or stock up on seed to start in the summer and fall for late season and overwintered harvests, check out our vegetable seed lineup and order online. Supporting small-scale organic seed farming has become more important than ever. Click on the title to read our full March e-newsletter and learn more, including a link to a Huffington Post article featuring FFSC member, Theresa Podoll, from Prairie Road Organic Farm talking about the benefits of organic seed; and an update on the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association-led lawsuit challenging Monsanto's patents on GMO seed and asking for immunity in patent infringement lawsuits that growers can face if their crops are contaminated by GMO crops on nearby farms.

New Year's Update: New Member, Member Research Grant, Brochure and Spring Price List

Happy New Year! We hope the year has started out well for seed stewards and organic advocates, and that it makes wonderful things bloom for you. Welcome to our newest member, Bill Reynolds of Eel River Farm in California. Congratulations to member farmer Jonathan Spero for receiving a grant from the Organic Farming Research Foundation for his organic sweet corn development and research efforts. We just finalized a new brochure that shares the story of FFSC, as well as our mission, values, approach, quality and seed development programs, and more. Our Spring 2012 seed price list has also been updated and finalized. Please check it out, share it with friends and consider purchasing our seed. All seed is available on our online store for convenient ordering. Of course, we're available in real time via phone and email to address any questions. Onward to the organic seed revolution!

FFSC 2012 Seed Sales Launch - Reserve Your Seeds Today!

We hope this has been a successful year for you and that you're getting some time to relax, rejuvenate and celebrate the gifts of farming and life. As we reflect on one growing season, it's already time to start planning and ordering seeds for the next one. On that note, we're excited to announce the launch of our seed sales for 2012! We encourage you to pay a visit to our online store to check out our organic, open pollinated vegetable seeds for 2012 and place an order for early 2012 delivery

Organic Seed Alliance Seed Growers Conference and Seed Swap 1/19-21/2012 - Don't miss it!

We're excited about the 6th Organic Seed Alliance Seed Growers Conference, coming up on January 19-21, 2012 and wanted encourage you to sign up. This biennial, one of a kind event is a great place to gain skills and knowledge, and connect with others, to help grow and protect our public domain organic seed supply. Now more than ever, its critical for organic seed growers and advocates to come together to learn and strategize around ways to protect and expand organic seed supplies, and rejuvenate and collaborate to tackle the work ahead. Several FFSC members are presenting, and we look forward to meeting you there!

Seed Production Workshop with FFSC Member Prairie Road Organic Farm

Seed production workshop aimed at seed savers: The Bismarck Tribune ran a short piece about an upcoming workshop featuring several experts in organic seed production, including David, Ginger, Dan and Theresa Podoll, Family Farmers Seed Cooperative members from Prairie Road Organic Farm. If you're in the Bismarck, North Dakota, bioregion, we encourage you to take advantage of this great workshop!

Domestication, relationships & seed security

Bioregional seed systems comprised of open-pollinated seeds, well-selected for disease and pest resistance, with the genetic diversity to adapt to climatic stress, are the basis for seed and food security.

FFSC: What We're All About

“This group represents some of the best organic seed growers in the United States. Our primary goal is to raise the quality of organic seed and make it available to organic farmers throughout the country. Organic farmers deserve the opportunity to plant seeds that were specifically bred to perform in their localized organic systems.” Don Tipping, Board President, Family Farmers Seed Cooperative

Welcome to the FFSC Farmers' Blog

Take a field trip into the world of seed! What is a typical day in the life of an organic seed grower? What do farmers talk about when they are planting seedlings in the greenhouse or walking through the fields with their hoes in hand? Here's your opportunity to join in that conversation-- on the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative's blog! We invite you to post your insights, hopes and responses as we dialogue here in this space and in this time. May your seedlings vigorously take root!