Organic Seed Regulations Tighten

By Rupert Jannasch

The pending regulation stipulating that organic growers must use certified organic seed after December 31, 2003, will prove to be logistical challenge. Certifiers need to verify the correct seed is being used, growers must make an honest effort to find it and someone must decide what happens when certified organic seed is unavailable.

The organic seed rule is a first step in developing an organic seed industry that would include the selection and breeding of crop varieties adapted to organic soil and crop management. It will also reduce the reliance on conventional seed sources where the trend to patented and controlled seed stock, including genetically engineered crops, is increasingly widespread. By and large, the standards of certifying bodies in Canada, Europe and the U.S. are harmonized on this issue.

Organic growers have been encouraged to use organic seed for many years, but certified organic seed for certain crops and varieties remains in chronically short supply or is non-existent. Seed supplies must catch up with demand and obliging growers to use certified seed will ensure this happens.

Organic seed production, however, is a very risky business without fungicides, especially in humid climates. In 2000, for example, 90% of the European pea seed crop was lost due to Ascochyta. Although supplies of some cereal seed are relatively abundant, certified organic seed of certain vegetable crops are hopelessly inadequate.

A broad, loosely based network of farmers, processors and traders and specialized seed companies across Canada do supply a variety of certified organic seeds. It is a well established, decentralized market in which farmers play a key role. Seed saving is also an important element in protecting the organic seed supply. Diligent inquiries with certifiers and fellow growers should enable most producers to quickly determine the availability of most seed.

Sourcing seed could be made easier if organic seed inventories were established. Growers looking for seed could then source it and farmers producing seed could sell it. Presumably the necessary information already exists in producer records held by certification bodies. Granted, building a database would involve some expense, but it should make the regulatory role of certifiers easier and, ultimately, make the goal of a certified organic seed supply more certain.

The Canadian Seed Growers Association reports that an increasing number of members are applying to produce Pedigree, certified organic seed. Primary crops of interest are cereals in Western Canada and some beans in eastern provinces. Spokesman, Randy Preater, claims that initial concerns about high weed counts have proven unfounded. "There have been no increases in the number of declines [rejections] of pedigree status among organic producers due to weeds," he says. The CSGA publishes a grower directory, by province, of pedigree seed producers, but does not identify which growers are certified organic.

Enforcement of the seed rule will involve some tricky decision making - especially when defining availability. For example, will a grower in British Columbia be obliged to import certified organic seed potatoes from Prince Edward Island? Technically speaking, these potatoes could be available, only freight would be extremely costly.

Also, if certified organic seed is felt to be weedy or impure, would a grower be obliged to use it?

In all likelihood, reasonable solutions can be found to these questions and others, but growers should be prudent when searching for seed. The search should begin early - preferably in the fall with a chronological log of inquiries documented on paper. The log will provide evidence to certifiers that an honest effort has been made to source organic seed in case none is available. Letters from seed suppliers attesting that the seed is GMO-free are also essential (See the Field Crops Handbook by the Canadian Organic Growers or attra.ncat.org/attar-publ/altseed.html on how to keep crops GMO-free). Finally, caution is advised over the abundance of non-certified "organic" seed on the market. Remember, only seed certified by an accredited certification body using independent, third party inspection will meet the requirements of the organic seed rule.

Further Reading

For several excellent articles on organic seed, see the Organic Field Crop Handbook, 2nd Edition, published by the Canadian Organic Growers, including the article on Seed Production by Duane Falk, of the Canadian Seed Growers Association.

Rupert Jannasch, M.Sc., P.Ag. is a consultant for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. Please send comments or questions by phone to 902-893-6275 or by email to oacc@nsac.ca