Letters to the Editor

Organic Seed is Required for
Organic Production When Available

We received a long and thoughtful letter from Richard D. Siegel, an expert on the National Organic Plan, regarding our article in eNewsletter 33 where we stated that "reasonable price" could be a consideration as to whether an organic grower is required to use organic seed to produce a certified organic crop. The following is an excerpt from Richard's letter and a response from us here at Seeds of Change.

...some certifiers and growers in the organic community have been assuming that if a particular variety of seed is available in an equivalent organic variety, but the organic variety is considerably more expensive than conventional untreated seed, the added expense will mean that organic growers will not be required to use it...there is no basis in the National Organic Program (NOP) for this assumption. The NOP does not protect growers from having to pay a price for seed that they may find unreasonable. The NOP says that no matter how costly the equivalent organic variety may be, as long as it is commercially available, a grower must use it.

The NOP Final Rule, Section 205.204, generally requires the use of organically grown seed to produce an organic crop, unless "an equivalent organically produced variety is not commercially available." Turning to the definition of "commercially available," in Section 205.2, this is "the ability to obtain a production input in an appropriate form, quality, or quantity to fulfill an essential function..., as determined by the certifying agent..."

In other words, "commercial availability" hinges on whether an equivalent organic variety of seed is available in "an appropriate form, quality, or quantity." The price of the seed is not mentioned as a factor... This means that certifying agents are not free to consider the price of the equivalent organic variety of seed as a factor in determining whether it is or is not "commercially available."

Richard,
Thank you for the clarification on this issue. We stand corrected. While, as you point out, the law does not require comparable prices, as Seeds of Change moves into the bulk seed market, we are doing our best to ensure that the cost of our seed fairly reflects the costs of production. We are committed to supporting our organic seed growers while striving to offer a fair price to our market grower customers. As we have always stated, for organic agriculture to have integrity, it should begin with organic seeds. We remain committed to providing organic seeds for the organic market.

Seeds of Change

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