Integrating Seed Production in My Life

Next year, I will incorporate lettuce seed production into my vegetable garden. It will be separated from the vegetable production by the minimum isolation distance that lettuce requires. The physical location of the seed crop will be at the front of the garden closest to the house, this will ensure the seed crop will not be forgotten. If all goes well in the first I will then incorporate my 2 other seed crops into the production system. This will allow me to get the hang of producing seeds and balancing the work with the vegetable garden. I foresee the first year being a practice run and won't intend to sell, except maybe in small quantities at the farmers market or to my friends. I will conduct germination testing and re-plant the seeds produce to make sure they are true to type - test my production methods and make sure I am on track to confidently sell a good product.

Some of the biggest challenges in the first year will be providing a dry space dedicated for seed cleaning and processing. This will likely need to occur in the basement of the house for now, until I can work on building a barn/shed that has a dedicated seed room. We have a small car port on the property that can be used for seed cleaning when the time is right but it is not sealed, may become damp and has risk of rodent presence. The basement is dry and free of rodents and will be good for the storage of the seeds before and after cleaning. The cleaning would be best done in the car port as it will be dusty.

Another challenge will be giving my crops the regular attention that they need. Right now, farming is not my primary or even secondary source of income. At the moment, it is for my own consumption and to practice for the future when I can make some money from the crops. There will be a gradual incorporation of more and more farming in the future. The goal is that within 5 years I can work part time at a steady job for income and farm half the time. Once my operation becomes more profitable and requires more time and attention I can wein off working at an outside source. This approach will be challenging and tiring. Approaches to overcome this would be to team up with friends or family and maybe an intern to help check on the development of the crops and with weeding and other maintenance tasks. Also, allowing it to become part of my regular routine to walk my fields and note what needs to be done and having dedicated days and evenings to maintenance.

I look forward to next and am excited to incorporate seed production into my life!

Photo Source: https://maxpull-tlu7l6lqiu.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/lettuce-bolting.jpg

Enterprise Budget for Romaine Lettuce Seed

Developing an enterprise budget for each crop is necessary to understand the revenue for the farm. Below I have constructed an Enterprise Budget for my Coastal Star Romaine Lettuce Seed. The budget was created by using a beet crop template provided by KPU: Enterprise Budgets. Ideally an enterprise budget would be made for each seed and vegetable crop on my farm. 

Assumptions I have made in this budget: 

1. The seed is intended to be sold through a co-op where there is a one time $500 membership fee which would be deducted from the first season of revenue. 

2. One farmer conducts all the work and is being paid out of the profits 

3. Land is owned, no rent due, only municipal property tax

4. Bookkeeping will done myself while very small scale 

 

Overall, this crop is profitable for the land size and scale of production! 

Targeted Market Follow-Up

This is a follow up post in response to Mary's comment below; 


"Hi Carla - my main comment would be that you have identified a number of target markets here that may have quite different characteristics and, thus, needs. For example, your local market may want certain types of seeds and varieties that are quite different from the needs of SoD Canada or research projects. Also, the types of co-ops that you mention are really a conduit to a target market rather than a target market themselves. Your target market here is home gardeners and perhaps small farmers and the co-op is the means to reach them. Depending on the reach of the co-op, your target market here may be across all of BC or even other parts of Canada. This market would probably have quite different trends than your local community. My advice would be to prioritize your top markets so you can allocate your growing space appropriately.It may be nice to grow 3 different varieties for SoD's seed bank but how much of your growing space does that take up and how does it mesh with growing seed crops for your local market or the co-op? This is a good opportunity to develop enterprise budgets for each project to determine relative importance of each market."

Thanks for comments here Mary. I see that having chose many different places to market my seed will be difficult and may not be the most efficient to spread my time and land over many projects. Conducting an enterprise budget for each crop in each market would be a good way to go. My first instinct upon reflection is to first focus on selling to a regional co-op until comfortable and turning a profit then choosing to take on other projects and markets as I grow.

Identifying Market Trends

Identifying seed market trends requires ongoing research to determine what seed crops I will grow and sell. The market trends will change over time but I will always put a good amount of energy into growing GMO free, ecologically grown, bee/environment friendly crops that are non proprietary. My research methods will include; 

1. Visiting farmers markets to see what farmers are growing/selling 

2. Visiting local grocery stores to see what is available (organic or not) and see where the gaps are between the store and market 

3. Talk to producers to see what they are looking for in seed 

4. Research common diseases in certain crops to see if I can improve a variety for resistance 

5. Discover native plants that are lacking in my region and see if there is interest amongst my customers to plant these seeds in their ornamental gardens 

6. Talk to the co-op organizers and farmers with the co-op to what types of seed are lacking. No point in growing tomato seeds for the co-op if 30 other farmers already are and the customer need is already met. 

7. Ask seed libraries what kinds of seeds they would like to see in their collections  

8. Research labelling and what is attractive to my customers 

9. Determine if my customer base frequent the internet. May be a place for social media or a website for more details on my seeds of that year. This may be a good platform to get a following, disseminate knowledge and gain customer loyalty through being transparent. 

10. Build good relationships with Ag universities and colleges to get my foot in the door for seed research projects that receive a stipend, advertisement or access to resources. 

Image Source: http://www.froutonea.com/images/datafiles/1117.jpg

Targeted Markets for Seed Sale and Building Capital

Farmer Cooperatives

• Sell seed to cooperatives led by farmers in my region such as the BC Eco Seed Co-op. 

This market is great to sell seeds locally and in bulk. The small regional cooperatives promote regionally adapted seed, diversity, agroecology, community building, knowledge sharing and support from colleagues. Selling to a co-op is beneficial to take the demand off how many varieties I have to provide for the category below. Selling to seed companies requires yield beyond what I intend to grow in the beginning.  

Small Farmers, Market Growers & Home Gardeners

• Sell seed packets at my vegetable market stand and sell to local farmers if interest 

This market is a good way to get started when my yields are low and I am just dipping my feet. The packaging and displays can be very basic but quaint. Once I have enough seed to start selling to the co-op I think this outlet would be a matter of surplus seed leftover from selling to the cooperative. I also like the community connection and sharing/selling of seed and food diversity within a smaller community. 

Research, Seed Libraries & Barter

• Participate in grow outs to contribute to the Canadian Seed Library with Seeds of Diversity. Farm is paid $300/year for small portion of my seed of 3 varieties.   

• Participate in variety trials to contribute to research with projects similar to the BC Seed Trials. Receive a small stipend for my time, free seeds for the trial plus keeping the harvest. 

• Barter and trade with local farmers; seed swap, trade seed for produce, honey and meat etc. 

These additional streams aid building social capital, seed security, receiving extra income and promote economic, environmental and social sustainability.  

Necessary Storage Requirements and Provisions

I plan on storing my seeds for 1-3 years. The initial purpose is to save enough seeds to grow food in the subsequent year from my own seed and to replenish my seed stock. As the years go by I can rotate the types of seed crops I grow. Firstly to increase the diversity of seeds I have on hand and also to give myself time to grow out and sell the seed I have on hand not allowing them to become too old. 

As the years progress I can increase the size of my production to ensure I have steady income and supply of seed and vegetables to live on and feed my family (in conjunction with my husbands income). 

The environment in which to store ensuring good quality of my seeds is should be dry, cool and dark. The main goal during storage is provide conditions to which to seed remains in dormancy and will be viable at germination time. My lettuce seeds will be stored in labelled brown paper envelopes then in further labelled brown paper bags in a fridge. The beans and peas will be stored in a labelled paper or plastic baggy within a labelled mason jar that have small hole poked in the top for air circulation. 

Refer to table 1 & 2 below for germination standards set by the Government of Canada. These minimum germination rates must be met to sell my seed. The minimum germination rate for lettuce is 70% and 65-80% for peas and 65-85% for beans. The beans and peas have ranges as there are different levels of quality the seeds can achieve. Of course I will strive for the highest possible germination rates and test my seeds for germination each year. 

Romaine Lettuce

Image Source: http://www.gettystewart.com/seedy-saturday-saturday-march-9/

Table 1: Accepted Germination Rates by the Gov't of Canada, Seed Regulations

 See Romaine Lettuce Seed in Row S 

 Table Source: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/c.r.c.,_c._1400/FullText.html

Garden Pea

Image Source: http://www.gardenfresco.co.uk/growing-vegetables/peas

Fava Bean 

Image Source: https://www.ufseeds.com/product/broad-windsor-fava-bean-seeds/

Table 2: Accepted Germination Rates and Percentage of Acceptable Weeds and Other Seed for Non-Field Production Crops by the Gov't of Canada, Seed Regulations (See Peas in Column 4 and Beans in Column 5)

 Table Source: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/c.r.c.,_c._1400/FullText.html

Ensuring Isolation from GE crops

To the best of my knowledge there is no GE seed crops being grown in South Burnaby. The farm land plots are very small and are mostly in vegetable production by small growers. The more than sufficient isolation distances I have provided for my self-pollinating crops is more than sufficient to isolate from GE crops.

Image: https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjEmNvmuOfWAhVIrlQKHc-rBKwQjxwIAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Frenegadehealth.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2F19%2Fseeds-of-deception-book-review&psig=AOvVaw1NpyfeW-p1rSHm4LqNJ7t6&ust=1507772511369558