Organic seed sourcing
    If you go online to search the Organic Seed database (p. 3 GFM news briefs, Dec, 2006 issue) being developed by OMRI, you will find that only a handful of suppliers of organic seed have chosen to list their varieties.  There’s a good reason for that.  The so-called “small annual fee” charged suppliers for the listing by OMRI is anything but.  For Fedco Seeds the $10/variety listing would come to $2,460 for 2007 alone, nearly double our entire annual advertising budget exclusive of catalog production and mailing. That’s a whole lot of carrot seed! And just another form of expensive advertising, the costs of which would come right out of organic farmers’ pockets in the form of higher seed prices. That’s why you won’t see Fedco’s name in the OMRI listing, even though we offer 246 certified organic varieties in 2007.
    Unless OMRI (or someone else putting out a similar directory) changes its fee policies, organic growers will never have a single place to search for seed.  Nor should they.  Smart growers know that they need to do their homework.  By shopping many catalogs and reading many variety descriptions, they can gain a wealth of information, and by intelligent price comparing they can save a ton of money.  Whether it’s OMRI or Wal-Mart, one-stop shopping doesn’t cut it.

CR Lawn
Fedco Seeds
Waterville, ME

Encouraging young farmers
    I was struck by your reference in the January issue to the Organic Farming Research Foundation study in which the average age of respondents was 51. I wholeheartedly agree with your hope that more young people will join the field, so to speak, and thought I would give you an example. My fiancée and I, 29 and 27 respectively, purchased land last summer with the intention of starting a small market farm near Columbia, MO. As she is working full-time to support us during this transition, it will be a slow development, but we’re working on it. This is what we want to do with our lives. We enjoy your publication, to which we were referred by another pair of younger farmers, Rachel Bynum and Eric Plaksin of Waterpenny Farm in Virginia. Our friendship and experience with them gave us the last push we needed to set out on our own, and hopefully we’ll be able to give the same encouragement and support to other young farmers down the road. Keep up the good work.

 Eric Butler
Chert Hollow Farm
Columbia, MO

I think I speak for a lot of veteran market farmers in wishing you success in your new endeavor. I spoke recently at a conference for beginning market gardeners, and  almost everyone in the room had gray hair. I think that market farming CAN be a great retirement job, but it is clear to me that we need to recruit more young people into the business. The same day I received Eric’s letter, I talked to two people who are third- or fourth-generation vegetable farmers in their 70s. Both had tried to find young people to take over, but without success. The aging farm population is a national concern, and we need to address it before it’s too late. The first step is to make farming financially rewarding. Young people have energy, and many of them are deeply concerned about sustainability. If market farming can offer a decent livelihood, they will consider it as a career.

Corrections department
    The January issue contained an advertisement for The Maine Potato Lady; unfortunately, because of a production error, the contact information was cut off . The correct ad appears on page 17 of this issue. The Maine Potato Lady offers certified seed potatoes, garlic, shallots and potato onions, most of which is also certified organic. Alison LaCourse, owner of  The Maine Potato Lady, says that all the products she offers are grown on family farms, including her own, The LaCourse Family Farm in central Maine. Request a catalog and order products online at www.mainepotatolady.com or by calling 207-343-2270.