b'ation, the less likely they are to use certi- corn and soybean acres is because ofThe site works so that you can set fied organic seed. The really big organicthe difficulties growing organic in theup parameters to find a certain organic vegetable and organic corn and soybeanSoutheast. Georgia Crop is an organicvarietysay white, food-grade corn, for producers are more likely to use conven- certifying agency accredited by theexample, he says. When you hit search, tional, non-treated seed. USDA NOP. it shows you those vendors listed with However, as co-chair of the OrganicThe southeast has unique growingthat variety. Then, you can go into more Committee for the American Seed Tradeconditions, high temperatures and humid- details about the variety, and you can go Association, Ehrhardt says that this isity, compared to the corn growing sec- to that vendors site to learn more.changing as years progress.tions of the U.S., he says. There are fewHowever, if it isnt listed on the site, Theres a lot more availability ofvarieties or organic corn and soy seedthat doesnt mean that variety isnt avail-organic corn seed, especially as thedeveloped specifically for the Southeast. able. Boruff says one of the downsides organic industry continues to grow, heHollifield says Georgia falls into an areato the site is that not every organic seed says. While there will still be many organicwhere more growers opt to use con- vendor lists on the site. acres in the U.S. planted to conventional,ventional, non-treated seed as opposedEhrhardt says one thing that might non-treated seed, there will still be plentyto certified organic due to these issues.make vendors list more varieties on the of acres grown of certified organic seed.From the loophole in the NOP rule, heOrganic Seed Finder would be if the believes there will always be a catch-22.National Organic Standards Board made Regional Differences, How We We ask growers to contact at leastit a requirement to check the seed finder Can Help three seed companies to ask for organicfor organic varieties.One reason theres plenty of acres grownseed varieties, but as long as they areIn Europe, organic farmers are to conventional, non-treated seed isallowed to use non-GMO, conventionalrequired to use a similar tool to the Seed based on regional availability of organicseed, I dont think there will ever be anFinder to look for varieties, he says. corn and soy seed.adequate organic seed program, he says.Its doomed to a really low usage rate Terry Hollifield, CEO of the GeorgiaHowever, Boruff hopes this is a solu- because it isnt required by the USDA. Crop Improvement Association, says onetion that the Organic Seed Finder canDespite this, seed companies are reason they dont see plenty of organicprovide.excited about the growth of the organic marketplace. In 2018 there were an estimated 6.5 million acres of organic farmland in the U.S. Thats corn, thats soybeans, thats vegetables and more, Ehrhardt says. When it gets that big, seed companies are going to see a need for it!In the meantime, he says the organic sector continues to improve. We have several good companies growing good hybrid organic seed corn, Ehrhardt says. Organic alfalfa seed production remains a challenge, but were getting better at it, as well of a lot of organic small grains. Its gotten attention of small- to medium-sized companies to get organic on their market list.Organic farmers have much better choices in terms of germplasm and seed than they had 10 years ago, and itll only get better.SWWHEREIf you want to check out what organic seed is ON THE WEB available, visit organicseedfinder.org72/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2019'