b'corn, down from about $8.50/10 per bushel to $6 forare seeing many of our customers turning to direct the organic seed needed for animal production.marketing and doing quite well with it. Further, home4% Ehrhardt cites three reasons for the decline ingardening has spiked significantly since March andis the amount organic row crop seed prices. First, he says, organicwe expect a good portion of these new gardeners toof organic farmers have gotten better at producing corn, withcontinue with the hobby.products many organic growers harvesting 180 bu/acre orTursini adds that supplies are strong for vegetableaccounted for in more. Secondly, production of organics is up becauseseeds. There are, of course, normal crop failures orU.S. food salesof the transition of acres from traditional croppingshort crops as there are in any given year, but we are systems to organic. Thirdly, he says, increasing importsnot seeing industry-wide seed shortages. If demand provide a constant downward pressure. from home gardeners continues this season at the Ehrhardt says that unlike corn, organic soybeanpace of last year, we may start to see some weak$3.5prices remain strong, in Oct. averaging in the $18-20/ spots in OP varieties while seed growers are waiting onbillion is the bu range versus about $10 for conventional grain. new crops. However, hybrid varieties remain plentifulamount of The markets for organic wheat and oats are matur- and High Mowing, in particular, is well stocked in bothorganic sales ing and Ehrhardt expects to see ups and downs inhybrids and OPs. in 2019 in prices as we go forward. Roy van Wyk, Executive Director of the CanadianCalifornia Seed Institute (CSI), says there appears to be a short- alone.Continuing Growth for Vegetables age of inputs for Canadian organic producers. Andrea Tursini, High Mowing Organic Seeds, believesThere is more organic seed available but in Canada the demand will continue to trend upward. it is harder to find domestically produced organic We are anticipating continued growth in theseed, he says. Most of the organic vegetable seed is39%market for organic seeds, says Andrea Torsini of Highimported from the U.S. or Europe. was the Mowing Organic Seeds. According to the Organicincreased Trade Association, organic produce sales were on theMany Challenges Ahead amount of rise before COVID-19 and are even more important toThe pandemic has made it harder for producers tosales in 2019 consumers now. source seed, van Wyk says. Nevertheless, suppliersfor organic Organic farmers have been impacted by poorhave done a good job supplying seed and other inputsproducts in the sales to restaurants since March, says Torsini, but wesafely. They also are doing a good job providing seedsU.S.Partnering with You to Deliver the Industrys BestAlfalfa Partners top priority is providing premium alfalfa varieties to help you improve profi tability. We do it through sciencebringing over 30 years of industry leading genetics into each variety. We do it through research and developmentutilizing data from fi eld trials, our greenhouse, and current market trends. And we listensupporting the challenges of your operation with our best solutionsso we both succeed.Alfalfa, Sorghum & MoreNow Under One RoofCall 720.506.9191. Visit AlfalfaPartners.com, Facebook, and Twitter20/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2020'