We're here at the 10th Organic Seed Growers Conference today! Amy Wong and Chris Hardy will be participating in a panel from 2:00pm - 3:30pm in the Alumni Center/Room 111, for "In the Trenches and in State Capitals: Legislative Work to Protect Organic Seed." Please join us!

Details: Given the federal policy shortcomings related to the oversight of GMOs and the protection of organic seed, advocacy groups have been promoting state-based initiatives to fill federal gaps. This panel includes policy leaders who will share updates, stories, and lessons learned with an eye toward strengthening policy and legislative efforts at the state level. Topics include liability for GE contamination; protecting the Willamette Valley from commercial canola cultivation in high-value organic seed production areas; ballot measures to ban GE crops in Southern Oregon; resisting cultural appropriation in New Mexico; and other community organizing examples that aim to protect the viability and integrity of organic seed. This session will provide an opportunity for audience members to discuss other ways to educate, inspire, and advocate for organic seed in their communities and beyond. https://seedalliance.org/conference-workshop-details

There were many highs and lows throughout this Legislative Session and we experienced a steep learning curve that has better set us up for future progress in Salem. While we know that many of you join us in being gravely disappointed that a toxic political culture led to HB 2020 (the climate change bill) being taken off the table for now, we are thrilled to be able to update you on some positive developments that happened over the last couple of days.

SB 885, the bill to maintain the 500 acre canola cap in the Willamette Valley, passed out of the Senate on June 29^th and the House on June 30^th! The bill originally was supposed to be voted on the same day as HB 2020, but the Senate Republicans walked out and fled the state to avoid being forced back to work by Oregon State troopers. It is a testament to the hard work of many people, as well as supporters contacting their legislators (it works!), that this bill was prioritized once the Senate Republicans finally returned.

We also made headway with ODA and their approach to canola. Since no one knew if SB 885 would pass, ODA had to undertake a rulemaking process, which ran parallel to the legislative process, to ensure that there would be regulations governing canola cultivation come July 1, 2019 when the previous acreage cap sunsets. As part of the rulemaking process, ODA assembled a Canola Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) and while we were not officially at the table, we attended all of the meetings as an observer, and supported our coalition partner, Friends of Family Farmers, who did have a seat at the table. We also made sure that there was a robust turn out for the May 29th hearing on ODA’s proposed canola rules. Testimony in support of limits on canola cultivation far outweighed testimony in favor of canola! And ODA listened and included a canola exclusion zone in the final rules, as well as a three-mile isolation distance to protect specialty seed growers, especially organic producers, who are outside of the exclusion zone. We will make sure to hold ODA accountable in terms of following up on some topics that are still pending, including banning or limiting genetically engineered (GE) or herbicide tolerant (HT) canola varieties.

However, since SB 885 will become law when Governor Brown signs it, it is our understanding that ODA will do emergency rulemaking to maintain the 500 acre cap and it is unclear if the other elements of the rule that the agency just drafted will be included. We hope so, but if they don’t this round, we think that it is possible to get them in place in the future. The canola debate is far from over because SB 885 will sunset in 2023.

There are also exciting developments that came out of the State Grange convening which took place in Molalla from June 22^nd to 27th. The Grange passed two resolutions regarding GE-free zones and overturning the seed preemption to allow Josephine County’s GE ban to finally go into effect. We will be working closely with the State Grange to ensure that the Grange resolutions are translated into viable legislative concepts.

We also recently checked in with our legislative champion, Rep. Wilde, and he is ready and willing to keep working on GE contamination issues in the interim and beyond.

All in all, we made some impressive incremental progress this session and we could not have done it without your support—financially, as well as by responding to action alerts and coming out to testify.

To recap, here are some of our accomplishments:

• We survived legislative deadlines;
• We held public hearings in which two legislators came and testified in support of our work;
• We met the Speaker of the House and solidified support for GE contamination issues;
• We found a legislative champion;
• Even though HB 2882, the GE Liability Bill died, it made more progress than the first time we ran it; 
• We were given two legislatively mandated work groups—one for GE and another for Organic;
• We were invited to regularly participate in quarterly Organic Stakeholder meetings at ODA;
• We connected with old and new seed friends in the Willamette Valley and made sure that SOSGA is better represented in Salem too;
• We got local and national press:
  • OPB’s Think Out Loud covered HB 2882 the GE Liability Bill, and while there are some inaccuracies in this 20 minute radio story, it is pretty good. 
  • The Statesman Journal also covered HB 2882.
  • Civil Eats wrote about co-existence between canola and the Oregon’s specialty seed industry.

Here are some other recent related media links that may be of interest:

• The New York Times ran a beautiful piece about the importance of seed last weekend and it included Frank Morton, one of Oregon’s premiere organic seed growers who is a big fan of our work.
• More GE wheat was found in Washington State last week. See the Capital Press story here. 
• The New York legislature passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Jen Metzger (SD42) that creates an affirmative defense for farmers who are contaminated by GE matter through no fault of their own, but could still be legally liable to the patent holder or manufacturer of the GE plant.

We are going to take a short break but will be back in Salem soon for on-going work group and ODA meetings and getting ready for future sessions. Thank you again for your support and please consider joining us and donating to make sure that we can keep up the work year-round.

The 500 acre cap on canola production in the Willamette Valley sunsets July 1. Additional canola acreage could have disastrous effects on Oregon’s specialty seed industry through increased pest and disease pressures, as well as genetically engineered (GE) and other cross contamination.

Cultivate Oregon is actively working to protect Oregon’s farmers and seeds by lobbying in support of SB 885, the bill to maintain the 500 acre canola cap, as well as requesting that ODA strengthen the agency’s proposed canola rules, which do not offer enough protections against GE and other contamination. 

Cultivate Oregon is looking for members of the seed community to come to Salem next week to speak to why allowing more canola into the Willamette Valley is a bad idea. Funds are available to cover reasonable travel costs. If you or someone you know would be willing and able to come to Salem, please contact us. 

Read ODA’s proposed rules. 

TAKE ACTION! Review Friends of Family Farmers excellent template for submitting testimony and/or talking points if you can testify in person.

 

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WHY PROTECTING THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY FROM CANOLA AND GE SEED IS SO IMPORTANT

Oregon is one of the top five specialty seed growing regions in the world. This unique heritage should be protected and expanded. Unfortunately, the potential introduction of thousands of acres of canola could threaten this legacy, as can further genetically engineered (GE) contamination. Other seed growing regions that have allowed extensive canola cultivation have experienced reductions in the varieties of specialty seed crops that they can grow, as well increased cross contamination issues. For example, radish seed can no longer be grown in Europe—only Oregon and New Zealand

Large-scale canola cultivation poses unique threats to the specialty seed industry in Oregon for several reasons:

 

• Specialty seed needs robust purity—canola for oil does not, thus putting a greater burden on the specialty seed grower to fence out canola contamination.
  
  
• Increased pest and disease pressures (and while this is true of any brassicaceae crop, the risks rise with increased acreage. Specialty seed acreage is arguably less than what is desired by commercial canola production and doesn’t pose as intense a threat.)
  
  
• Strong volunteerism - it is difficult to control volunteer canola plants, which can spread easily.
  
  
• Seed banking - canola seed can remain in fields for several years, even after the canola has been harvested.
  
  
• Various cross pollination concerns--seed purity and GE.
  
  
• It is becoming increasingly difficult to find “clean” GE-free canola seed. For example, in February of 2019 farmers in France and Germany had to rip out thousands of acres of canola fields because the sowed seed was sold as non-GE but was determined to be contaminated with GE-varieties as well.
  
  
• There is a growing need for organic, non-GMO seed. Oregon has the potential to contribute to this, as long as the right protections in place.
  
  
• The U.S. organic seed market for crops was worth more than $460 million in 2015 and is predicted to reach $5.4 billion by the year 2024. However, the supply for organic seed is insufficient. Ensuring protections for organic seed growers could be a major economic opportunity for Oregon. Organic seed can yield between $10K and $50K an acre; GE seed only $1000 an acre. Canola, at best, yields $1500 an acre.
  
  
• Organic seed grower Frank Morton submitted this excellent testimony to Oregon Dept. of Agriculture and it offer a deep dive into why large scale canola production should be kept out of the Willamette Valley.
   
• Limiting the threat of GE contamination through maintaining a cap on canola acreage is also important to seed growers in other parts of Oregon, like the Rogue Valley. Many farmers in southern Oregon source seeds from the Willamette Valley. Further, GE contamination could drift from northern to southern Oregon, endangering seed growers in the south.

Before the session started, Cultivate Oregon and our coalition partners were able to find sponsors in both the House and Senate for identical GE Liability Bills, an updated version of the bill that first was introduced in 2017. Having identical bills in both chambers is a safety mechanism—if the bill doesn’t move on one side, it hopefully will move on the other side, which is the case this year. While we initially thought the Senate version would have more support, it actually was the House version, HB 2882, which made it past the April 9^th deadline and is currently being worked on. It is not a bad thing per se that the Senate version SB 434 is “dead.”

HB 2882 was scheduled for a perfunctory Work Session on April 3^rd and the bill was moved from the Judiciary Committee to the Rules Committee. This alone should be considered a win because the legislature is overwhelmed with thousands of bills and many pieces of legislation don’t make it past the deadline, regardless of the merits. The Speaker of the House helped move the bill forward and we are appreciative of the Speaker’s support. Rep. Holvey, a longtime champion of GE issues, is the Chair of the Rules Committee and is willing to schedule a hearing when the bill is ready.

What's a work session? A Work Session is different from a public hearing in that no testimony is taken from the public, unless invited, although the public may attend the work session.

Is the bill moving? We are fortunate that the democratic leadership, and some key Senators, recognize the need for something to be done about GE contamination in Oregon. That said, opposition forces have peppered the legislature with many concerns about the bill. For example, that holding patent holders and manufacturers liable for GE contamination will have a chilling effect on business in Oregon; that GE contamination isn’t a problem in Oregon; that other legal remedies exist; that this is an issue that should be managed solely through “farmer to farmer” handshakes; and that there could be negative, unintended legal consequences. We don’t agree with these concerns and are working hard to counter them in both chambers. In the meantime, Speaker Kotek has asked Rep. Wilde to work with the coalition to address these concerns and come up with a version of the bill that can garner broad support. We are hoping that we can find a way forward that still puts liability on the chemical corporations behind GE technology. This is the first time that we have had an ally in the legislature directly working with us so it is a big step forward and Rep. Wilde has been engaging and genuinely open to learning more about this topic.  

What exactly happened to SB 434? We were assured from our Chief Senate sponsor, Sen. Frederick, that the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Prozanski, would schedule a hearing. Sen. Prozanski even signed onto the bill and has long been a supporter of GE issues. However, Sen. Prozanski became concerned that there is not a sufficient legal nexus between GE contamination and manufacturers or patent holders. While this is disappointing, Sen. Prozanski committed to holding an Informational Hearing followed by a Work Group because he does see the need to “draw a line in the sand” with GE issues but wants to make sure that he does so in a way that he is comfortable with. Our Chief Sponsor in the Senate has gotten pieces of legislation out of Work Groups before, so ultimately, this is also a step in the right direction and could allow for our voices to be heard in a less-rushed environment, as well as for a group of allies to convene to further push the issue. We will balance continuing to work on the House version while simultaneously addressing potential future solutions with Sen. Prozanski in the Senate.

It often takes multiple tries to get legislation passed, so while some of you may be feeling disappointed, we making progress and the House bill is still moving! We also found new Republican allies this session. Rep. Findley and Rep. Stark are supportive and we hope to find more bipartisan buy in. We also are working with an exciting new coalition partner, Oregon Organic Coalition, and through this relationship, we will be attending quarterly meetings at ODA. These are really great developments. 

What exactly does the bill do? HB 2882 will create a cause of action for liability against patent holders or licensed manufacturers for GE contamination events in Oregon. The bill will not pit farmer against farmer. The parties that will be held responsible are the corporations behind genetic engineering, not the farmers who use them since in some instances, contamination is out of the hands of the farmer who planted the seed or cannot be attributed to any one farm. GE contamination, and the threat of contamination, costs farmers--including Oregon farmers--billions of dollars. It is time to level the playing field and hold the corporations behind the technology that is responsible for this contamination accountable. Learn more about HB 2882 on our website.

What you can do: Please do make sure to contact your legislators and tell them that you are concerned about GE contamination in Oregon and increased canola acreage in the Willamette Valley and want protections for our specialty seeds. You can find your representatives here. Also, if you haven’t done so already, fill out our support form and let us know if you are able to write testimony or testify in person once a hearing is scheduled. Sometimes we don't get much notice so it's helpful to have a list of supporters on hand. Please also continue to share information about HB 2882 on social media, and learn as much as you can about GE contamination events in Oregon and the risks they pose to farmers and our specialty seed industry.

What About Canola? As for the limit on 500 acres of canola allowed in the Willamette Valley that will sunset in July, SB 885 will keep the status quo in place and was voted out of committee in early April. 

We thought that the bill was going to go directly to the Senate Floor, but at the very last minute ODA attached a cost to the legislation which means that it had to be referred to the Ways and Means Committee to ensure that there is room in the budget for the bill. Senate Dembrow, the sponsor, said that he is confident that the bill will get out of Ways and Means and head to the Senate floor for a vote. ODA is also still convening meetings with the Canola Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) to work on an agency-led solution instead of a legislative mandate. We are attending the RAC meetings and tracking this issue closely. 

Photo by Raquel Pedrotti on Unsplash

Frank Morton is a plant breeder and founder of Wild Garden Seed in Oregon.

Below is Frank Morton's testimony to ODA regarding canola. 

Regarding the Introduction of Canola to the Willamette Valley
Testimony of Frank Morton/Wild Garden Seed, November 29, 2018

My name is Frank Morton, I reside at 25235 Aurora Lane, Philomath, OR 97370

My wife Karen and I started our specialty organic seed company 25 years ago. We had no idea at the time that we were fortunate enough to have done so in one of the world’s finest seed growing regions, with the climate and natural resources to produce the highest quality seeds of a large number of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. It wasn’t until we became members of the Willamette Valley Specialty Seed Association that I really grasped Oregon’s place in the world as a first-class place to grow the most valuable of all agricultural crops—pure seed for planting.

The rapeseed control districts created to buffer inherent conflicts between oilseed growers and specialty seed growers has worked well for their purpose for more than three decades, during which time Oregon has developed a reputation for the quality, purity, and reliability of its seed production. Along the border with Idaho, restriction of rapeseed production in Oregon protects specialty seed producers inside Idaho. In central Oregon, rapeseed restrictions protect the region’s carrot seed producers from persistent oilseed volunteers in agricultural fields whose seeds cannot be separated from the carrot seed crop.

Now in the Willamette Valley there has been some change of heart regarding our specialty seed industry, apparently some loss of appreciation for how unique this valley is in the world, and a sense that we can allow some losses around the edges, and even take some risks to the heart of the Valley without having a negative effect on what is special about this place. There must now be an idea that we have enough room set aside already for specialty seeds, and we should be able to pack in a canola oil industry as well, with only a little compromise to what has kept this place so special in the world of quality seeds. This is a road paved with good intentions, perhaps, but it will lead to a world of conflict without end. We can see this already, 12 years into this ongoing conflict, that there will be no peace between those who have everything to lose in this coexistence, and those with nothing to lose.

This is the heart of the problem with coexistence between quality seed growers, and growers who crush oil from seed. All the incentive to prevent cross pollination, roadside dispersal, volunteers blooming in fields and fencerows, and fastidious control of pests and disease falls to the growers of seed for planting. There is no economic harm or harm to reputation for the oilseed grower to be cross pollinated or disease infected by neighboring crops or feral crops along the state right of way. Oilseed producers cannot be required to care about these things that are of critical importance to specialty seed growers—indeed, they cannot presently even be compelled to pin an isolation map provided by the WVSSA for the purpose of avoiding cross pollination. Unless the state creates legislation requiring that all brassica growers register and pin their locations on a public map, there is not a realistic scenario to prevent ongoing conflicts. ODA will need to create such a system just for the purpose of trying to foster coexistence between canola and specialty seed growers, something never done before, a pinning system that does not exist, requiring funding that isn’t likely to be forthcoming, for an industry with a farmgate value no one will brag about. Or, we can return to the protected district model that worked well for thirty-odd years, and still works in two Oregon rapeseed control districts.

Like many who have testified on this topic repeatedly over the years, I’m exhausted with repeating what has been said many times before. I nearly did not write this, nearly did not show up to testify, because I feel that the issue is now politicized, that a decision has already been made on some level beyond agricultural reasoning that oilseed canola will be grown in the Willamette Valley, no matter what, and that our special place in the world of quality seed is a part of Oregon’s history, not its future. This makes me very sad, not unlike a clear cut of old growth, seeing something pass away that can’t be returned in my lifetime. Those before us protected it, we are set to let it pass away. For cheap.

But, since I’m here, allow me to list my complaints:

I’m one of very few dedicated organic seed growers in the WVSSA membership. I supply organic growers on every scale directly through my catalog and website in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Rim. I also supply seed catalog companies in many of these locations, especially catalogs that supply organic growers. Last year we sold seeds in 41 countries. Despite feeling somewhat significant in my worldly impact, I see that my farm is outside the arbitrary “blue line” that I sense must be where all the important seed producers are thought to live and prosper. I’m west of the Willamette, a mile south of Philomath, right beside one of the most significant organic produce farms in the state (Gathering Together Farm, with 65 acres of production). ODA might be forgiven for leaving us out of the protected area, since most organic farms are on marginal lands, and marginal lands are being given over to be the canola ghettos of the Oregon seed industry… but I’m a little surprised WVSSA wouldn’t have pointed me out, as I’m often cited by the organization as their organic token. So, let me be pointed and say that I think I’m as important as my friends at Universal Seed over yonder near Salem, and I think I deserve to have my priority pinning rights as respected as anyone who pays dues and pinning fees to WVSSA. But it looks like ODA intends to take this pinning priority that I’ve maintained for 12 years and do something different as regards pinning outside the blue box… but I have no idea what. I’m not feeling the safety of equal protection under the proposed changes. But I feel sleazy asking you to gerrymander your blue line just to include me, when I know there are other organic growers outside that blue line who don’t even know that seed crops might fit well in their production systems, and that they are in a world class seed growing region. The blue line not only threatens my future as a seedsman, it precludes many other futures that could have been. This is the tragedy of letting our specialty seed growing region erode around the edges. We won’t get that opportunity back to preserve what we now have.

The topic of herbicide resistant GE canola seems to be avoided whenever it comes up. Canola proponents cast the topic aside and insist they won’t be using GE canola. Why not? What will stop anyone from using GE canola? Not the law of the land. ODA states that is within their current authority to appoint advisory boards that can set the boundaries of control areas and “the type of rapeseed species and varieties which may be produced…” So, in theory these boards could prohibit GE varieties, but in reality, there’s no reason to expect that. When GE canola is allowed in the Willamette Valley, organic brassica seed will require genetic testing before it will be accepted by buyers. This is already the case for organic beets and swiss chard grown in the Valley, due to risks from GE sugar beet. When I have to add a $300 GMO test to my $200 pathology test (for Phoma and Xanthomonas), I will have a $500 cost added to every brassica seed lot I grow. My current catalog contains 37 varieties of brassica, so the impact will be significant.

The decision to reverse ODA policy re canola growing in the Valley grew out of the State’s poorly conceived renewable fuels policy. Part of the flawed implementation of this plan included encouraging and subsidizing the production of biofuel canola in the Willamette Valley, which included building a canola oil pressing facility at Rickreal. This investment in a canola pressing plant within a rapeseed control area would seem nonsensical, except the investors had some apparent belief that the control district would be abolished in short order. As we see this did not turn out to be the case, thanks to the commitment of the specialty seed industry to their homeland. But the crushing plant was built in any case, and ever sense, there has been an undercurrent of commitment from the state to see that plant put to use for canola growers. The plant itself keeps arising as something to be supplied with Willamette Valley canola. This is a perverse economic incentive, to somehow make the Valley pay for a poor investment, by undercutting a thriving industry (specialty seeds) with an industry that has been propped up by subsidies from its inception. The Willamette Valley will never be fueled by homegrown biodiesel, and so more recently canola proponents have hailed the plant as a food grade oil facility. Seems to me this poor investment has become a millstone around the State’s neck, and all this flailing about canola and specialty seeds is just an artifact of some grand plan gone askew…and it needs 50,000 acres of local canola to save face, for someone.

Undoing the Willamette Valley rapeseed control district has created new inequities under ODA rules. Currently seed growers in central Oregon enjoy the protection of their control district, and the specialty seed growers there aren’t suffering the conflicts created by the State’s illconceived decision to undo the WV control district. Along the border with Idaho, Idaho specialty seed growers are enjoying the protections afforded by Oregon’s eastern rapeseed control district. I understand that the State of Oregon provided this rapeseed control district at the request of Idaho’s seed industry, which was a considerate thing to do, more than 30 years ago. I’m not feeling equal protection under the rules, here.

A common justification for introduction of canola to the Willamette is the need for broadleaf rotation options for wheat and grass seed growers, something to break pest and disease cycles. There are a lot of options in this regard that wouldn’t threaten the specialty seed industry with disease, pest, and contamination issues. How about legumes as nitrogen fixing cover crops? Clover, vetch, sweetclover for example? These create value by fixing nitrogen that benefits subsequent cash crops, possibly creating more value than the $380/ acre that canola yields. Flax is a historic crop in the Valley, and while the infrastructure for linen production has disappeared, edible and industrial oilseed flax seem like alternatives. For the more entrepreneurial, oilseed poppies are another fall seeded broadleaf crop. The choice of canola as the rotational crop is fraught with conflicts, as we see. There is a good reason the rapeseed control districts were established in the first place, and we should reconsider the wisdom of undoing them.

Finally, basing future ODA decisions re canola in the WV on the OSU Coexistence Study is a selfblinding endeavor. The OSU study was intended to find a way toward coexistence between canola and specialty seed, not to determine the best ag policy for protecting the future of Willamette Valley agriculture. The study ignores the possibility that coexistence of oilseed and specialty seed brassica isn’t good policy. The experience of France and Denmark in this kind of coexistence was that the specialty seed industry faded away and those regions became commodity canola production zones. The OSU study did not really study or comment on these failed attempts at coexistence. The possibility that the Protected district policy is the best policy was given no attention. You don’t find what you don’t look for, so there is no possibility that the OSU study would have concluded that coexistence will always be fraught with conflict and gradual deterioration of the specialty seed sector. The only conclusion really drawn from the study is that large plantings of canola are no more threatening to specialty seeds than large scale plantings of radish or turnip, something I find easy to agree with. I suggest we curtail oversized, under-tended, plots of these commodity scale seed productions within the protected district, rather than opening up the protected district to another commodity brassica, which increases the threat to specialty seed production into the future, and Oregon’s future as a world class place to grow quality seed for planting.

Thank you for considering these comments.

Frank Morton

A decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deregulate a genetically modified grass seed has raised concerns about contamination in Oregon’s billion-dollar grass seed industry.

Genetically modified creeping bentgrass was created by Scotts Miracle-Gro as a product for golf courses. But the grass escaped from its test plots, and has continued to spread across Southeast and Central Oregon – despite eradication efforts.

The USDA published its final decision on Wednesday, approving a request from Scotts to deregulate the company’s bentgrass seed after determining that the plant is “unlikely to pose a plant pest risk.”

Jerry Erstrom chairs the weed board in Malheur County, where the grass has taken root after crossing the Snake River from Idaho. He’s seen firsthand how fast the grass can spread and how hard it is to wipe out because it’s resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in most herbicides.

“There are only one or two herbicides labeled to be used upon it,” he said. “The caveat is they can only be used in dry areas. Anything on a shoreline, in wetlands or along riparian, there’s nothing that can remove it. The only way is by hand or shovel.”

Erstrom expects the grass will prevent him from exporting the hay he grows because overseas buyers shun genetically modified plants, and he’s worried about how much damage it could do if it spreads to the grass seed industry in the Willamette Valley.

“Not only economically but environmentally – the devastation it can cause – people don’t appreciate how bad it can be,” he said. “If this should happen to get across into the Willamette Valley I think it would at least destroy the export market for the grass growers there.”

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