Purpose of survey
The purpose of this survey is to assess the attitudes and perceptions about organic seeds, held by certified crop producers. The survey will explore producers’ current use of organic seed and any obstacles that restrict organic seed sourcing. Additionally, the survey asks which crops and traits should be prioritized in organic plant breeding programs. Please be prepared to offer best estimates of your organic seed usage or have your seed records on hand.
If you are a certified organic crop producer, please take twenty minutes to respond to this survey. Your responses are voluntary and will be held confidential. Any identifiable information will be kept securely on the project’s password protected computer. A master list of identifiable information will be kept separately from your responses. This information will be archived for five years before being destroyed. Only key research study personnel will have access to any of this information. All individual responses will be kept anonymous and compiled and analyzed as a group.
Your participation is vital to our assessment. Even if you currently do not use organic seed, please respond to this survey. This national survey is conducted every five years to monitor organic seed availability and use, challenges in sourcing organic seed, and organic plant breeding needs, among other topics that inform our understanding of the barriers and opportunities in building the organic seed sector. By sharing your experiences, you'll support the prioritization of organic producers' needs in seed research and policy and help shape recommendations that strengthen access to organic seed suited to your needs.
The State of Organic Seed Project
Organic farmers produce food differently, and that means they need different seed for the crops they grow: high-quality seed developed to perform without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, adapted to their local climate and soil conditions, and that meets their market demands. State of Organic Seed is an ongoing project of Organic Seed Alliance to monitor organic seed systems in the U.S. Every five years, OSA releases a progress report and action plan for increasing the organic seed supply.
The data collected through this survey will be analyzed and compiled as part of our next State of Organic Seed report (to be published in 2027). The report will be made public with detailed recommendations for improving access to organic seed that is optimal for U.S. organic agriculture.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jared Zystro by email at jared@seedalliance.org or (707) 502-9984, or Cathleen McCluskey by email at cathleen@seedalliance.org or (360) 472-0247. Mail correspondence to: Organic Seed Alliance, PO Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
Please have the person (18+ years old) most familiar with the day-to-day management or recordkeeping for your farm or ranch complete this survey. As you answer the survey questions, please consider both owned and leased land.
If you are not the person who is most familiar with the operation, please give this survey to the person who is most familiar with the farm/ranch operation.
If you are a split operation and have both conventional and certified organic land, please answer the survey questions with information related to your certified organic operation.
This survey is expected to take around 20 minutes to complete. To more easily complete this survey, you will want to have your seed purchase and planting records on hand.
