Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The virtual 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference, held February 4-11, attracted over 1,200 seed enthusiasts and professionals from 48 US states as well as many international participants. This represents a 300% increase in attendance over the 2020 conference held in-person in Corvallis, OR. Outreach for the event broadened the traditional audience significantly -- 53% of registrants were first time attendees. The event was offered virtually on the Organic Seed Commons platform and registration fees were on a sliding scale to ensure that cost was not a barrier to participation and to provide access to historically underrepresented growers of color.Of the 1,203 attendees and speakers, 603 registered at the "seedling" or free level. Participants registering as attendees were invited to select any number of identifers.Attendee registrants self identified as 43%farmers or seed growers, 23% as students, 12% as plant breeders, 12% as seed company representatives, 11% as university researchers;others identified as gardeners, seed policy advocates and nonprofit organization representatives and other categories. Of the 738registrants who volunteered demographic information, 33% (220) identified as non-white/European. Of the non-white participants, 25% identified as Black, 25% as Latino, 17% Indigenous, 17% Asian, 7% South Asian, 5% Middle East/Arab, and 4% Pacific Islander. Attendees indicated that they heard about the event through multiple outlets: email invitations, OSA social media, University professors, partnering nonprofit organizations, seed companies and word of mouth. The conference offered 102sessions, including 70 presentations or roundtable discussions,40 of which were live sessions; other sessions offered networking, entertainment or media sharing opportunities. Fourteen sessions were offered with live Spanish and French translation. Many of the live sessions were recorded; 33 of themcan be accessed from a play list on the eOrganic video channelwhere recordings have been viewed a total of 2,440 times. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development were offered as educational sessions during the conference. Networking sessions by region and topic and practical "how to" sessions received positive feedback on our survey. The most popular of these sessions was "Small to Medium Scale Seed Cleaning Equipment" (153 recording views), "Seed Production for Market Growers" (132 views) and "Running a Small Online Seed Company" (121 views). Other networking and round-table sessions included: Labor in the Organic Seed Movement Addressing Seed Grower Concerns with Organic Certification Discovering, Connecting and Inspiring a Southeast Seed Network Learnings from Participatory Grower Networks Seed Growers Speak Out About Climate Change Understanding Seed IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Building Your Seed Brand: Cultivating the World We Dream of While Growing a Sustainable Business Farming and Disability Meet-up BIPOC Seed Growers Meet-up Culinary Corn Meet-up Youth Seed Growers Meet-up Flower Seed Growers Meet-up Producing Seed On Contract Meet-up How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A website article was published and shared with all active OSA contacts through our newsletter and viewed 84 times. A dedicated webpage includes links to all conference assets and has been viewed 12,239 times. The proceedings of the conference are posted online and have been downloaded 51times. A post-conference debrief with conference staff and the planning committee illuminated how the conferencewas helpful to the communities each organizer represents. Several listening sessions with attendeesare planned for February 2023 to inform the next event. New arrivals to the Organic Seed Commons platform have access to all of the session information, online discussions and video recordings, which continue to be watched on eOrganic. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project accomplished itsoverarching goal:to convene diverse stakeholders to build relationships and exchange ideas to foster a national network of thriving regional seed systems that respond to the needs of organic farmers and the markets they serve. The virtual conference increased past attendance by 300%, and served attendees representing 48 states, all major demographic groups and a diversity of seed practitioners (as described in the audience section). The success of the conference was measured through surveys, participant observers and a professional evaluation by an educational consultant. Surveyed participants described the 11thOSGC as, "inspiring," "transformational," "connective/community-building" and "well-run."97% of the respondents to the evaluation survey (76 respondents/a 6% return rate) rated the overall OSGC event as: "excellent" (54%) or "good" 43%. The data indicates that the strength and draw of the conference is the breadth of its content and how it is able to engage participants' intellect, curiosity, creative and relational spirit, while providing practical advice and application. The specific objectives we set out to achieve were accomplished, as described below. 1) Promoting the conference to all stakeholders Cultivating a diverse and representative conference committee and event partnerships was key to success in promoting the conference. While OSA delivered multiple digital invitations through our database of over 15,000 contacts and a mailing to past program participants, networking by our planning committee and partners extended our reach. Conference committee members represented diverse geographies and seed grower groups: Bonnetta Adeeb, UJAMAA Cooperative Farming Alliance and Steam Onward, Maryland; Nate Kleinman, Experimental Farm Network, New Jersey; Petra Page-Mann, Fruition Seeds, New York; Alexis Yamashito, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Virginia; Michael Lordon, OSA, Michigan; Rue Genger, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin; Cathleen McCluskey, OSA, Wisconsin; Karl Sutton, Fresh Roots Farm, Montana; Natalia Pinzon, Farmer Campus, California; Alice Formiga, eOrganic, Oregon; Rebekah Korenowsky Woods and Cara Loriz, OSA. Conference promotions were also shared by Seed Savers Exchange, Organic Farmers Association, Tilth Alliance, Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Services, Native Seed Search and many others. 2) Providing targeted outreachtoincreaseleadership andengagement by communities of color working with seed; A key strategy in reaching communities of color working in seed was ensuring that they were represented on the conference planning committee and in the agenda. The call for proposals uplifted "Building equity and justice in organic seed communities" as the topmost theme to be featured during the conference specifically encouraged "proposals that include growers from Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQIA+ seed communities."The conference featured 180 presenters. Of the speakers who selected demographic identifiers, 61 in total, 25 identified as non-white with Asian, Black, Latino and Indigenous leaders represented. Success in reaching communities of color is reflected in the participant data. Of 670 registrants who selected demographic identifiers, 220 identified as non-white/European; please see more details in the Targeted Audience section. 3) Developing an easy-to-use online platform for conference registration, program delivery, networking opportunities and ongoing group engagement; The future use and value of the Organic Seed Commons networking platform was supported by data from conference participants. The survey asked, "How do you see yourself using the Organic Seed Commons networking platform after the conference? Do you have any suggestions for how it could be improved?" 70% of survey respondents said they plan to use the Organic Seed Commons after the conference and they articulated specific uses. Most saw it as a way to (1) view conference sessions that they missed; (2) peer sharing of resources and knowledge, particularly regionally; and (3) access to good resources. Over 700 more seed practitionershave joined the platform since the conference. Retention of users on the platformed has remained strong, with 50% of members retained over a 30 day period. 4) Delivering the conference live online The conference hosted 102 sessions delivered from Feb 4-11, with Monday, Feb 7 as a hiatus day. High priority topicswere featured during "Main Stage" sessions with no competing programming; other sessions were delivered concurrently with up to four other workshops or discussions. Each session drew approximately 30 to 200 attendees. The virtual nature of the 11thOSGC was experienced by participants as very positive.Respondents praised: Global accessibility and diversity Significantly reduced costs to participants Climate change/ecological footprint The space felt more open and inviting "less cliquish" Generally, easy to navigate/user friendly. Staff back-up was outstanding Participants remarked they could pace themselves and not get overwhelmed or overloaded. 5) Recording workshops of interest to eOrganic users 33 recordings of the conference are posted as a playlist oneOrganic's video channel and have been viewed a cumulative 2,442 times (not including live participation). 6) Hosting a digital poster gallery to report out on OREI projects other organic research The poster session was presented as live Q&A sessions with the researchers and posted to the Organic Seed Commons platform as videos that continue to be viewed. https://www.organicseedcommons.org/posts/organic-seed-growers-conference-2022-virtual-research-posters Sixposters on organic research ranged from quality selection methodology for organic maize to tomato varieties developed for improved flavor and disease resistance and adaptation to the Upper Midwest. In addition to the poster sessions, researchers offered full presentations on six additional topics. All of these reseach presentations are viewable on the eOrganic site and Dr. Walter Goldstein's presentation onSeed Endophytes, Rhizophagy, Nutrient Density, Nitrogen Efficiency and Fixation in Corn is the most viewed session with 255 views. 7) Publishing downloadable proceedings of the conference The Proceedings of the 11th Organic Seed Growers Conference is free to all and downloadable from the Organic Seed Alliance website and is also accessible from the eOrganic website. The publication presents abstracts of 63 presentations representing the work of over 180 researchers, growers and seed advocates. Abstracts are organized according to these categories: panel discussions (presentations and panelist interactions), round-table discussions (small group leading an open discussion with attendees), presentation of research, research poster abstracts, lightening talks (for non-research topics), farm tours, demonstrations.The proceedings have been downloaded a total of 51 times from growers in 19states. 8) Developing online communities within the networking platform for ongoing collaboration and collective action to continue momentum after the event. Programming for the conference included topical and regional meetings hosted in dedicated groups within the Organic Seed Commons. The regional seed networks continue to engage attendeeswith new events hosted on the platform throughout the year. Regional networks are active forthe Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, California, Midwest, Intermountain West,Northeast, Southeast. Topical groups include Seed Policy Network, Carrot Breeding Network, a "How To" sharing space and an "Ask the Expert" topics post. The regional networks are some of the most active segments of the Organic Seed Commons. In addition to ongoing conversations within each network's activity posts,online events have been hosted on the platform for the Midwest, California and Hawaii networks.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Lordon, M. (editor). 2022. Organic Seed Growers Conference Proceedings. February 4 - 11, 2022, Virtual. Organic Seed Alliance, Port Townsend, WA. 164 pp.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Organic Seed Commons 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference Event Space https://www.organicseedcommons.org/posts/welcome-22333381