Cheapskate SSE Seed Listers

[mnjrutherford]

AAaaaaaa... ok... well... LOL it's sort of like the way I've been lusting for Turkish seed since I read your post listing what you were going to miss. LOLOLOLOL I'm not allowed any more seed for awhile myself because I have a new friend in my life and she's the THROW IT AWAY type. I might be watching her daughters a couple days a week and I looked at them and said, "So, I shouldn't let her anywhere near my gardening shelves, huh?" I pointed them out as they are in the dining room. The girls turned to look, their eye got big as saucers in stereo shook their heads and said, "No way!"

[dustdevil]

Mar 13, 2013 19:05:43 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

Italian Machinery??

I believe Holly is asking Leo for a Ferrari this Christmas for making runs to the PO

[mnjrutherford]

LOLOLOL Yea, that sounds like Holly! With knitting needle antenna?

[12540dumont]

www.ferrari-tractors.com/new_and_of_special_interest.htm

Sure, I'll put the sulky on the BCS and yee hah! To the p.o. we will go!

So many cool implements....So much money...so little time!

[12540dumont]

The following is a note from Will Bonsall, of Scatter Seed and SSE. He asked me to pass this along:

Why I’m no longer participating in SSE

After participating actively in SSE from its beginning, I find it necessary to withdraw my support for that organization. I particularly do not wish for anyone to assume that it is over the controversy over Kent’s firing, which I agreed with and still do.

My initial concern had to do with the Board’s decisions regarding care of the backup seed collection at HF, but it has gone much deeper than that, and I feel that it is important that others realize what is going on, despite all of the “spin” coming out of Decorah. I will try to start from the beginning.

I assume most members are aware that back in 1990, a small cadre of curators was started to provide a backup for the offerings of the general (listed) membership, which we found was simply not stable for preservation of varieties over time (members dying, losing interest, losing seed, etc.). Since Heritage Farm did not have the resources or expertise to handle all those crop species, we initiated a core group of “curators”, several of us listed members who were already maintaining large collections of our specialties. This group consisted of myself, Heritage Farm, Glenn Drowns, Suzanne Ashworth, and a few others who did not persist. A major driving force was concern about my potato collection, since a single season’s failure could lose a variety forever. At first we each worked at our own expense, but Kent hinted that something was coming up which would help us with funding our separate projects. That “something” was Suzanne Ashworth’s book Seed to Seed, which she was donating to SSE with the express understanding that the profits generated by it would subsidize a special Curator’s Fund to support our separate efforts.

A special problem with the potatoes was that a field-grown collection would eventually acquire “systemic” viruses which over time could infect the entire collection; therefore I was reluctant to shoulder that responsibility alone. At that time John Meyer was working with the USDA research station at Sturgeon Bay WI to develop an in vitro facility for SSE, which would maintain each clone in test-tubes under special conditions wherein clean clones would not get contaminated, and already-infected clones would not get worse or spread their virus to others. Knowing this, I overcame my reluctance with the stipulation that I could periodically obtain clean replacements - easily done when overgrown plantlets get transferred to fresh tubes - for suspected diseased varieties (which I kept in separate quarantine plots). This disease-management strategy was quite effective for the first several years, although HF didn’t hold up their part of the bargain very well. For many years now my requests have been ignored, resulting in the field collection becoming so virused that I can no longer offer many of them with confidence. Meanwhile HF denies there ever was such an understanding.

Another understanding was that we curators (particularly me and HF) would coordinate our growouts of the bienniel crops, since neither of us had enough isolation plots to handle all those accessions in a timely rotation (most of those species have relatively short viability times). That never happened; I frequently sent them lists and requested copies of their planned growouts (easy to predict since you know what plants you have overwintered), but they never reciprocated and ignored mine. As a result, I found that we were growing out some of the same varieties, wasting precious resources all around. Coordination is not rocket science, it just involves a willingness to communicate and work with others.

I later learned from Glenn that the packages of curator samples which we sent in for the freezers in Decorah were left lying around unopened for months at ambient humidity and temperature, because they hadn’t even bothered to put them in the freezer. Meanwhile HF is constantly beating the tambourine for donations to fund their growouts, as though the talon are doing all the curating, although the numbers they boast of curating are the total of what we’re ALL curating. When I put a mention in my yearbook notes that folks should feel free to send extra to fund my work, HF told me that SSE policy forbade such solicitations.

My greatest concern was that by our failure to communicate better we were duplicating efforts while neglecting varieties that needing regeneration sooner. At the 2010 Campout I suggested a meeting to discuss this problem and a time was set for an evening on the deck of the farmhouse. I was surprised that most of the Board members including Amy Goldman didn’t bother to attend, although they were at the Campout. Before I could explain my concern, I was told that it was irrelevant because the Curator’s Network was being abandoned - actually already had been abandoned the previous year, although they only now decided to notify me about it, nor were any of the other Advisory Board members notified – and that all the propagation would henceforth be done at Heritage Farm.

For a moment, I had a sense of relief: my life would certainly be easier without the huge burden, but then it occurred to me to ask how, if we curators were having difficulty maintaining these vast collections among all of us, how then was HF going to manage it all alone? That’s when the other shoe dropped: they weren’t going to maintain it all, only those varieties which fitted SSE’s core mission: US heirlooms. I immediately thought of the difficulties in defining that: how many heirlooms have become very common in commerce (due largely to the success of our movement), yet how many formerly commercial varieties have become rare? There are a great many problems with their criteria: I believe that very many of our heirloom potatoes (for example) will eventually be found to be synonyms for well-known commercial varieties. It would make lots of sense to discard those WHEN we confirm; no one is in favour of stupid waste. But what about other criteria? For example, they’ve decided that any varieties currently in the trade or those maintained by NGS or other institutions should not be duplicated by us. At first blush, this sounds only reasonable: much of our pea collection is duplicated in the Western Regional facility at Pullman, WA. To my knowledge they do a fine job of maintaining that crop there (it helps that peas are a thoroughly self-pollenating specie), and if SSE were to decide that we should de-prioritize those, I’d be inclined to agree (I would continue growing and offering them, but not expect subsidy from SSE). In contrast, however, the USDA collections of cucurbits have sometimes been grown out with NO pollenation control, making those accessions useless as heritage varieties. Likewise the Interregional Potato Station in Sturgeon Bay WI does not regard it as their duty to maintain clones, but rather as sexual seed (after discarding the original clone). The same applies to the jerusalem artichoke collection in Ames IA. This suits their objective of proving raw genetic material for future plant breeders, but totally ignores the heritage value of existing varieties, which IS supposedly SSE’s mission. So how much dowe dare rely on these institutional backups?

There certainly is room for ‘rationalization” of the SSE collections, especially in regard to synonymy; however the draconianaaaa policies HF is implementing threaten to betray our very mission. And just what is driving this great push to slash the collection? A shortage of funds? Just a few years ago, SSE was given a 2-3 million dollar bequest to maintain the collections. The original funding for the Curator Network was supposed th come from a special fund generated by sales of Suzanne Ashworth’s popular book Seed to Seed. Suzanne has never been able to get and answer to just how many copies have been sold (although as one of the curators she never received a cent for it; Kent’s comment was “She doesn’t need it, she’s wealthy”.). When I asked a staffer once about the condition of the Curator’s Fund, he replied that there was no fund, that it just went into the general fund for Heritage Farm, and that it never was enough to cover the small subsidies Glenn and I received as curators. We recently learned that the profits from Seed to Seed have been vastly greater than what we curators have received; most of it has been funneled into Heritage Farm’s budget, as if their growouts were the only part that mattered. In fact I’ve always been surprised that HF’s annual growouts, which were quite comparable to mine, cost about four times my entire budget (from all sources, not just SSE subsidy), even though their growouts consisted largely of beans and tomatoes, the most low-budget species to maintain. I didn’t realize that HF was rifling the fund that was intended to support ALL the Curators’ work, even though the numbers of varieties they boasted of in their appeals included the collections maintained by Glenn, Suzanne, and me.

What concerns me even more than the extent of the collection reductions is the way decisions are made: the criteria are being set by those who have the least familiarity with the collections and with a hubristic disregard for the advice of those who were asked to be advisors. And what will become of the samples which are de-prioritized? The Board members at that Juky meeting assured me vociferously that “nothing will be thrown away!” What then? It will just be left in the freezer until it dies of old age, so they can say nothing was thrown away, while using the old inflated numbers to justify appeals for more donations? Shortly after being told that by the Board, I asked the staffer (whose job it will be to implement the new policy) what will become of the in vitro samples of those potatoes which are being de-listed: “Oh, I assume we’ll just discard them.” I believe her more than the Board, because she’s the one who will be doing it.

Perhaps all these concerns are outgrowths of the governance structure of SSE. Kent has ranted about the authoritarian position of the Board’s chairperson, yet he’s the one who set that structure up to maintain his own power. When Glenn Drowns was invited to join the Board, he immediately raised questions about the new collections policy. His resignation was demanded by the chairperson ( although HF’s claim is that Glenn left voluntarily, there are emails to the contrary). In fact, he was told that Board members are not allowed to submit items for meeting agendas, that only she, Amy Goldman, and Jon Torgrimsen (an employee of SSE, a real nice guy but totally dependent on Amy for his job).

Some heat is already building up over the issue, which is perhaps why Amy Goldman has “resigned” as chairperson of the Board and put in her place a “straw man” who will take the heat, another nice guy who is completely beholden to Amy. Not that she will cease to be in control – a curious new position has been created just for her called “special advisor”. Given that SSE already has a Board of Advisors, what’s so “special” about this new position? Perhaps the fact that the “ordinary advisors” cannot marshall the vast wealth to impose their visions on an ostensibly grassroots organization.

For years I struggled with difficulty to cooperate with Kent’s secretive and dictatorial management style. Now it feels as if the Tsar is gone, only to be replaced by Stalin. I also realize that I do not share the Board’s vision of SSE as another seed company, or of Heritage Farm as the unaccountable centre of the seed universe.

In addition to withdrawing from SSE, I am contemplating joining other concerned seed savers in forming a separate organization with a more responsive governance structure, a more minimalist staff, and a far more affordable listing of offerings (since it would not need to maintain an entire institution). I fully intend to continue my Scatterseed Project, albeit with greatly reduced funding, and to continue maintaining and offering those endangered accessions which HF intends to abandon. Therefore I still welcome donations to help fund my work, which now becomes more difficult yet more important than ever. The details of the new organization are still being worked out, but hopefully something will be in place in time for me to offer seed next year, along with any like-minded others. There should be no reason why listing members could not also list with SSE, although our much lower cost should give their offerings a wider exposure to those who feel they cannot afford the pricier Yearbook. We certainly would not wish in any way to undercut the one thing that SSE has always done best: create a grassroots network of seed enthusiasts. Rather we would hope to expand that access by making it more affordable to gardeners.

So, that's it. All our questions answered.

[oxbowfarm]

Thanks for posting this Holly. I'll be interested to see what the new organization looks like. Possibly our new local seed network could partner with it?

[stratcat]

Thanks. Very enlightening.

[zeedman]

It's good to finally get some truth about the current situation at SSE, and put an end to the speculation. In light of this, I will be making some changes to my preservation strategy. Thanks, Holly.

[12540dumont]

I got a note from Will last night that said in a note last night that he needs between $20-$40k to maintain his collection. Glenn Drowns needs about the same (Sandhill). They are both concerned that SSE is going to throw out what is in their freezers, and that germplasm will be lost forever. Potatoes and squash....all lost.

I'm not sure what to do or how to help. Not having won the lottery this year...or any other for that matter. I figure I'll send a wee bit of money to each of them and send a note to SSE, requesting that they return germplasm in the freezers to the curators.

Maybe I'll ask Glenn or Will for help composing a note.

You all know how I feel about the loss of diversity!

[oxbowfarm]

Wait, So Will and Glenn Drowns would send EVERYTHING to the Home Farm? They didn't keep any archive samples?

[ottawagardener]

Sigh.

[bunkie]

Apr 3, 2013 12:48:10 GMT -5 12540dumont said:

I got a note from Will last night that said in a note last night that he needs between $20-$40k to maintain his collection. Glenn Drowns needs about the same (Sandhill). They are both concerned that SSE is going to throw out what is in their freezers, and that germplasm will be lost forever. Potatoes and squash....all lost.

I'm not sure what to do or how to help. Not having won the lottery this year...or any other for that matter. I figure I'll send a wee bit of money to each of them and send a note to SSE, requesting that they return germplasm in the freezers to the curators.

Maybe I'll ask Glenn or Will for help composing a note.

You all know how I feel about the loss of diversity!

Holly, when you find out how to help, please post. And thanks for posting the Will's notes and info. very enlightening.

[12540dumont]

The real wild card is the material in SSE's collections which we no longer have, since the freezers at Heritage Farm were intended to be a backup for all of us curators. For example, the squash collection, which they mostly got from one of our group, Glenn Drowns; they're planning to abandon any material that is in the USDA collection even though we've learned (and told them) that USDA's material has been grown out with NO pollenation control, so it is all useless from a heritage perspective.

This is what Will wrote to me. Word for word. So no, it looks like the curators sent stuff to the farm, and now it may all be lost.

[keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.)]

Apr 4, 2013 15:22:24 GMT -5 12540dumont said:

they're planning to abandon any material that is in the USDA collection even though we've learned (and told them) that USDA's material has been grown out with NO pollenation control, so it is all useless from a heritage perspective.

Perhaps from a heritage perspective. But not from a home gardener and/or landrace perspective. If they send it all to joseph i'm sure he can find a use for it. haha

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Apr 4, 2013 15:50:46 GMT -5 keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) said:

Perhaps from a heritage perspective. But not from a home gardener and/or landrace perspective. If they send it all to joseph i'm sure he can find a use for it. haha

Yup. I'd preserve the genetics (mostly), but definitely not the stories. Heck for $20,000 to $40,000 per year, I might even be persuaded to preserve the purity and the stories.

This year might be the year that I don't have enough space in the garden. A lady has been helping me plant... Today she told me that she planted 4 rows of turnips!!!!!! I don't know where I'll find a market for 150 turnips per week. And she told me that she has started 588 tomato plants. I replied that she'd better plan on selling them at the farmer's market.

This year I played hard-ball with people. They'd write and say, "I gotta have Glass Gem corn seed, will you sell me some?". I'd reply "Don't have any for sale, but I gotta have Mixta squash, a trade would work for me". So I collected a heck of a lot of different varieties of Mixta squash. This will be the fifth year planting Mixtas. I'm wondering if I'll actually get a harvest this year? I'm intending to do some hand pollination of the earliest opening flowers, perhaps that will help.