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I've wondered this for a long time now, and can find almost nothing about it online. I always envisioned large fields of crop being grown for seed harvesting, bet since that would take many acres of land and many paid personnel to harvest the seed, it doesn't make that much sence given the quantity of seeds available coupled with the relatively lwo price of a packet of seeds.
So.... where DO seed companies get their seed? Anyone have a clue?
Some farmers still have 'on farm' seed production, which means some of their crop is harvested for seed rather than a food/plant/grass and is used for the following year's planting. In developed nations they usually buy from sources that farm exclusively to produce seed or belong to cooperatives that exchange seeds. In developing nations many farmers still save their own but there is increasing reliance on seeds from commercial sources.
When I got some seeds from Outside Pride, I think the packet said they were imported from someplace in Europe. Germany? None of the seeds I've gotten from them have ever grown...but they were woodland plants, so maybe I was too optimistic. I did sow them out in the woods instead of flats.
In one of my wacky moods tonight and I'm surprised somebody else hasn't thought of what I was going to say. Where do seed companies get their seeds? They order from the other companies! LOL
Seriously, about 20-25 years ago there was an older couple who lived a few miles out of town. Most of the huge yard he never had to mow because it was covered with flower beds. Once a year they would have what he called an "open yard" as opposed to an open house. You come out and walk around looking at all the flowers and plants. If you saw one you liked he would cut off a seed head for you, if the flower was one you could do that with. Everything was free but they asked for a donation per seed head that went to a local community charity.
Seeds come from seed growers. Those are farms that grow many acres of one variety and grow them for seed. Normally, they are under contract to one of the big seed companies.
Small seed companies tend to buy in bulk from the large seed companies and repackage. Unless they can sell enough of a specialized seed to have a contract with a seed grower
There are several carrot seed farms in my area. There are alfalfa seed farms nearby in Christmas Valley.
Over in the Willamette Valley, grass seed farmers grow something like 90% of the grass seed sold all over the world.
My father worked for Northrup king and that company buys all their seed form seed farmers who are under contract to them to produce seed. Their little seed packets are very small potatoes. They provide seed in bulk to farmers who are planting entire fields, not just a little veggie garden.
Small kid time, my first "real" job was to work in a cornfield where we pulled the tassels off of corn plants. There were two specially marked rows that had the tassels left on them, then four rows we pulled the tassels off and then two more special rows. Row after row after row. Working for less than $2 an hour since it was way back when and agricultural work and we were some sort of special age group, too. I think it was sort of a semi-babysitting sort of thing, too. They'd pick us up on a bus and take us back about eight hours later. That was Pioneer corn, I think it was and the corn was being grown for hybrid corn seed. My cousins worked in the milo fields, although I'm not exactly sure what they did, I dunno if it was for seed or not.
I grow some seed and sell it, but it is a very limited market. The latest ones are OP watermelon seeds made up in packets and sold at one of our small local markets. Since the seeds were grown in this area, the seeds should do well in this area. Each new season, the seeds have been pre-selected yet again for this specific area. We should all be growing OP varieties in our own areas and saving the seeds.
Thanks for the link!
Informative, sad, scary, disheartening...
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