Snake River Seed Cooperative is a collective of family farmers in the Intermountain West who work together to produce a wide diversity of locally-adapted seeds. We believe that sharing seed saving knowledge with farmers in our region is vital to growing a robust, regional seedshed. Click here to view a full list of our growers. 

Are we certified organic?

Many of our growers are certified organic, but several are too small and/or don’t own the land they farm, which makes certifying impractical. All of our growers follow organic practices, which means our seeds are being grown in low-input systems that more closely mirror most home gardens. Our seeds often perform better than industrially-grown seeds in organic gardens, because a lot of the industrial varieties are bred for high-input systems, with lots of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Are our seeds Non-GMO?

We will not sell any genetically modified seeds. We believe genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pose significant threats to our agriculture, culture, and democracy itself and we do not grow or sell GMO seeds.  We have taken the SAFE SEED PLEDGE:

• We don’t chemically treat our seeds.
• We farm in a sustainable, water conscious and environmentally responsible manner.
• All of our seed is grown strictly without the use of ANY chemical fertilizers nor pesticides. We use only organic fertilizers and organic methods of pest control.
• We do not knowingly grow seed that is surrounded by GM crops.
• We are a cooperative, therefore we ONLY buy seed from 30 family farmers around the Intermountain West who are part of our cooperative.
• When you buy seed from us, you are supporting farm families.
• We would NEVER buy seed from Monsanto or its subsidiaries like Seminis, Bayer, Du Pont or Syngenta, or any foreign companies.

Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI)

We believe that seeds should remain a part of the public commons and we do not knowingly grow or sell varieties that are patented. However, we believe continued plant breeding is crucial to the progression and adaptation of high-quality organic seeds that can thrive in a changing climate. Therefore, we pay voluntary “royalties” of 10 cents per packet we sell to the plant breeders who spend years creating new varieties and then release them open-source into the world for other farmers like us to grow and save seed from. If a breeder of a variety isn’t specifically mentioned as a royalty beneficiary of a variety, but you know the breeder (or ARE the breeder!) please let us know.

Our Employees

 

 

Reiley Ney
Office Manager
Owner, Flowers with Rye Farm
Reiley first began working in agriculture in 2015 by completing the internship program at Earthly Delights Farm. She started working with Snake River Seed Co-op in 2016 as a seed packer, and has continued to take on more tasks throughout the years. She now manages inventory and order fulfillment. 

 

         Colleen Asher
         Accounting Manager

Colleen has been working for Snake River Seed Cooperative as our accounting manager for 2 years. She became interested in agriculture in 2011, when she participated in the Earthly Delights Farm internship program. Colleen loves gardening and stays involved in our seed co-op by growing a few crops in her home garden.  

 

Christina Tierney
Community Programs Manager

Christina started exploring her love of agriculture and farming by volunteering at Morning Owl Farm in 2016. After deciding to ditch her corporate career to pursue her new passions, she interned at Earthly Delights Farm in 2018 and then quickly began working at Snake River Seed Cooperative. She is currently managing the Seed Savers Club and Community Seeds Donation programs at SRSC. Beyond this, she loves to share the wonderment of seeds and ecology with her two small children.