Fedco Seeds: The David To Monsanto's Goliath

[Islander]

I've been raving about our Fedco seed company for years — have known the folks there since the beginning — but I had no idea there were other paeans of praise until I stumbled upon this wonderful article.

Kerry Trueman
March 24, 2009

Seed money for start-ups may be evaporating faster than California's dwindling reservoirs, but this rocky economy's proving to be fertile ground for the seed industry. Cash-strapped consumers, scared by the specter of an empty fridge, are investing in the ultimate low-tech, high-yield start-up: the kitchen garden. The National Gardening Association estimates that some 43 million Americans are gearing up to grow at least some of their own food this spring.

And no wonder. As Roger Doiron, founder of Maine-based Kitchen Gardeners International, has documented, a few dozen seed packets costing $130 can yield more than two thousand dollars worth of produce over the course of the growing season. "We have a fabulous opportunity," C.R. Lawn, the founder of another Maine mainstay, Fedco Seeds, told an audience at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture's Farming For The Future conference last month. "The challenge is on us to come through." Lawn, an endearingly shaggy character who looks a bit like a pale Papa Smurf, rocked gently from side to side as he spoke of the challenges that his company faced following the acquisition of Fedco's largest seed supplier, Seminis, by monolithic Monsanto back in 2005.

Read the rest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-..._b_178581.html

[Islander]

CR Lawn is a magician with numbers. If I walked into the warehouse today, he could tell me how much I spent this spring, and I wouldn't be surprised if he could quote what I ordered, too. The man's incredible.

I urge every gardener out there to request their paper catalog. Yes, the catalog's online, but you have never experienced a seed catalog like this. It's b&w on newsprint, no glossy color photos, just honest evaluations by their own growers/staff. It's chock full of wry humor, old-timey artwork and loads of helpful information. Fedco also carries tubers, trees & shrubs, perennials and organic supplies, all at the lowest possible prices. www.fedco.com.

[Maurya]

Islander, this link takes me to a lighting control systems company in Texas.

[mellowsong]

@Maurya...I get the article? Cyberspace is weird, lol.

[Islander]

Works for me too.