The Future is Seeds: Creating a Seed Bank for the Front Range Community

Only two percent of food comes from Front Range farms in grocery stores in the Boulder community. The rest of the food travels from far and wide in trucks, trains, and planes covering hundreds of miles. With an ever-increasing population the U.S. has turned to science to feed millions of people. Through technology and genetics, scientists have found ways of creating food that is uniform and lasts longer through Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This modern technology was revolutionary but has led to a nation of uniformity. Without genetic diversity and the freedom to grow seeds that work for a specific region, the dirt is depleted of its nutrients making the overall region less resilient to climate change. GMOs were a great discovery, but GMO seeds are owned by companies that restrict the farmer from saving the seeds. Each year they must pay a royalty fee to plant the same seeds again in preparation for the next growing season.  

There are farms that are trying to make changes in how seeds are grown, stored, and adapted. Masa Seed Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building a bio-regional seed bank for the Boulder community. It rests on 20 acres of land on the outskirts of town. Their mission is to distribute organic seeds and produce for hunger relief, while educating volunteers, growers, and students about agriculture, permaculture, and horticulture. Masa stores thousands of seeds and each year grows different varieties in hopes of finding the most resilient seed to store for the future. Laura Antelmi, the assistant director for the foundation, speaks for the seeds. “It’s a living library,” says Antelmi. By creating a seed bank for the Front Range, the community can do more for themselves instead of relying on outside resources.

Volunteer Dariel Blackburn counting and sorting seeds to make seed packets to sell at the farmer's market. Image taken by Diana Boyer.

Masa strictly works with heirloom varieties through open pollination. Heirloom seeds are generational, having been passed down for many years. They have been saved for their flavor, resilience, or adaptability. Open pollination allows for more genetic diversity. Although a slow process, those plants begin to adapt to the climate around them making them more resilient to climate change whether that be drought, early freeze, or extreme heat. “Purity is important. Open-pollinated plants gain vigor,” says Antelmi. This year, Masa has planted over 5,000 tomato plants, 10,000 pepper plants, and many other plant varieties in the hopes of finding a resilient seed to store in the seed bank. They have a database of over 1,000 plant varieties.  

Laura Antelmi, Assistant Director of Masa Seed Foundation, with the thousands of seedlings they are experimenting with for the season in their greenhouse. Image taken by Diana Boyer.

Finding the resilient seeds involves propagating many different crops. This results in an overabundance of produce. Because Masa is focused on the seeds themselves, the food has become a byproduct used to fund their foundation. They currently have 50 tons of produce and sell most of it at wholesale to a local food bank. As Masa grows momentum, they hope to use donations from the community to give the produce to food banks freely.  

Patrick Byrne, Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University who focuses on plant breeding and genetics, stresses the importance of diversification and how the government distributes subsidies. “What seed companies are always going for is higher yield and more profitability. They do that by concentrating on the most elite strains,” says Byrne.  

Plant varieties begin to lose resilience if they are not replanted consistently. In the U.S., each region is dominated by a small number of crops. For example, Colorado mainly grows wheat, alfalfa, and corn. “For a farmer in Colorado to be economically sustainable it has to be a large farm. The margins they would get on wheat or corn are so small that they have to be thinking about 5,000 acres or more to make a decent living,” explains Byrne. The exception to this economic crux is small intensive farms like the ones in Boulder County. Masa Seed Foundation makes a small indent of change on the eventual farming crisis the U.S. could find themselves in, but they are an example for other communities. For change to happen on a large scale it would have to be systemic. “I think it would be healthier if the government reduced the subsidies it pays. Most of it goes to large farms,” says Byrne.  

Eric Skokan, owner, chef, and farmer of Black Cat, an organic farm/restaurant in Boulder County discusses the importance of the type of seeds farmers choose to grow. There are four main types; landrace, heirloom, hybrid, and GMO seeds. Landrace seeds haven’t been selected for stable, uniform characteristics like an heirloom. “They are the most durable and often the best performer for a region,” says Skokan. Because they lack uniformity Big Ag farmers don’t use them. In an ideal world farmers would prioritize seed use in the order of the pyramid below, with landrace seeds as the most planted. GMO seeds would be a backup. 

Ideal hierarchy of seed use with landrace seeds being the most used. Graphic created by Diana Boyer

“If we have some horrific problem that is happening and there’s no way we can get around it then this (GMO) technology could be used to save the planet,” states Skokan. The way farming is headed, the future is looking more like an inverted pyramid with GMO seeds as the main cultivar. By planting a diverse crop that’s adapted to the region, farmers are less likely to suffer when climate extremes occur. 

Masa Seed Foundation is prioritizing landrace seeds. “They’re producing seeds that, if they’re grown in this area, will be here for the next 20 or 30 generations,” says Skokan. Masa has been selling their seeds at farmers markets in hopes of spreading the knowledge and wealth of climate adaptive seeds. The money will go towards supporting their mission and offering payment to their volunteers.

Masa Seed Foundation's selection of seeds they sell at the farmer's market. Image taken by Diana Boyer.

Masa Seed Foundation and other seed banks around the U.S. create inspiration by exploring the boundaries of possibility. Although they may only be reaching a small fraction of the population, it only takes one person to support the growth of these seed banks and encourage something similar in their own community. Antelmi admits to the seed business being a slow and an overall unsuccessful endeavor. “We don’t have a lot of customers. I would say we sell $1,000 a year in theory. It’s just a seed foundation to build a seed bank for the fact of preservation and adaptation.” Masa’s goal is to gain enough funding to continue to support their endeavor.

Devin Farmiloe dipping her hand into a bowl of flint corn seeds provided by Masa Seed Foundation at the farmer's market in Boulder. Image taken by Por Jaijongkit.

Small farms play a vital role in showing the possibilities of what could be. “Small farms will always produce more social good than large farms because small farms are closer to their customers” says Skokan. The customers have a strong influence on demand and quality where as a commodity farmer is so far removed from the consumer that they don’t need to consider society.  

The development of new seed technology has incentivized large farms to remove the middleman. “As labor rates go up, we are creating a very strong financial incentive for commodity farmers to lay off farm workers and go to technologies that will allow them to grow at a massive scale with zero people involved,” Skokan explains. Dehumanizing farming creates a disconnect between the growers, the Earth, and consumers. Agriculture has become a matter of efficiency and profit margin.  

Owner and founder of Masa Seed Foundation, Richard Pecoraro planting seedlings into trays by hand. Image taken by Diana Boyer.

Masa’s biggest struggles have revolved around funding. Going to the farmer’s market to sell seeds for four dollars a packet doesn’t pay for the countless hours of work the farm team puts in every day to nurture and harvest the seeds and crops. Although, they have big aspirations when it comes to the future. Antelmi speaks of developing a youth farming program. They’d like to offer two acres of land to youth who are interested in growing and selling their own crops. They would learn the importance of self-sufficiency and the values of connecting with the land.  

Masa is slowly gaining traction, but they have a long way to go. Their success lies in the thousands of seeds they’ve already stored in their seed bank. The library continues to grow and flourish with their small team. They are teaching others how to grow and save their own seeds in the hopes of leaving behind something that will nourish and create stability in agriculture for generations to come.

Feature image description: Hand sorted beans by Masa Seed Foundation. Image taken by Diana Boyer.