I make no guarantees that this is exactly what is presented in the back of the yearbook. I quickly modified the version from last year, so hopefully, I have changed the page numbers etc., to be relevant to the 2010 yearbook.

To use the form, just download it from below and then modify the two areas highlighted in the photo that require personal information. As a sidenote, if you do not have Microsoft Excel, you can open the document with Open Office.

The first area, requires your member code(if you have one) and the second requires your mailing address.

Hope this is helpful and I hope that everyone has a great season.

UPDATE: Link has been deleted. Sorry. This post created a lot of controversy at The Seed Savers Exchange. They have added a similar form within the online yearbook. You must be a member to log into the yearbook.

The yearbook is visually plain, looking very much like a phone book with a color cover. But oh, if you are into gardening then the pages hold so much more than simple listings. Many of the listings include notes of how the variety came into existence. Interesting stories of immigrants who brought seeds from their homeland to plant at their new home. Less not forget the international members who have fantastic varieties not available anywhere in the US.

So what is your favorite veggie?

How about tomatoes? The 2010 yearbook lists approximately 4650 different varieties. Want something more obscure? How about the approximately 75 different varieties of Jerusalem Artichokes? Melons, approx 165. Peppers, approx 870. Okra, approx 60. You get the idea.

The yearbook is not just about seeds. You can also find roots, bulbs, tubers and scionwood.

So what do I do, when I get mine? I bookmark the starting page of my favorite varieties. Then I kick back and think about what part of the yard I can dig up this year to turn into new beds.

With that said, I have become frustrated by some of the decisions being made at Heritage Farm. Since I believe firmly that public discussion is one of the strongest means for change, I offer the following.

Membership fees have gone up to $40.00 per year, but I am struggling to see where the additional money is being spent. For example, Seed Savers for the first time, undertook an online version of the yearbook. I strongly supported this decision, but, as near as I can tell, the online yearbook was created by a single person. I’m not criticizing this person, but the online yearbook transition was not without some significant bumps. Only when I received my printed yearbook did I notice that my profile was truncated. Leaving my last sentence stating, “… but I don’t offer any seed” Sort of an amusing statement.

This year without notifying the listed members, the suggested seed price went up to $3.00 per sample even for listed members. This seems extreme and apparently a lot of other members feel the same way. I understand that most of us are requesting rare seeds that can only be found within the yearbook. However, I also know that a lot of us list common varieties that can be found in virtually any commercial seed catalog. Many listed members are also like myself amateurs and seed quality often suffers significantly. Even the professionals aren’t perfect. Last year I made my largest requests from Heritage Farms, almost half of which failed to germinate at all. I am aware that much of the seed is stored for years, but I shouldn’t need laboratory conditions to get the seed to germinate. Bottom line is that we are exchanging seed between ourselves. It is unlikely that anyone is making a living from their requests. We simply want to cover the cost of shipping which is certainly less than $3.00.

For anyone requesting seed from Glenn Welker, in Ohio.

• I will send LQ seed to any member, listed or not. LQ is just that, I have limited quantities.
• My prices will be kept at 2009 pricing. $2.00 small seed, listed member. $3.00 small seed, non-listed member.
• The corrected last line of my profile should have read. “I do not isolate my tomatoes but I don’t offer any seed from tomatoes which exhibit extended styles. This includes all beefsteak and currant tomatoes.”

Seed Savers Exchange discussion points

• Please, give the online version of the yearbook proper support. It is still a mess in many areas. I have offered multiple times with suggestions on how to improve the site with no response.
• I am still uncomfortable with the Svalbard Seed Vault. Thoughts?
• Lots of turn over in the Director position. Is this musical chair bit really necessary?
• There are many ways which you can improve and expand the original mission of SSE. For example, the events at Heritage Farms often knowledge and access that few of us have access to. I have previously requested the recording of seminars, like the Apple Grafting seminar coming up this spring. I’m not sure expanding in the direction of livestock is what the members have in mind. I support this diversity on the farm, but not if it takes away from the plant resources.
• Others?

I would love to hear other member’s opinions.

I have once again received a letter from Kent Whealy urging members to take action. Since the letter is incredibly long, I am choosing not to publish it as I have done previously. If enough readers request the letter, I will consider publishing it on the web site. Further, Seedsavers.org has a forum but they have chosen to ban any discussion on this topic.

Before, we get into the meat of his letter, I urge all of you to visit Seedsavers.org. It is an amazing organization founded by Kent Whealy. The members are very helpful and friendly. This discussion regarding Kent, surrounds his termination from Seed savers. He has been blocked from any access to his research spanning over 33 years. I urge any board members to respond publicly to put an end to this issue.

A very broad summary of his letter includes some of the following points.

1. SSE deposit of seeds in the Svalbard seed bank.
2. Amy Goldman’s misuse of power
3. Reasons for his termination
4. Logo change

Some of my thoughts on the above topics.

1. Kent points out that SSE’s deposit of seeds in the Svalbard is the only deposit from a private company. He points out concerns over any country being able to request seeds from Seed Savers. Because of the signed agreement and the linked FAO Treaty, Seed Savers cannot deny a request for seed. His main concern is the ability for companies to genetically alter those seeds and then patent those derivatives.My question is; Why is Seed Savers depositing seed in a seed vault whose main goal is to breed new varieties? The summer harvest edition from Seed Savers on page 30 goes into great detail on this topic. I always was under the impression that Seed Saver’s main goal was to recover and maintain heirloom varieties. These varieties already show great diversity. Seed Saver members certainly breed new varieties but this doesn’t seem to be the main focus of the organization. This coupled with questions over patents does indeed raise concerns.
2. While I cannot go into detail about Amy Goldman’s misuse of power, Kent’s letter does give enough examples that she or the board should respond to any allegations.
3. The reasons for Kent’s termination is still unclear. It seems that he was terminated for purchasing a storage shed without board approval. The problem is that he states that it was a misunderstanding due to poor communication between himself and Amy Goldman. He also points out that the storage building was needed and in the end, another structure was repurposed for this need. Unfortunately, the original shed was converted into a seed storage facility instead of building a more appropriate structure.
4. The Seed Savers Exchange’s logo was changed. While it seems silly, this irritates me immensely. Firstly, there wasn’t anything wrong with the original logo. Secondly, there is a huge amount of cost associated with a logo change. Anything that contains the logo needs to be reprinted or changed as is the case with digital content. Lastly, the logos are very similar. Why not change the logo completely if there is a problem? The original logo shows an adult hand passing seed to a child’s hand. This certainly seems to convey the intention of The Seed Saver Exchange.

This short list certainly does not cover his 14 page letter, but I still feel that Kent is being treated unfairly. There is no evidence to date that suggests Kent was hurting this organization. Because of this, I urge the board members to give Kent access to his writings and resources.

“November 24, 2008

To the Listed Members of the Seed Savers Exchange,

I have just learned some extremely disturbing news that strikes at the very heart of SSE. I am deeply concerned about the willingness and ability of SSE’s current Board of Directors to protect SSE’s greatest asset – our invaluable and irreplaceable collection of heirloom seeds. The issue involves SSE’s recent affiliation with the Svalbard seed vault. Amy Goldman’s introduction in Seed Savers 2007 Harvest Edition stated, “…..we are preparing seeds to be sent for safety duplication to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway for its February 2008 opening. It is exciting to be part of this worldwide preservation effort.” Also in February 2008, SSE’s website posted a press release (“American food supply safeguarded by SSE contribution to Svalbard Global Seed Vault”) which states, “…..It opens officially on February 26, 2008. Seed Savers Exchange is among the opening-day depositors, making an initial deposit of seeds from 485 different vegetable varieties. With planned annual deposits of 2,000 vegetable varieties over the next several years, its deposits will eventually be among the largest at the Svalbard vault.”

SSE’s greatest treasure is its unique seed collection of 26,000 rare vegetable varieties (being permanently maintained at Heritage Farm), which represents the legacy and combined efforts of more than 3,500 Listed Members who have selflessly shared their families’ heirloom seeds during the last 33 years. SSE’s current leadership, with Amy Goldman as its Chair, may have exposed for patenting the 485 varieties that SSE deposited at Svalbard’s official opening last February. All depositors are required to sign the Svalbard Depositors Agreement (actually an international treaty with Norway) which links those deposits to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.), Article 7 of which states, “The Depositor agrees to make available from their own stocks samples of accessions of the deposited plant genetic resources and associated available non-confidential information to other natural or legal persons in accordance with the following terms and conditions:….” The agreement goes on to dictate that “original samples” (the other seeds of those 485 varieties being stored at Heritage Farm) are also covered by the terms of the FAO Treaty, which allows patenting on “derivatives” of those samples.

By signing the treaty, Seed Savers apparently cannot refuse any requests for seeds of those 485 varieties in storage in the seed vaults at Heritage Farm. That would mean Monsanto and others now can, as a right, request those 485 varieties of SSE’s heirlooms, splice in GMOs, patent the product and sell the seed. The actual movement of each sample covered by the FAO Treaty (including the “originals” of all samples deposited in Svalbard) will require the use and signing of FAO’s Standard Material Transfer Agreement (also part of the FAO treaty) that includes language describing a 1.1% tax on patents (the main way that the FAO Treaty will generate funding for itself).

Amy Goldman nominated Cary Fowler (head of the Global Crop Diversity Trust that is in charge of Svalbard) to be on SSE’s Board of Directors at the Santa Fe board meeting (March 2007). I never was involved in any discussion about whether or not SSE’s seeds should be sent to his “doomsday vault,” probably because they both knew I would be opposed. Svalbard has never been a necessary step for SSE – duplicate samples of SSE’s seed collection are already stored in a separate seed vault at Heritage Farm as insurance against fire and tornadoes, plus duplicate samples are also in “black box storage” at the National Seed Storage Lab in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Black box storage means the seeds belong entirely to SSE, are being stored only against catastrophic loss, and can be returned upon request.) Also I had become increasingly concerned because Svalbard’s corporate donors include Seminis and DuPont/Pioneer.

SSE’s seed collection is very much a Peoples Seed Bank, actually quite similar to countless collections of traditional seeds being maintained by villages of indigenous farmers throughout the world. Since the late 1970s Gary Nabhan and I have both been fighting individual battles to keep traditional seeds from being patented (for example, Hopi Blue Popcorn). A few years ago I sent Gary samples of all the Hopi varieties in SSE’s collection which – along with the Hopi varieties
being kept by Native Seed/SEARCH – were given back to the Hopi in a ceremony that was the largest repatriation of native seeds in history. The summer before I was fired, I included in Heritage Farm’s growouts nearly 100 Indian varieties from about 20 different tribes (20 sovereign nations) in anticipation of also repatriating those seeds. (Svalbard and the FAO Treaty don’t even recognize country of origin, much less indigenous farmers’ rights, which has already created serious problems involving sovereignty.) Are those Indian seeds now in Svalbard? That would certainly be touchy!

If all of this turns out to be true, then a portion of SSE’s invaluable seed collection has just been opened up for patenting, with the stated goal that SSE’s entire collection will follow. SSE’s board has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the organization and its seed bank. Please join me in asking SSE’s current leadership, with Amy Goldman as its Chair, how they can possibly be doing this on behalf of SSE’s membership? Does anybody really think that the stewards of SSE’s nonprofit seed bank – the only non-governmental organization involved – should be signing international treaties with seed banks and governmental agencies from 155 countries? We should all demand that the contract which put SSE’s heirloom seeds into Svalbard (who signed what and when?) be posted on SSE’s website, so SSE’s members can compare that contract with the documents below (which, be warned, are deliberately deceptive) to determine for themselves if SSE’s seeds should be returned. Nonprofits are supposed to be transparent. Make SSE’s board answer you; it is your right.

SSE’s current leadership, with Amy Goldman as its Chair, must show all of us any passages in any of these documents that would disprove our grave concerns. You can expect, however, that SSE’s board will instead issue a defensive statement (a non-answer) on SSE’s website, claiming that the seeds in Svalbard belong entirely to SSE and cannot be distributed, patenting cannot occur, SSE can get its seed back upon request. Only part of that is true. While it is true that the seeds actually stored in Svalbard can’t be distributed and can be returned upon request – in that sense all of the samples deposited in Svalbard are in black box storage – it is the linking of those deposits to the FAO Treaty that makes possible the distribution and patenting.   And don’t let them tell you that your fears about opening up SSE’s seed collection to patenting are unfounded and will never actually happen. If it is written into the treaty, it will eventually happen (exactly the same way the rights of farmers to save their own seeds have gradually been made illegal by similar treaties).

Fortunately all of this is reversible – Svalbard’s depositors can annul the agreement and recover their seeds. SSE’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for December 4, 2008. Instead of trying to contact each of SSE’s board members individually (all of them will get this letter), send your concerns directly to SSE’s office at Heritage Farm (e-mails to: steph@seedsavers.org and phone calls to George DeVault: 563-382-5990 and letters to: Board of Directors, Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101). Also, please share your thoughts with the board about Amy Goldman’s new SSE logo that’s being increasingly displayed on SSE’s website.

Recently I had the chance to gain limited access to my files (33 years of my speeches, writings, photos, research), but once again only if I signed away my voice, which I will never do. I fully accept my lifelong obligation to always speak the truth about what is best for Seed Savers.

Deeply concerned,
Kent Whealy
P.O. Box 653                      (phone: 231-547-7374)
Charlevoix, MI 49720          (e-mail: kentwhealy@gmail.com)

Svalbard Depositors Agreement: http://www.nordgen.org/sgsv/files/sgsv/SGSV_Standard Depositor_Agreement.pdf

FAQ’s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources: ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/it/ITPGRe.pdf

FAQ’s Standard Material Transfer Agreement: ftp ://ftp. fao. org/ag/agp/planttreaty/agreements/smta/SMT Ae .pdf“

Mr. DeVault said, “For me, this is not just a job. It’s more a mission. Seed Savers combines the best of everything I have worked for all of my life as a journalist, organic farmer and gardener. It’s a natural fit. I have known Seed Savers’ founders, Kent and Diane, personally for going on 20 years, and have nothing but the highest respect for their pioneering spirit, vision, and accomplishments. Seed Savers is doing more than preserving and passing along our garden heritage. It is safeguarding our future food and our food future. Becoming the steward of Seed Saver’s legacy is both a great honor and truly awesome responsibility.”

I feel deeply for Kent and how this all has transpired. I also feel concern over an organization that I have come to love. I hope that SSE can overcome this current obstacle and I hope that Kent is given the respect and benefits deserving of the man that created this wonderful organization.

Kent Whealy refers to a couple of new documents in his response. These can be found on the Seed Savers web site.
Letter from Diane Ott Whealy
Letter from Advisors

Here is the letter in its entirety. It has been slightly reformatted for easier readability. No content has been altered.

February 4, 2008
To the Listed Members of the Seed Savers Exchange

Dear Friends,
First of all, I want to sincerely thank all of SSE’s members and friends for the amazing avalanche of support (hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls) that I’ve received during the last couple of weeks. After what I’ve just been through, all of your messages have been deeply gratifying and heart-warming for me, and I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind words of appreciation and support. Your messages have touched me deeply. Thanks to all of you.

SSE’s Board of Directors will never be able to justify how I was treated, nor are they making any attempt to do so. Instead (in my opinion), there has been a constant stream of two-faced rhetoric and outright lies coming from the board’s public announcements to SSE’s members and also in letters that SSE’s members will never see. Just one example is the board’s recent letter to SSE’s private foundation donors that talks about my “…..desire/plan to take over the organization by somehow installing a new Board of Directors made up of himself and Advisors…..” (I thought I made it clear in my previous letter that, “I do not want to come back as SSE’s Executive Director.”) The board’s letter goes on to say “…..what is happening may be a natural occurrence in the evolution of organizations like SSE…..” (No, what is happening is the result of the board’s misguided actions and incredibly poor judgment.) Another example of an outright lie in a recent board letter is, “Kent was not asked to remain silent about his employment at SSE” while the cover letter from SSE’s lawyer that came with that letter is instructing me that I better not do it again.

SSE’s board is also attempting to rewrite SSE’s history, as is clearly shown by the assertions in Diane Ott Whealy’s recent letter, “As co-founder of the Seed Savers Exchange, I have been involved with the day-to-day operations every day since 1975″ and also “I will never have any regrets about my decision to create and nurture SSE….” My remembrances of that period are quite different. Diane Ott Whealy’s first real involvement was in 1981 (six years after I founded Seed Savers), when the first Campout Convention was held, and when I listed her and my mother as the other two original board members of the nonprofit organization I was incorporating. By that time I had put out six SSE yearbooks, completed the first of three years work compiling the original Garden Seed Inventory, received SSE’s first two grants, took on John Withee’s bean collection (1,186 varieties he collected in the Northeast over 14 years), and gave my very first speech at the “Seed Banks Serving People Conference” in Tucson (in which I first used the term “heirloom vegetable varieties”). Look, I don’t care if Diane wants to call herself “SSE’s co-founder” (she did put up with me funning SSE out of our home for that first decade), but I should rightfully be recognized as SSE’s founder. Diane was a stay-at-home mom (which I deeply valued), but this rewriting of SSE’s history and the accomplishments of my life’s work must stop right now.

During these last two weeks, many of you have asked about Diane Ott Whealy’s involvement, because what has happened is difficult to understand without that piece of the puzzle. For Diane Ott Whealy (in my opinion) these last four years since the divorce have been unceasing attempts to win over family, friends, staff, and now the board. I have refused to play those games at all, but have taken a terrible beating for not playing. During those four years, we have both continued to work in the same office which has been difficult for me and SSE’s staff and board. Amy Goldman, Neil Hamilton and Deborah Madison have all bought into Diane Ott Whealy’s bogus grievances (in my opinion), which should never have been allowed to affect any of the decisions of SSE’s board. Instead, I was severely reprimanded at one board meeting (after Diane vented her grievances privately to board members the night before) without any of the board so much as asking me what was really going on. Just one other example of how the board has been played – shortly before I was fired Amy Goldman pointedly questioned me in an e-mail (to SSE’s entire board) about Diane Ott Whealy’s ridiculous claim that I was “logging in SSE’s orchard” (which Diane already knew wasn’t true). Although Diane Ott Whealy’s actions have contributed greatly to creating this current situation, I don’t think she even realizes the damage she has done to Seed Savers and its future.

• Other staff members being released
• Denied access to his research. It was through his generosity that Seed Savers became the benefactor of those riches. To deny him access to his own life’s work seems unconscionable.
• No comments on the substantial influx of cash

As a member of Seed Savers I sincerely hope that the air clears over the coming months with more forthright information. I do understand the desire to abstain from commenting on some of the details of the departure. Unfortunately, this all too often, provides a veil, for corporations to disclose far too little information. I do appreciate the letter from the board but it seems to fall short on offering a substantial explanation.

Dear Members and Friends of Seed Savers Exchange:

By now some of you have probably received or heard about Kent Whealy’s unfortunate and lengthy letter about the end of his employment with Seed Savers Exchange. SSE acknowledges the resulting confusion and appreciates the expressions of support it has received. Kent’s letter has many inaccuracies, half-truths, and omissions. We cannot and will not comment on everything, as it would not be in the best interests of SSE to publicly reveal, discuss, or debate confidential internal personnel matters. However, the Board wants to correct a few of the most misleading points that were made in Kent’s letter so that you can better understand the history and the Board’s position.

First and foremost, we want to assure you that SSE is in excellent shape and is moving forward to achieve its important mission. SSE retained Phillips Oppenheim Group to conduct a national search for a new President/Executive Director in November 2007. In the interim, there is continuity of leadership at SSE. Diane Ott Whealy (co-founder and Vice President of Education), Aaron Whaley (Vice President of Sales), and Matt Barthel (Vice President of Gardens & Collections) remain in key roles and continue to bring their expertise to SSE. Staff have redoubled their efforts for SSE.

Kent’s letter, by its tone and content, demonstrates that his relationship with the Board had deteriorated beyond repair by the time of his departure. This did not happen overnight, nor was it based on a single incident. The Board’s unanimous decision to terminate Kent’s employment at the end of October 2007 was the culmination of years of fundamental problems with Kent’s performance, management, judgment, and conduct. The Board’s attempts to address and correct these problems with Kent were unsuccessful and matters only worsened. Kent mentions a few of these problems specifically, but provides only part of those stories. Just one of the incidents in this series of problems is the “shed” referenced in Kent’s letter. This is actually a 5000 square foot building that Kent ordered constructed at an estimated cost of $70,000. This was done without Board consideration or approval of the project, despite direction that this was required. This building has not been completed. The $70,000 Kent obtained for it, via a special anonymous donation, was insufficient, and the Board is now considering options and alternatives for the building. In summary, the ultimate decision to terminate Kent’s employment was not without warning; it was not unforeseen, capricious, or malicious. It was difficult and heart-wrenching, but inescapable.