SEED BUSINESS

LEF’s main source of income is seed production. For this, the Farm has a shed of seed racks with air blowing through, powered by the PV system. Seeds collected from plants in the gardens are stored and dried to be sold.

“The seed market is a nice niche market where you can get paid pretty well to grow things that are generally cheap when sold as commodities, like corn, so we grow corn and peanuts and beans, which you can grow cheaply… [W]e’re making different pollinated varieties. Some of them are heirlooms, and some are more modern varieties, but they’re all being bred for organic growing in this region, so it’s really important to be working with those seed stocks and keeping them viable.” – Debbie Piesen, LEF farm manager

The seeds themselves are grown within three and a half acres of cultivated garden and orchard areas of the farm. One large purchaser of LEF’s seeds is the Acorn Community Farm in Mineral, VA.