Adaptive Seeds: 20 Years of Climate-Resilient Seed Stewardship
By Farmer Spreadsheet Academy
TL;DR: Adaptive Seeds champions climate-resilient, open-pollinated varieties through restorative farming and seed stewardship in the Pacific Northwest.
- Adaptive Seeds breeds and sells climate-adapted, open-pollinated seeds.
- They practice regenerative farming, growing 75% of their seeds.
- Droughts led to innovative solutions like rotational grazing.
- They maintain genetic diversity while scaling seed production.
- The project promotes seed sovereignty and ecological resilience.
Why it matters: Regional seed companies like Adaptive Seeds are vital for food security, offering diverse, climate-adapted varieties often overlooked by larger industry players.
Do this next: Explore open-pollinated seed varieties suitable for your local climate and growing conditions.
Recommended for: Farmers, gardeners, and seed savers interested in practical regenerative agriculture and climate-resilient food systems.
Episode 59 of the Seed Farmer Podcast features Sarah Kleeger, co-founder of Adaptive Seeds in Sweet Home, Oregon, discussing two decades of hands-on seed stewardship and climate adaptation strategies. Kleeger and her partner Andrew Still established Adaptive Seeds in 2009 following a 2006 "Seed Ambassadors Project" through Northern and Eastern Europe, where they connected with seed stewards preserving open-pollinated varieties despite restrictive European seed laws. This experience directly shaped their mission to steward rare, diverse, and resilient seed varieties adapted to the Pacific Northwest and short-season northern climates. The podcast explores their practical regenerative farming approach on their 35-acre certified organic farm, where they grow over 75% of the seeds they sell. Their operation demonstrates real-world adaptation to climate challenges, particularly severe regional droughts that eliminated irrigation access in 2021, prompting innovative responses including rotational grazing with heritage pigs and perennial cover crop strategies. Kleeger discusses their on-farm breeding projects and commercial seed production, which in 2012 encompassed 225 varieties of garden vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains, and dry beans—with approximately 80% available commercially through their catalog. The episode provides expert practitioner insights into maintaining seed isolation distances (500 feet apart for pollen management), soil building on marginal farmland, and scaling seed production while preserving genetic diversity. Their work exemplifies permaculture-aligned regenerative practices, including water conservation and catchment systems, and demonstrates how small regional seed companies can respond to seed industry consolidation by developing open-pollinated varieties specifically bred for organic systems. The podcast content reflects Kleeger's deep commitment to seed sovereignty and ecological resilience, offering concrete methodologies for farmers and gardeners seeking to build climate-adapted seed systems.