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State Seed Programs
Last updated: September 20, 2011
All 50 states have seed laws which require individuals and seed firms to truthfully label all seed for sowing purposes which is offered for sale. Over the past years, a number of states have either reduced funding for their seed programs or eliminated them altogether. Biotechnology and other advances in seed technology will likely be marketed to the consumer through the genetic structure of seed, thus placing additional demands on seed regulatory programs. The situation has become very critical in the Northeast, where some states have reduced seed programs or eliminated their seed regulatory laboratories altogether.
Strong and efficient state seed programs ensure the consumer that the seed they have purchased is truthfully labeled and is routinely being sampled and tested for quality under the state seed laws of their state. Consumers of seed in states without viable seed programs may suffer financial losses when they unknowingly purchase poor quality seed sold or shipped into their state that would not be offered for sale in another state with a strong seed regulatory program. Since a large volume of seed is sold through interstate channels, it is in the best interests of all states to have strong and viable seed regulatory programs in order to create a level field for marketing of seed in the United States.
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Seed-borne Pathogens
Last updated: September 20, 2011
Seed-borne diseases constitute a demonstrated threat to American agriculture. Many seeds used by American agriculture are imported from foreign countries. Although such seed importations are frequently inspected for weeds or insect pests by the USDA, no such inspections are conducted or required for seed-borne pathogens. A testing and/or certification program for seed-borne pathogens is needed in the United States so as to protect agricultural crops.
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Seed Health Initiative
Last updated: September 20, 2011
A seed health initiative proposal would provide for the accreditation of seed laboratories and seed companies to perform seed health laboratory and field testing to provide supporting documentation for issuing phytosanitary certificates. This concept of a laboratory accreditation system has merit, but several concerns must be met. First, a chain of custody for samples, including who, when, and how they are drawn, transported, and submitted should be established. Public laboratories should also receive accreditation with consideration given to cost, loss of public laboratory resources for working on minor crops and approval vs. accreditation. APHIS should maintain oversight authority over accredited laboratories. Consideration needs to be given to the types of laboratories that should be accredited, including concerns about conflicts of interest associated with private laboratories belonging to seed companies.
Finally, the availability of test data for plant pest officials’ inclusion in the National Agricultural Pest Information System database should be addressed.
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National Variety Name Registration
Last updated: September 20, 2011
A National Variety Name Registration should be established in the Federal Seed Act for all agricultural and vegetable crops, and it is recommended that adequate funding be provided for variety name registration over current budget allocations or registration fees be implemented to administer the program. This program should be established because the release of new varieties into commerce has greatly increased with the advent of genetic engineering, the large proliferation of new variety releases are difficult to track and regulate, there is no national variety name registration within the United States, some cultivars may be illegally marketed by different variety names from one company to the next, confusion exists between variety labeling and brand labeling for some crop kinds, and some mixtures of agricultural crops are incorrectly labeled as single varieties.