AAM-03-11-00012-P Certification of Small Grain Seed, New York State Register

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

Amendment of Part 97 of Title 1 NYCRR.

Subject:

Certification of small grain seed.

Purpose:

To amend land requirements, field standards and seed standards for the certification of small grain seeds.

Public hearing(s) will be held at:

11:00 a.m., March 23, 2011 at Department of Agriculture and Markets, 10B Airline Dr., Albany, NY.

Interpreter Service:

Interpreter services will be made available to hearing impaired persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.

Accessibility:

All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.

Text of proposed rule:

Subdivisions (b), (c) and (d) of section 97.1 are repealed.

Subdivision (b) of section 97.2 is amended to read as follows:

(b) [Spring oats and barley] A crop of spring grain may be grown where the previous crop was of the same or higher certification class of the same variety.

Subdivision (a) of section 97.4 is repealed and a new subdivision (a) of section 97.4 is added to read as follows:

(a) General. (1) The field shall be considered the unit of certification. A field cannot be divided for purposes of certification unless satisfactory isolation exists.

(2) Isolation:

(i) Wheat, Oats, Barley, Triticale, Spelt. A strip of ground adequate to prevent mechanical mixtures, but no less than three feet wide, which is either mowed, uncropped, or planted to some crop other than the kind being certified, must be present between any plantings of wheat, oats, barley, triticale or spelt, and any other such plantings or combination of plantings.

(ii) Rye. A field producing any class of certified seed must be isolated by at least 660 feet from fields of any other variety or the same variety of lower certified seed class.

(3) A field producing either foundation or registered seed being grown from seed which has been treated for the control of loose smut shall be isolated at least 330 feet from other fields or the same crop which are not planted to treated seed.

Subdivision (b) of section 97.4 is amended to read as follows:

(b) Specific requirements.

	Maximum permitted in each class
Factor	Foundation	Registered	Certified
Other varieties¹	none	0.02%	0.05%
Inseparable other crops²	none	none	0.03%
Prohibited weeds³	none	none	none
Seed-borne diseases:
1. Common bunt or stinking smut of wheat	0.001%	0.01%	0.10%
2. Loose smut of wheat	0.10%	0.25%	0.50%
3. Dwarf bunt in wheat	none	none	1 plant/acre

¹ Other varieties shall be considered to include offtype plants not typical of the variety that can be differentiated from the variety that is being inspected.

² Inseparable other crops shall include crop plants, seed of which cannot be thoroughly removed by the usual methods of cleaning. [Certified small grain fields shall be free of the following vetches: hairy (Vicia villosa), narrowleaf (V. angustifolia), common (V. sativa).] Winter barley and winter wheat fields shall be free of rye.

³ Certified small grain fields shall be free of corn cockle (Agrostemma githago), wild onion and/or garlic (Allium spp) and the following vetches: hairy (Vicia villosa), narrow leaf (V. angustifolia), and common (V. sativa).

Section 97.5 is repealed and a new section 97.5 is added to read as follows:

Section 97.5 Seed Standards

(a) General provisions.

(b) Additional provisions.

(1) The maximum number of all weed seeds in the certified class of seed shall not exceed 15 seeds per pound of grain in oats or barley and 10 seeds per pound in rye, spelt, triticale, and wheat.

(2) Weeds considered as objectionable are quackgrass (Elytrigia repens), charlock [Wild Mustard] (Brassica kaber) and other wild Brassica species; Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), corn cockle (Agrostemma githago), dodder (Cuscuta spp.), bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), horsenettle (Solanum carolinense), wild onion (Allium spp.), wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens), bedstraw (Galium spp.) and leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

(3) All certified small grain seed shall be free of vetch (Vicia spp.). Certified winter barley and wheat seed shall also be free of rye seeds.

(4) Variations which are typical of the variety shall not be included as other varieties.

(5) Fatuoid oats will be scored as pure seed.

(6) In the fluorescence test of oats, the following tolerances for off-types will be permitted. Foundation class - 9 seeds per pound; Registered class - 18 seeds per pound; Certified class - 36 seeds per pound.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Kevin King, Director, Division of Plant Industry, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235, (518) 457-2087

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Same as above.

Public comment will be received until:

Five days after the last scheduled public hearing.

Regulatory Impact Statement

1. Statutory Authority:

Section 141 of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides, in part, that the Commissioner, after consultation with the Dean of the State College of Agriculture, shall adopt and promulgate appropriate standards for the certification of seed.

Section 142(1) of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides, in part, that the Commissioner may adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations to supplement and give full effect to the provisions of Agriculture and Markets Law Article 9 as he may deem necessary.

2. Legislative Objectives:

The proposed amendments carry out the public policy objectives that the Legislature sought to advance in enacting Agriculture and Markets Law section 141(2) in that, after consultation with the Dean of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the proposal amends appropriate land requirements, field standards and seed standards for certification of small grain seed. In doing so, the proposal supplements and gives full effect to the provisions of Agriculture and Markets Law Article 9 relating to the inspection and sale of small grain seed, as provided by Agriculture and Markets Law section 142(1).

3. Needs and Benefits:

The accurate labeling of small grain seeds is important to New York State's agricultural industry. Agriculture and Markets Law Article 9 governs the labeling of seeds and requires that characteristics such as the percentage of germination, the percentage of each seed component, the percentage of weed seeds, the percentage of inert matter and the name and number of seeds per pound of each kind of noxious weed seed present be set forth on the label of seeds. Pursuant to Agriculture and Markets Law section 136, the term "certified" on a seed label indicates that such seed has been produced or collected, processed and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of an officially recognized certification agency. As such, the designation of seed as certified is relied upon by the agricultural industry as an indicator of premium quality seed that has been grown, harvested and processed under specified conditions and that has been sampled, tested and found to meet the strict standards established for certified seed. Pursuant to section 141 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, the Commissioner has designated the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as the official seed certifying agency for the State of New York.

In order for seed to be eligible for labeling as certified seed, small grain seeds must be planted, grown, harvested and processed under special conditions. The seeds are inspected in the field by representatives of the certifying agency and, after harvesting and processing, representative samples of each lot are taken and submitted to a seed laboratory, such as the New York State Testing Laboratory at Geneva, New York or another laboratory approved by the official seed certifying agency, for analysis. If the results of the analysis verify that the seed meets the certified seed standards for varietal purity, inert matter, weed seeds and germination, the certifying agency issues tags to the grower for use in labeling the seed as certified.

Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, entitled "Small Grain Seed Certification Standards," provides that the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR, also apply to the certification of small grains. Part 97 of 1 NYCRR also sets forth land requirements, field inspection, field standards and seed standards for the certification of small grain seeds.

The proposal would amend section 97.1, entitled "Application and amplification of general seed certification standards," by repealing subdivisions (b), (c) and (d), since these provisions governing privately developed seed varieties and approved planting stock are already set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR.

The proposal would amend section 97.2, entitled "Land requirements," by amending "Spring oats and barley" to read "A crop of spring grain." This ensures that small grain seed certification standards apply to other seed varieties, including spring wheat, spring triticale, rye and spelt.

The proposal would repeal subdivision (a) of section 97.4, entitled "Field standards," and add a new subdivision (a) of section 97.4. The new subdivision (a) of 97.4 would make technical changes to general field use requirements (section 97.4(a)(1)) to further clarify those requirements. The new subdivision (a) of 97.4 would also amend the isolation requirements (sections 97.4(a)(2) and 97.4(a)(3)), and add other seed varieties, including spring wheat, spring triticale, rye and spelt.

The proposal would amend subdivision (b) of section 97.4, entitled "Specific requirements," to require that fields of winter barley and winter wheat be free of rye and to prohibit the following weeds from certified small grain fields: corn cockle (Agrostemma githago), wild onion and/or garlic (Allium spp); and the following vetches: hairy (Vicia villosa), narrowleaf (V. angustifolia), and common (V. sativa).

The proposal would amend subdivision (a) of section 97.5, entitled "Seed standards," by revising tolerances in the Class of Seed Table (Table) to better conform with standards of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA); by adding triticale, spelt and rye to the Table; and by making technical changes to the Table.

The proposal would amend subdivision (b) of section 97.5, by making technical changes to the Latin genus names of some weeds in paragraph (2); by adding a new paragraph (5) which provides that fatuoid oats are a pure seed; and by adding a new paragraph (6) which establishes tolerances for fluorescence testing of off-type oats.

The proposed amendments are necessary and beneficial since they revise and update New York State's Small Grain Seed Certification Standards by incorporating the latest nationally recognized standards and practices for seed certification and conforming New York State's standards to the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C §§ 1551-1611) and the Federal Seed Act Regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 201) as well as AOSCA standards. The proposed amendments also add certification standards for triticale, spelt and rye. In so doing, the proposed amendments will provide an up to date, efficient and effective seed certification program that will help to ensure the continued availability of premium New York certified seed to agricultural producers.

4. Cost:

a. Costs to regulated parties:

It is not anticipated that initial capital costs will be incurred by a regulated business to comply with the proposed rule. The annual costs for continuing compliance with the proposed rule will depend on the amount of seed that a grower submits for certification.

The proposed amendments would not affect existing costs for seed certification. Seed certification fees for spring grains are $5.50 per acre for fields 200 acres or less in size, plus $5.00 per field entered. Fees for fields over 200 acres in size are $5.25 per acre plus $5.00 per field entered. If reinspection of a field is requested the cost is $25.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a second reinspection is required the cost is $50.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a third and subsequent reinspections are requested the cost is $100.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. The estimated inspection cost per an average field of 12.4 acres would be $73.20.

The cost of having seed tested for purity and germination for certification purposes depends upon the variety of seed tested and ranges from $8.50 to $15.00 per sample. The estimated cost of testing the approximately 200 samples that will be required would be approximately $1,700 to $3,000.

It is anticipated that the smaller sample size required by the rule and the Federal Seed Act will reduce the amount of time required to draw a sample and the resulting cost by as much as 50%. The actual savings will depend on the number of samples submitted by a particular seed producer.

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional training costs. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the costs associated with training are as follows: the cost of the AASCO Handbook for Seed Sampling which is $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling when obtained through the New York State Seed Improvement Project; and approximately $500.00 per person in training costs including registration fee, labor and travel expenses. The total costs for training is unknown, since costs are predicated on the number of persons requiring training and that number is unknown.

b. Costs to agency, state and local governments:

The proposed amendments would not incur any costs to the agency, state and local governments.

c. Source:

The cost analysis is based on information provided by the New York Seed Improvement Project and the New York Seed Testing Laboratory.

5. Local Government Mandates:

The proposed amendments would not impose any program service, duty or other responsibility upon any county, city, town, village, school district or other special district.

6. Paperwork:

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional paperwork requirements on regulated parties. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the following paperwork and/or recordkeeping requirements already apply to regulated parties: list of certain information whenever certification of a crop variety is requested (section 96.2); official certification label affixed to the container in which all classes of seed are when offered for sale or an invoice, in the case of seed sold in bulk (section 96.6); and documentary evidence setting forth the source of seed used for the production of foundation, registered or certified seed.

7. Duplication:

None. The proposed rule conforms to the Federal Seed Act and the Federal Seed Act Regulations, but the federal regulations generally govern interstate transactions, rather than intrastate transactions.

8. Alternatives:

No other alternatives were considered, since the proposed amendments revise and update New York State's Small Grain Seed Certification Standards by incorporating the latest nationally recognized standards and practices for seed certification. This conforms New York State's standards to the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C §§ 1551-1611) and the Federal Seed Act Regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 201) as well as Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) standards. The proposed amendments also add certification standards for triticale, spelt and rye. In so doing, the proposed amendments will provide an up to date, efficient and effective seed certification program that will help to ensure the continued availability of premium New York certified seed to agricultural producers.

In drafting the proposed regulations, the Department conferred with growers of certified seed, as well as representatives of the New York Seed Improvement Project (NYSIP) at Cornell University. In particular, Alan Westra of NYSIP reviewed the initial draft of the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made to make the proposed regulations more consistent with standards set forth by the AOSCA as well as standards used by Pennsylvania. Additionally, Dr. Wayne Guerke of the Department of Agriculture Seed Laboratory in Georgia was consulted on the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made concerning field inspections and isolation. The proposed regulations were also discussed with representatives of the New York State Seed Testing Laboratory.

9. Federal Standards:

The rule does not exceed any minimum standards of the federal government for the same or similar subject areas. It conforms New York State's seed certification standards to the Federal Seed Act and the Federal Seed Act Regulations.

10. Compliance Schedule:

It is anticipated that regulated parties can immediately comply with the rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

1. Effect of rule:

The small businesses affected by the proposal include the approximately 13 New York State producers of certified seed, hundreds of dealers and retailers of small grain certified seed and thousands of farmers and other consumers who purchase small grain certified seed. The proposed amendments would have no impact on local government.

2. Compliance requirements:

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional paperwork requirements on regulated parties. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the following paperwork and/or recordkeeping requirements already apply to regulated parties: list of certain information whenever certification of a crop variety is requested (section 96.2); official certification label affixed to the container in which all classes of seed are when offered for sale or an invoice, in the case of seed sold in bulk (section 96.6); and documentary evidence setting forth the source of seed used for the production of foundation, registered or certified seed.

3. Professional services:

The type of professional services that a small business is likely to need to comply with the proposed amendments are the services of an approved seed testing laboratory. Local governments are not affected.

4. Compliance costs:

It is not anticipated that initial capital costs will be incurred by a regulated business to comply with the proposed rule. The annual costs for continuing compliance with the proposed rule will depend on the amount of seed that a grower submits for certification.

The proposed amendments would not affect existing costs for seed certification. Seed certification fees for spring grains are $5.50 per acre for fields 200 acres or less in size, plus $5.00 per field entered. Fees for fields over 200 acres in size are $5.25 per acre plus $5.00 per field entered. If reinspection of a field is requested the cost is $25.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a second reinspection is required the cost is $50.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a third and subsequent reinspections are requested the cost is $100.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. The estimated inspection cost per an average field of 12.4 acres would be $73.20.

The cost of having seed tested for purity and germination for certification purposes depends upon the variety of seed tested and ranges from $8.50 to $15.00 per sample. The estimated cost of testing the approximately 200 samples that will be required would be approximately $1,700 to $3,000.

It is anticipated that the smaller sample size required by the rule and the Federal Seed Act will reduce the amount of time required to draw a sample and the resulting cost by as much as 50%. The actual savings will depend on the number of samples submitted by a particular seed producer.

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional training costs. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the costs associated with training are as follows: the cost of the AASCO Handbook for Seed Sampling which is $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling when obtained through the New York State Seed Improvement Project; and approximately $500.00 per person in training costs including registration fee, labor and travel expenses. The total costs for training is unknown, since costs are predicated on the number of persons requiring training and that number is unknown.

The continuing compliance costs will vary for small businesses depending on the size of such business and the number of seed lots submitted for certification.

5. Economic and technological feasibility:

Compliance with the proposal by small businesses is technologically feasible. Small businesses engaged in growing small grain certified seed are already sampling seed and submitting samples to certified laboratories for testing.

6. Minimizing adverse economic impact:

The proposed amendments are designed to minimize any adverse economic impact on small businesses by limiting the requirements to those necessary to incorporate the latest nationally recognized standards and practices for small grain seed certification and conforming New York State's standards to the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C. § 1551-1611) and the Federal Seed Act Regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 201).

7. Small business and local government participation:

The Department complied with SAPA § 202-b(6) by meeting with growers of certified seed, as well as representatives of the New York Seed Improvement Project (NYSIP) at Cornell University.

On April 1, 2010, the New York Seed Improvement Cooperative, Inc. Small Grains Committee held a meeting at Waterloo, New York. Participants included 13 certified small seed growers in New York as well as the following officials: Dr. Gary Bergstrom, Professor, Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Dr. Mark Sorrells, Professor of Plant Breeding Chair Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Dr. Margaret Smith, Dir. Assoc. Acad. Professor, Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, David Benscher, Research Support Specialist, Cornell University, Doug Eldred, Mark Greene, Ritchie Lent, Seedway Inc., Hugh Dudley, Peter Shuster, Alan Westra, NYSIP; and Jan Morawski of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

At the meeting, Alan Westra reviewed the initial draft of the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made to make the proposed regulations more consistent with standards set forth by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) as well as standards used by Pennsylvania. Alan Westra asked participants if there was any objection to the revisions and no objections were noted.

Additionally, Dr. Wayne Guerke, formerly of the Department of Agriculture Seed Laboratory in Georgia, was consulted on the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made concerning field inspections and isolation. The proposed regulations were also discussed with representatives of the New York State Seed Testing Laboratory.

Outreach efforts will continue.

Rural Area Flexibility Analysis

1. Types and estimated numbers of rural areas:

There are approximately 13 producers growing certified small grain seed, hundreds of dealers and retailers of small grain certified seed and thousands of farmers and other consumers who purchase small grain certified seed. These producers, dealers, retailers, farmers and consumers are located throughout the rural areas of New York State.

2. Reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements; and professional services:

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional paperwork requirements on regulated parties. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the following paperwork and/or recordkeeping requirements already apply to regulated parties: list of certain information whenever certification of a crop variety is requested (section 96.2); official certification label affixed to the container in which all classes of seed are when offered for sale or an invoice, in the case of seed sold in bulk (section 96.6); and documentary evidence setting forth the source of seed used for the production of foundation, registered or certified seed.

The type of professional services likely to be needed in a rural area to comply with the proposed amendments are the services of an approved seed testing laboratory.

3. Costs:

It is not anticipated that initial capital costs will be incurred by a regulated business to comply with the proposed rule. The annual costs for continuing compliance with the proposed rule will depend on the amount of seed that a grower submits for certification.

The proposed amendments would not affect existing costs for seed certification. Seed certification fees for spring grains are $5.50 per acre for fields 200 acres or less in size, plus $5.00 per field entered. Fees for fields over 200 acres in size are $5.25 per acre plus $5.00 per field entered. If reinspection of a field is requested the cost is $25.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a second reinspection is required the cost is $50.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. If a third and subsequent reinspections are requested the cost is $100.00 for the first field and $25.00 for any additional fields. The estimated inspection cost per an average field of 12.4 acres would be $73.20.

The cost of having seed tested for purity and germination for certification purposes depends upon the variety of seed tested and ranges from $8.50 to $15.00 per sample. The estimated cost of testing the approximately 200 samples that will be required would be approximately $1,700 to $3,000.

It is anticipated that the smaller sample size required by the rule and the Federal Seed Act will reduce the amount of time required to draw a sample and the resulting cost by as much as 50%. The actual savings will depend on the number of samples submitted by a particular seed producer.

The proposed amendments would not incur any additional training costs. Since the general seed certification standards set forth in Part 96 of 1 NYCRR also apply to small grain seed certification standards contained in Part 97 of 1 NYCRR, the costs associated with training are as follows: the cost of the AASCO Handbook for Seed Sampling which is $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling when obtained through the New York State Seed Improvement Project; and approximately $500.00 per person in training costs including registration fee, labor and travel expenses. The total costs for training is unknown, since costs are predicated on the number of persons requiring training and that number is unknown.

It is not anticipated that there will be any variation in these costs for different types of entities in rural areas.

4. Minimizing adverse impact:

The proposed amendments are designed to minimize any adverse impact on rural areas by limiting the requirements to those necessary to incorporate the latest nationally recognized standards and practices for seed certification and conforming New York State's standards to the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C § 1551-1611) and the Federal Seed Act Regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 201). The approaches suggested by SAPA § 202-bb(2) and similar approaches were considered.

5. Rural area participation:

The Department complied with SAPA § 202-bb(7) by meeting with growers of certified seed, as well as representatives of the New York Seed Improvement Project (NYSIP) at Cornell University.

On April 1, 2010, the New York Seed Improvement Cooperative, Inc. Small Grains Committee held a meeting at Waterloo, New York. Participants included 13 certified small seed growers in New York as well as the following officials: Dr. Gary Bergstrom, Professor, Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Dr. Mark Sorrells, Professor of Plant Breeding Chair Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Dr. Margaret Smith, Dir. Assoc. Acad. Professor, Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, David Benscher, Research Support Specialist, Cornell University, Doug Eldred, Mark Greene, Ritchie Lent, Seedway Inc., Hugh Dudley, Peter Shuster, Alan Westra, NYSIP; and Jan Morawski of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

At the meeting, Alan Westra reviewed the initial draft of the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made to make the proposed regulations more consistent with standards set forth by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) as well as standards used by Pennsylvania. Alan Westra asked participants if there was any objection to the revisions and no objections were noted.

Additionally, Dr. Wayne Guerke, formerly of the Department of Agriculture Seed Laboratory in Georgia, was consulted on the proposed regulations and suggested revisions which were made concerning field inspections and isolation. The proposed regulations were also discussed with representatives of the New York State Seed Testing Laboratory.

Outreach efforts will continue.

Job Impact Statement

1. Nature of impact:

It is not anticipated that the rule will have an impact on jobs and employment opportunities.

2. Categories and numbers affected:

The number of persons employed by the approximately 13 producers of certified seed in New York State is unknown.

3. Regions of adverse impact:

It is not anticipated that the rule would have a disproportionate adverse impact on jobs or employment opportunities in any region of the State.

4. Minimizing adverse impact:

The Department has attempted to minimize any unnecessary adverse impacts on existing jobs and to promote the development of new employment opportunities by limiting the requirements to those necessary to incorporate the latest nationally recognized standards and practices for small grain seed certification and conforming New York State's standards to the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C § 1551-1611) and the Federal Seed Act Regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 201).

5. Self-employment opportunities:

The rule would not have a measurable impact on opportunities for self-employment.

	Class of Seed
Factor	Foundation	Registered	Certified
Pure seed (minimum)	99.00%	99.00%	99.00%
Inert matter (maximum)	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Weed seeds (maximum)	2 per lb.	5 per lb.	0.03%
Objectionable weed seeds	none	none	none
Other crops, excluding other varieties (maximum)	2 per lb.	5 per lb.	10 per lb.
Other small grains of same growing season (maximum)	none	1 per lb.	5 per lb.
Other distinguishable varieties (maximum)	none	2 per lb.	10 per lb.
Germination (minimum):
Wheat, Oats, Barley, Triticale, Spelt	80%	85%	85%
Rye	80%	80%	80%

AAM-03-11-00012-P Certification of Small Grain Seed

Document Information