Bag Tagging & Certificates
Ohio Certified Seed produced and labeled by OSIA must carry two tags: a Certification tag (Certified class – blue, Registered class – purple, or Foundation class – white) and an analysis label. The analysis tag carries germination and purity information about the seed as well as other information required by the Ohio Seed Law.
Certification Labels Must Have:
1. Variety
2. Kind of Seed as specified by the Federal Seed Act- e.g. “Wheat” or “Soybeans”.
3. Commercial class in parenthesis is applicable, e.g. “(soft red winter)”
4. Unique Identifying Lot Number – e.g. “Lot No.: ABC-1″
5. Identification number of the Producer and/or Processor. “Producer Number” refers to the member who applied for and maintained records of field inspection. “Processor Number” refers to the member that conditioned and bagged the seed.
6. Sequential Number – e.g. XX-00000011
To order tags, go to the: Member Area
EACH ANALYSIS TAG MUST HAVE:
(1) Labeled by Name and deliverable address or person or company responsible for label information.
(2) Kind and variety
(3) Purity % and Germination % – Equal to or less than that % reported by a recognized lab.
(4) Inert %, Other Crop Seed %, Weed Seed %, Name and number of Noxious Weed Seeds per pound, and Hard Seed % – Equal to or more than that % reported by a recognized lab.
(5) Lot Number – Lot number of the seed in the bag.
(6) Date tested – Month and year of the lab test.
(7) Net Weight – The net weight (in pounds) of the seed in the labeled bag.
(8) State where seed was grown.
(9) In lieu of a variety name the words “Variety Not Stated” or the acronym VNS must be used with brands. VNS is allowed in Ohio, check with other states for their specific requirements.
ANALYSIS TAGS MAY HAVE:
(1) Identification number of the Approved Conditioner.
(2) Other seed related information – seeds per pound, test weight is permitted.
Identity Preserved (IP) Certificates
IP Certificates are typically used by food grade grain producers. Before an IP certificate can be issued all minimum requirements for the issuance of the certificate must be met as set forth by the specific company requesting the certificate. Minimum requirements include passing field inspection and a passing mechanical and varietal purity tests, in addition to any company specific standards. Once verification of all passing minimum requirements has been made certificates can be issued to participating IP companies.
