Items of Interest in Seed – Summer 2023 1 | Page

USDA Seed Regulatory and Testing Division

Summer 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Recent and Upcoming Activities....................1

• 104th AOSCA Meeting.................................1

• 37th ASCO Meeting....................................2

• Brand Names and the Federal Seed Act.........2

• 2023 AOSA/SCST Meeting..........................3

• Seed Training Workshop ............................3

• Calendar of Events ....................................4

• Policy and Rule Changes of 2023..................5

RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES 

FARMERS FAIRNESS

In March 2023, USDA published a report on fair 

competition in the seed sector. Prepared in 

response to Executive Order No. 14036 

“Promoting Competition in the American 

Economy,” the report called for the establishment 

of a Farmer Seed Liaison at USDA to promote 

transparency and bring the farmer voice into the 

intellectual property system, a new Federal 

working group on fair competition in seeds, and a 

notice to industry under the Federal Seed Act with 

respect to the disclosure of kind and variety 

names to farmers before shipment.

POLICY AND RULE CHANGES OF 2023 

SRTD staff have prepared a chart that organizes 

all of the rule changes from this year. This includes 

updates from OECD Seed Schemes, Association 

of Official Seed Analysts, and the International

Seed Testing Association. 2023 Seed Industry Policy 

and Rule Changes (usda.gov).

104T H ASSOCIATION OF OFFICIAL 

SEED CERTIFYING AGENCIES ANNUAL 

MEETING

The Association of Official Seed Certifying 

Agencies (AOSCA) held its 104th Annual Meeting 

on June 4-7, 2023, in Bloomington, Minnesota. 

AOSCA was established in 1919, consisting of 

agencies from North and South America, 

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

AOSCA’s mission is “to promote and facilitate the 

movement of seed or plant products in local, 

national, and international markets through the 

coordinated efforts of official seed certification 

agencies acting to evaluate, document, and verify 

that a seed or plant product meets certain 

accepted standards.” There were close to 100 

participants from all over the United States as well 

as Canada and New Zealand at the meeting. 

Seed Marketing Specialist Lan Chi Trinh

represented the Seed Regulatory and Testing 

Division (SRTD) at the meeting and at the AOSCA 

Advisory Committee to give updates on SRTD and 

U.S. OECD Program activities. 

The General Membership meeting and the 

Standard Council meeting discussed

amendments to the existing AOSCA Standard. 

Other highlights included presentations “Driving 

Innovation”, “The Language of Leadership –

Making Your Advocacy Count”, and “Building a 

Successful Agency.”

Roger Wippler (Foundation Seed Manager of 

Minnesota Crop Improvement Association) and 

Dr. Bill Foote (North Carolina Department of 

Agriculture and Consumer Services, Plant 

Industry Division Director) received the AOSCA 

Honorary Member Award. AOSCA also presented 

the inaugural Excellence in Innovation Award to 

ITEMS OF INTEREST IN SEED
Items of Interest in Seed – Summer 2023 2 | Page

Minnesota Crop Improvement Association for their 

willingness to educate and train professionals 

through their Capacity Building Initiative program. 

The next AOSCA Annual Meeting will be held in 

Destin, Florida on June 14-19, 2024. For more 

information about AOSCA, please visit 

https://aosca.org.

For information regarding this article, contact 

Seed Marketing Specialist Lan Chi Trinh (704)

810-7272; Lan-ChiN.Trinh@usda.gov. 

37T H ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN 

SEED CONTROL OFFICIALS MEETING

The Association of American Seed Control 

Officials (AASCO) held its 37th Annual Meeting on 

July 11-14, 2023, in Lafayette, Indiana. Dr.

Ruihong Guo, AMS Deputy Administrator, and 

Seed Marketing Specialist, Lan Chi Trinh,

represented the Seed Regulatory and Testing 

Division (SRTD) at the meeting. 

The meeting was attended by a total of 40 

representatives from organizations including 

seed control officials from 23 States, American 

Seed Trade Association (ASTA), Association 

Official Seed Analysts (AOSA), Canadian Food 

Inspection Agency (CFIA), Seed Innovation & 

Protection Alliance (SIPA), Society Commercial 

Seed Technologists (SCST), and several seed 

companies.

Dr. Guo presented on the 2022 AMS/Science & 

Technology Program activities. During the general 

session, Lan Chi Trinh presented on the Federal 

Seed Act and issues related to brand name. The 

presentations generated lively discussion among 

the attendees. 

Other interesting presentations included seed 

innovation and protection, new technology for 

agricultural inspection and registration, and 

harmonization among different organizations. 

In addition, there were discussions regarding 

treated seed disposal, test date requirements on 

mixtures, changing/updating test dates on seed 

labels, expiration dates on biological seed 

treatments, and adding seed health sampling 

information to the Handbook on Seed Sampling. 

There was one proposed amendment to 

Recommended Uniform State Seed Laws, which 

did not pass due to lack of supporting 

documentation. 

The 2024 AASCO Annual Meeting will be held in 

Utah. Meeting dates and location information will 

be announced at a later date. 

For more information about AASCO, please visit 

http://www.seedcontrol.org

For information regarding this article, contact 

Seed Marketing Specialist Lan Chi Trinh (704)

810-7272; Lan-ChiN.Trinh@usda.gov. 

BRAND NAME AND ITS ROLE UNDER 

THE FEDERAL SEED ACT

Brand names and trademarks have become an 

important marketing strategy for the seed industry. 

They provide an identity and uniqueness to a 

company’s products. However, there are 

limitations when labeling with brand names under 

the Federal Seed Act (FSA). 

What is a “Brand”? According to the FSA 

regulations, “brand” means a name, term, sign, 

symbol, or design, or a combination of them that 

identifies the seed of one seller or group of sellers 

and differentiates that seed from the seed of other 

sellers.

How should a brand be used? According to 

section 201.36b(e) of FSA regulations, “Seed 

shall not be advertised under a trademark or brand 

name in any manner that may create the 

impression that the trademark or brand name is a 

variety name.” 

Therefore, a variety cannot be used as a brand 

name or as a part of the brand name, and the 

brand name cannot be used as a variety name. If 

a company wishes to advertise products under a 

brand name, the brand name should be clearly 

indicated as a “Brand” on the label. 

What about a mixture of brands? FSA regulations 

does not address brand mixtures. However, 

section 201.2(p) of the regulations defines mixture 

as “seeds consisting of more than one kind or 

variety, each present in excess of 5 percent by 

weight of the whole.” Seed companies may have 

multiple brands in one seed lot as long as the label 

clearly indicates the brand names and variety 

names within the seed lot. A seed company may 

not advertise a seed lot as a mixture when there 

are multiple brands in the seed lot, and the label 
Items of Interest in Seed – Summer 2023 3 | Page

indicates “Variety Not Stated”. Advertising in this 

way does not meet the FSA definition of mixture 

since there is only one variety, “Variety Not 

Stated”. Regardless of how many brand names 

are on the label, “Variety Not Stated” is considered 

a single variety. 

For more information regarding this article, contact 

Seed Marketing Specialist Lan Chi Trinh (704)

810-7272; Lan-ChiN.Trinh@usda.gov. 

2023 AOSA/SCST ANNUAL MEETING

The Association of Official Seed Analysts 

(AOSA)/Society of Commercial Seed 

Technologists (SCST) held their joint annual 

meeting in Saskatoon, Canada from June 10 – 15, 

2023. The meeting was well attended by analysts 

from both Canada and the United States. 

Workshops were offered on seedling evaluation, 

method validation, genetic technology, and purity 

testing. At the end of the meeting, attendees had 

an opportunity to tour the seed laboratory at the 

Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The meeting consisted of both in person and 

virtual components. The ability to attend 

committee and Rules discussion meetings 

virtually, which was developed largely due to the 

pandemic, has allowed for larger participation by 

analysts who cannot normally travel to the annual 

meetings. The Rules discussion meeting was 

held completely virtually 3 weeks before the 

annual meeting. This new format allowed for more 

discussion time and more time for authors to edit 

their Rule proposals based on the discussion. The 

Rule proposal voting was held in person on the 

last day of the meeting. Seventeen proposals 

passed out of the 18 that were submitted. These 

included the addition of salvia and quinoa testing 

methods, removal of the raised blotter method, 

additional guidance for coated seed purities, 

seedling evaluation criteria, and reporting 

requirements of hard seed, pure live seed, and 

tetrazolium results.

One main topic of discussion at the meeting was 

the merger of the two organizations into a single 

organization. This would reduce redundancy in 

committee work, Executive Board work, and 

operating costs. A working group has been writing 

the by-laws for this new organization. 

Membership and voting will still be identified 

according to regulatory versus private laboratory 

affiliation, giving both groups equal ability to pass 

or block new Rule proposals.

For more information regarding this article, contact 

Laboratory Supervisor Todd Erickson (704) 810-

8877; todd.erickson@usda.gov

SEED TRAINING WORKSHOP IN 

GASTONIA, NC

SRTD held a Seed Analysts Training Workshop in 

Gastonia, NC, on August 14-16, 2023. Seventeen

seed analysts from State and private laboratories 

attended. The workshop focused on purity and 

identification of similar crop and weed species with 

emphasis on identification of noxious-weed seeds. 

Other topics included: seed and seedling 

structures, germination, botany terms, pure seed 

unit definitions, uniform blowing procedure, and 

various calculations. 

Following the workshops, the purity and 

germination exams were given to analysts to 

become either a Certified Seed Analyst (CSA) or 

a Registered Seed Technologist (RST). 

The workshop promotes uniformity in testing by 

fostering greater compliance with State and 

Federal seed-labeling laws. The mission of the 

Federal Seed Act is to promote uniformity in seed 

laws and fair competition within the seed industry. 

This effort is supported by State seed control 

programs through authorization provided by 

cooperative agreements between the States and 

the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). 

For more information regarding this article, contact 

Laboratory Supervisor Todd Erickson (704) 810-

8877; todd.erickson@usda.gov.
Items of Interest in Seed 

–Summer 2023 4 | Page

CALENDAR OF EVENTS • American Seed Trade Association, Seed Expo 

Orlando FL; December 4- 7, 2023

• Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies 

Destin Florida; June 14-19, 2024

• The Association of American Seed Control Official

Annual Meeting 

Utah; TBD

•Association of Official Seed Analysts/ Society of 

Commercial Seed Technologist Annual Meeting 

Rapid City SD; June 1-6 

 

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