Illinois Crop Improvement Association, Inc. (ICIA) has a long history of promoting and facilitating quality seed and grain production. Certification, Quality Assurance and Source Identified services enhance the quality and marketing capabilities of your seed products. Identity Preserved (IP) programs are designed to preserve the genetic and/or physical identity of value added grain and food products. Illinois Crop Improvement brings value to your business in the form of information, documentation and official labeling. Third party information is essential in many of today’s seed markets, but above all ICIA field services provide preventive problem solving for companies large and small. ICIA’s unbiased services help producers meet specific requirements or provide a marketing image of sound quality control. For additional information, feel free to contact us.

OECD Programs - (top of page)
OECD Seed
The Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development facilitates international trade between member nations. Under the OECD Seed Schemes classes and seed production standards are similar to domestic certification. Fields inspected to a certified class may in fact be positioned for OECD – USA seed tags. Within Illinois, ICIA assists with the OECD program with the authorization of the USDA. http://www.oecd.org/home/

OECD Accreditation
This is a component of the OECD Seed Schemes, which allows companies to inspect their own fields, with agencies serving as a monitor and auditor of the company’s inspection program. http://www.ams.usda.gov/Seed

AOSCA Programs - (top of page)
Quality Assurance (QA)
QA is an AOSCA system of record keeping, inspection, and testing patterned after the certification system for private label seed production. ICIA customers may use the comprehensive QA system and label the resulting seed with a trademarked QA logo or green QA tags. Or the customer may choose to hire ICIA to perform certain activities in support of an internal quality assurance system. Internal quality assurance systems are not eligible for the QA trademark or tags without participating in the complete QA program (see inspection services).

Identity Preservation (IP)
The purpose of an IP system is to identify products that have met specific requirements designed to preserve the genetic and/or physical identity of the product. In other words, the product the consumer receives is the product that the farmer produced. The product has not been mixed, contaminated, or otherwise adversely altered from its intended identity. The crop’s unique identity has been preserved. IP is an AOSCA system designed to maintain specific characteristics in grain production. Grain produced under this system can be labeled with a trademarked IP label. For more information, consult the Grain Programs section.

	Clean Bin Inspections and Audits for Illinois SoySelect Research Program
	Identity Preservation Training for the AgGuild of Illinois
	Process Audit for InnovaSureTM IdP (Cargill Dry Corn Ingredients, formerly Illinois Cereal Mills)
	Isolation Certificates for Kanematsu USA, Inc.
	Complete IP Program for Fresh Pure GreenTM Soybeans, Clarkson Grain

Source Identified Program for Wildland Collected Seed
Wildland collected seed encompasses three distinct classes under the AOSCA Pre-Variety Germplasm Certification Standards. The "Tested” and “Selected" classes are the result of plants selected and advanced with the intention of producing a superior or unique line from a native population. Source Identified is a class of propagating materials collected from natural stands where no selection or testing of the parent population was conducted. The purpose of this seed certification program is to maintain and make available to the public, quality seed of source-identified species of native plants so produced, handled, and distributed as to ensure proper labeling and identity. The Illinois Crop Improvement program specifically addresses the Source Identified class of seed production under the AOSCA Wildland Collected Seed/Pre-Variety Germplasm Certification Standards.

Classes of Certified Seed - (top of page)
There are four recognized classes of seed in the United States, three of which are Certified under the Federal Seed Act. Each class is produced and handled in such a manner as to assure a minimum level of purity. The system helps to maintain the specific varietal purity and identity of the original seed released by the plant breeder or plant breeding institution.

Breeder Seed – Seed directly controlled by the originating plant breeding institution, firm or individual. The seed may enter the certification system or be produced under a private label system (see QA and Inspection Services).
Foundation Class – The progeny of Breeder’s or Foundation seed handled to maintain specific genetic purity and identity. White tag.
Registered Class – The progeny of Foundation seed (Soybeans and Small grain). Purple tag.
Certified Class – The progeny of Foundation or Registered seed. Blue tag.

The Federal Seed Act - (top of page)
(FSA) as administered by the United States Department of Agriculture regulates the interstate shipment of agricultural and vegetable seeds. Seed must be labeled with truthful information that allows seed buyers to make informed choices. The FSA helps promote uniformity among State laws and fair competition within the seed trade. ICIA and Illinois seed producers must be in compliance with FSA requirements as well as the Illinois Seed Law. http://www.ams.usda.gov/Seed

The Illinois Seed Law
The law is administered by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA). It provides truth in labeling, uniformity, and consumer protection goals within the state. Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the IDOA also assists in the enforcement of the Federal Seed Act and the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA). http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/008/00800230sections.html

The Plant Variety Protection Act
The Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) was created by Congress in 1970. The goal of the U.S. PVPA is to encourage the development of new crop varieties by providing protection incentives for companies investing in the development of superior plant varieties.

The federal act protects new plant varieties much like a patent protects an invention. Developers of new varieties may collect royalties from their products and use that money to fund other development projects. In addition, owners of PVPA-1994 protected varieties may seek damages for crops produced from unlawfully obtained seed. The IDOA takes PVPA action only when owners have specified that a variety be sold strictly as a class of certified seed. Private variety owners may still opt to file a civil suit. http://www.ams.usda.gov/science/PVPO/PVPindex.htm

Phytosanitary and Service Inspections - (top of page)
Phytosanitary Field Inspections under the National Seed Health System (NSHS)
Phytosanitary certificates are often required when exporting seed or grain from the United States. In the state of Illinois, ICIA field inspectors are accredited under the NSHS to conduct disease evaluations during the growing season. The University of Illinois makes an official diagnosis based on plant tissue samples submitted by the ICIA inspector. The IDOA, under the authority of the USDA, ultimately issues the official certificate based on ICIA reports. The National Seed Health System (NSHS) operates under the authorization of the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA – APHIS).www.seedhealth.org

Inspection Services
Many companies use ICIA services without completing Certification, QA or IP labeling requirements. These companies use brand recognition and private tags or labels to meet seed law and other marketing requirements. ICIA serves these companies with activities tailored to the needs and requirements of the company’s internal quality system. Trained full time staff members conduct system audits and field inspectors are specifically trained prior to being assigned a custom inspection role.

Flagging System for Soybean Inspections
Once a soybean field has been inspected, an ICIA inspector will place a “Field Inspected Flag” in a convenient and obvious location. Typical flag locations are entrances to fields, such as culverts or drives. Flags may also be placed in a corner of the field closest to an intersection. If seed signs are at the edge of the field, flags may also be near or attached to the seed sign.

What the flags indicate:

A blue flag indicates that the field has met purity and isolation standards. The field may be harvested without restrictions.

A red flag indicates that the field has met purity standards, but the field requires an isolation correction. Please refer to the diagrams below if you are unfamiliar with soybean isolation standards.

No Flag will indicate either one of the following two possibilities. The grower should contact the seed company for additional information and instructions.

	The field has not been inspected
	There is a significant purity problem with the field

Soybean Isolation Corrections

Observing proper isolation: Isolation from crops of the same species must be observed by the grower at harvest time. Isolation can be one of the least complicated certification activities, but can also be one of the easiest things to forget in the rush of harvest. Soybeans have a minimum isolation requirement of six feet. A limited amount of cross-pollination can occur in soybeans. By leaving behind a six-foot swath, you will prevent mechanical mixture and avoid any cross-pollinated plants. The basic principle is to keep your combine well away from your neighbor’s crop.

Weed-Seed Free Forage and Mulch
There is a growing demand in North America for the use of Certified Weed-Seed Free Forage and Mulch as a preventative program in Integrated Weed Management systems to limit the spread of noxious weeds. Certified Weed-Seed Free Forage and Mulch can help protect natural resources and natural habitats for wildlife, preserve the aesthetic value of natural scenery and prevent the introduction and continuing spread of noxious weeds through the movement of forage and mulch products. Certain state and federal agencies have forage-restricted areas where only Certified Weed-Seed Free Forage and Mulch can be used for feeding animals or as a ground cover. ICIA now offers the North American Weed Management Association's weed free program to give producers an opportunity to move forage and mulch freely into restricted areas - intrastate, interstate or internationally, wherever weed free products are needed.

Seed Corn Isolation Requirements and Field Standards
Foundation Corn Isolation: 660feet
Certified Corn Isolation Table*

2007 Standards

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