Illinois Crop Improvement Association, Inc.

OECD South American Seed Multiplication Requests
Below are examples of requests that the US OECD Program Manager has received from South American OECD Designated Authorities to facilitate a smooth transition into their countries and for shipping to approved locations after the multiplication.

• Male and female lines to be used in hybrid multiplication requests, need to be indicated on Table 2 or 3. Table 3 is for varieties that have not yet been approved for certification or still undergoing registration.

• All multiplications need to be sent to Perry Bohn no later than early December in order for him to send them by the Dec. 15 cut off. NOTE: Chile has moved their cut off to November 30. You may want to prioritize them in order to accomplish this.

• Be sure that all seed lots being shipped for multiplication have the proper OECD tag. They even want Pre-Basic seed to be tagged with the OECD tag. The only exemption would be very small quantities.

• The Seed Company or Seed Certifying Agency should send Perry Bohn a copy of the AOSCA official description and OECD Tag with the multiplication. Provisional descriptions are acceptable for Pre-Basic Seed if the variety is not yet approved.

• Seed returning from multiplication labeled with Gray Tag and marked “Not Finally Certified Seed” would need to be grown out by the Seed Certifying Agent (SCA) who receives the product and compared to the Official Variety Description.

If you have questions regarding Multiplication Agreements, contact:

Perry Bohn, USDA/AMS
US OECD Program Manager
Seed Marketing Specialist
801 Summit Crossing Place Suite C
Gastonia, NC 28054
Phone: 704-810-7262
Fax: 704-865-1973
Email: Perry.Bohn@usda.gov

Last updated 10/04/2008

Assesment Fees
The Seed Regulatory Testing Branch fee increase for the OECD Seed Schemes became effective October 1, 2008. This fee increase was reached after consultation with the seed industry and other interested parties and reflects the amount of time spent for the different crops. The following are Illinois Crop’s OECD assessment rates:

Corn 0.25/cwt Soybeans 0.14/cwt
Sorghum 0.14/cwt
Sunflowers 0.15/cwt

If you have any questions regarding this assessment, please contact our office at 217-359-4053. Last updated 10/04/2008.

Important Information on Introducing New Varieties
National Variety Review Board (NVRB) applications and deadlines are posted on the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies web site, www.aosca.org. It is important that the review board process be used for all new varieties entering certification. The Illinois Crop Improvement Association’s authority to accept new varieties for certification is limited to 1) crops without a NVRB and 2) varieties that will be restricted to small areas within the state of Illinois. New varieties that have not been through the NVRB process will not be accepted for certification by IL Crop.

The new IL Crop Handbook of Seed Certification outlines how new varieties are introduced into certification (pages 6-8). The following links should be used to access detailed information, forms and deadlines for each crop. NVRB information is also available for alfalfa/legumes, cotton and grass on the AOSCA web site. For information on new corn inbred lines, please consult the Application for Corn Inbred Eligibility file posted on our web site at www.ilcrop.com or contact us at 217-359-4053.

Soybean
http://www.aosca.org/VarietyReviewBoards/Soybean.html

Small Grain
http://www.aosca.org/VarietyReviewBoards/SmallGrain.html

Sunflower
http://www.aosca.org/VarietyReviewBoards/Sunflower.html

For more information please contact Hannah Hudson, Operations Manager Illinois Crop Improvement Association. Last updated 10/04/2008.

New Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch Website
Below is the link for the new website for SRTB with many of the links used for OECD in the past. The old site has been disabled so you will need to update your bookmarks or links. Please contact Perry Bohn, USDA/AMS, US OECD Seed Schemes Program Manager at 704-810-7262 or by email at Perry.Bohn@usda.gov if you have questions.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/Seed