New Poaceae Maximum Seed Lot Size Limit for OECD Seed Schemes

The proposal for maximum seed lot size for Poaceae was adopted during the 2014 annual OECD Seed Schemes meeting held in Zagreb, Croatia. The OECD Seed Schemes Secretariat is currently in the process of preparing a document for the Committee for Agriculture with all the amendments agreed at the Annual Meeting, including the changes for Poaceae seed lot size. Normally there is at least 30 days for approval, via the written procedure. August is a holiday month in France, thus, we have to factor this into the timeframe. By late September/early October, the Committe for Agriculture should have adopted (assuming no problems) the changes as recommended by the Annual Meeting. The changes will then be included in the 2015 Rules & Regulations which will be released on January 1, 2015, as effective date for this adopted rule. If you have questions, or if there is a business case need to ship larger seed lots (25,000 kg) for Poaceae before January 1, 2015, contact Fawad Shah, PhD at (704) 810-8884, or email Fawad.Shah@ams.usda.gov