Washington, DC, USA
December 2, 2009

AMS No. 227-09

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced that Beachner Seed Company, a seed company operating out of St. Paul, Kan., has paid $4,050 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed Act. The company settled the case in agreement with AMS officials. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges brought against them.

This settlement resolves a case which involved one shipment of Korean lespedeza to Missouri and four shipments to Kentucky, one of tall fescue, one of a Contractor’s mixture, and two tall fescue/orchardgrass mixtures. The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were as follows:

• false labeling as to variety name;
• false labeling as to pure seed, other crop seed, inert matter, and weed seed;
• false labeling as to the percent of germination;
• failure to label with complete name and address of interstate shipper or in lieu thereof the correct code designation assigned by the Secretary of Agriculture; and
• failure to keep or supply complete records pertaining to the seed.

AMS administers the Federal Seed Act with the assistance of state seed officials. The investigation was completed through the joint efforts of AMS and seed regulatory officials in Kentucky and Missouri. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.

 

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

Published: December 2, 2009