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At the OCIA board of directors meeting on Friday, April 29th, the board discussed at length the possibility of recertifying Certified classes of wheat seed for sale this fall. Many factors were considered (limited availability of seed this fall, potential yields, number of acres applied for inspection, recertification requirements outlined in the Federal Seed Act, etc.). Ultimately, the board voted unanimously NOT to pursue recertification this year.

For the producer, it means that there will be limited amounts of certified seed available for planting this fall (2011). A producer may have to be willing to travel further from home to find seed & should be proactive in his approach to procuring the seed he needs for planting purposes. Waiting until Sept. or Oct. to find seed would not be recommended.

We certainly hope this limited availability of seed will only affect the 2011 planting season and we'll have a bumper crop in 2012. Growers should also be reminded that most varieties of wheat in production are protected under state & federal seed laws. Owners of those protected varieties have the right to take legal action against anyone caught violating those varieties. Even though seed may be in limited supply this year, that fact does not give anyone the right to violate the laws with the buying & selling of non-certified protected varieties.

The Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) is a non-profit association of seed producers and others interested in the production and distribution of high quality planting seed. OCIA is designated by Oklahoma State University as the seed certifying agency for the State of Oklahoma in accordance with the Oklahoma Seed Laws. The agency is responsible for the development and distribution of rules, regulations, and standards for all certification of seed and other propagating materials in the state. OCIA is an active member of the international Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) which established minimum certification standards for all crops.