5.3 – Facility Maintenance-Best Practices for Seed Conditioners

Conditioner Requirements

As discussed in Section 5.2, proper seed conditioning directly impacts the content of a seed lot and influences the germination rates and purity results obtained in the lab. These lab results must be added to a seed label.  Conditioning common seed can be done by anyone with the proper equipment and registration, but those conditioning certified seed, must meet stricter national requirements set by the Association of Official Seed Certification Agencies (AOSCA) and its state partners (Seed Certification Agencies).  Seed conditioners who meet these requirements and are allowed to handle certified seed are known as Approved Seed Conditioners.  Each state seed certification agency (an AOSCA member) requires additional registration, inspections and ongoing training to ensure Approved Seed Conditioners follow minimum standards and best practices.

Best practices are required for Approved Seed Conditioners and are also recommended for all other conditioners.

Approved conditioners must ensure that the equipment used to condition seed meets the standards of the Seed Certification Agency in their operating state. Required equipment varies based on the type of seed and ownership. For example, in most states, conditioners who handle seed owned by others as a service (called Class 1 in Colorado) are held to higher standards than those who only handle seed they own or grow (Class V in Colorado). Other state agencies may have similar classifications.

Equipment Requirements

Click on each type of seed conditioning equipment used to learn more about its requirements for proper use.

Flip through these cards to see equipment examples.

Responsibilities of Seed Growers and Conditioners

Responsibilities for making sure seed is of the highest quality does not rest on Conditioners alone. Quality assurance is a shared responsibility between growers and conditioners when producing certified seed. Certified seed requires standards that exceed those for common seed.

Seed Grower Responsibilities

• Ensure equipment cleanliness for harvesting, transporting, and storing seed before conditioning.
• Deliver seed to a State Seed Certification Agency Approved Conditioner.

• Ensure the conditioner’s name appears on the official seed sample documentation sent to a Seed Lab for analysis (called Application Form D in Colorado).

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Seed conditioned by an unapproved conditioner may be rejected for certification.

Conditioner Responsibilities

• Inspect and/or sample seed before accepting it to protect against liability, especially if the grower did not avoid contamination.

Responsibilities of Approved Conditioners

• Ensure thorough cleaning of all equipment in contact with certifiable seed.
• Condition certifiable seeds using an approved air-screen cleaner. For winter wheat and beans, additional conditioning on an approved length grader or gravity table is required.
• Maintain seed lot identity throughout the facility, marking bins and tagging or labeling bags as needed.
• Train equipment operators and attend required state Certification Agency trainings.
• Use new and unused bags or containers for certified seed.