Nadine Wilkins (202) 720-8998Nadine.Wilkins@ams.usda.govBilly Cox (202) 720-8998billy.cox@usda.gov
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced that Pennington Seed Inc., a seed company operating out of Madison, Ga., has paid $16,250 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 nine shipments of grass seed mixtures to Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Portions of the shipments to Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, were subsequently shipped to Indiana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, where the seed was officially sampled. Four shipments of tall fescue seeds were shipped to Georgia and Texas. Two shipments of perennial ryegrass seeds were shipped to Georgia and Indiana. A portion of the shipment to Indiana was subsequently shipped to Kentucky where it was officially sampled. The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were as follows:
false labeling of pure and other crop seed percentages, germination percentages, date of test, noxious-weed seeds rate of occurrence, and variety name;failure to label the presence of noxious-weed seeds and to label as a mixture; andfailure to keep or supply complete records of the seed.
AMS administers the act with the help of state seed officials. Seed regulatory officials in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Texas cooperated with AMS in making the investigations. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.
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