Nadine Wilkins (202)720-8998Nadine.wilkins@ams.usda.gov
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced that Beachner Seed Company, St. Paul, Kan., has paid $5,200 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed Act.
This settlement resolves seven cases that involved three shipments of tall fescue seed from Kansas to Kentucky, three shipments of tall fescue seed from Missouri to Kentucky, and one shipment of tall fescue seed from Missouri to South Carolina. The shipment from Missouri to South Carolina was subsequently reshipped to Georgia. The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were as follows:
-false labeling as to germination percentage; and-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.
The company settled the cases in agreement with AMS officials. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges brought against them.
AMS administers the Federal Seed Act with the assistance of state seed officials. The investigations were completed through the joint efforts of AMS and seed regulatory officials in Georgia and Kentucky. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.
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