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Field Inspection

Field inspections, field tracking, seedstock planted, and record keeping are all integrated parts of a comprehensive Certification or Quality Assurance program to insure genetic identity and purity of either seed or identity preserved grain crops. Production sites need to be clearly mapped and be defined field areas for specific crop or value-added grain production.

For seed and identity preserved crops, one or more field inspections are commonly made at a convenient plant growth stage(s) when phenotypic or morphological features can be assessed to determine genetic purity and identity. Trained OSIA field inspectors apply sequential sampling to measure genetic purity. Other agronomic field conditions such as weed infestation, disease, insect pressure, and volunteer plant of previous year crops are recorded on an official field report.

Inspect

OSIA field inspection services are offered in three areas. The first involves application of Certified seed inspections which involve minimum standards to either pass or fail seed fields or sites based on genetic purity standards and requirements. Minimum state and federal standards must be met under this system for Certifying a variety. Public and proprietary varieties, hybrids, or blends are commonly Certified, particularly for international seed exports.

A second system involves the application of minimum custom seed quality minimum standards for non-Certified proprietary varieties, brands, hybrids or blends under the green tag “Quality Assurance“ (QA) inspection system. Clients are enabled to set their own standards and have OSIA field inspectors apply such standards on a pass or fail basis. An optional QA green tag is available to clearly label seedlots passing minimum standards of this non-Certified seed quality program.

A third field inspection service involves “Information Only“ inspections or client configured custom inspections for either seed or identity preserved grain where the OSIA field inspector takes a minimum number of sequential counts for genetic and purity and only reports the findings without issuing a pass or fail status on the field. Supplemental agronomic information such as yield estimates, crop progress reporting, herbicide efficacy or resistance, disease, insect and weed pressure data are commonly recorded. This flexible field inspection category allows OSIA to offer a wide range of ancillary services to member grower, seed firms, the grain trade and end users.

Contact OSIA for additional information regarding field inspection services, or for summer part-time employment opportunities as a field inspector.

Field Inspection
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