Quality Assurance

What is Quality Assurance?

Quality Assurance is a uniform record keeping, field inspecting and lab testing program for plant material suppliers of private varieties and brands of seed or vegetative propagules. The program is administered by a professional third party Crop or Seed Improvement Agency.

What does QA really do?

QA is a vehicle to help assure high quality seed and vegetative propagules through extensive testing and inspection programs and record keeping which substantiates the quality and acceptability of the suppliers product. The QA program also provides a third party tracking system for planting materials and seed.

What is OSIA’s role in QA?

OSIA is an unbiased third party agency which administers the record keeping, field inspecting, and lab testing of the QA program. Our role is to help identify planting stock quality problems before seed lots enter the market place and to identify superior lots for efficient movement to the farmer or end user.

Is QA seed better than bin run?

Nineteen years of data from Illinois Crop Improvement Association comparing professionally grown and conditioned seed to bin run always showed a yield advantage of 2.7 bu./A over bin run. With seed and planting stock being high value it needs to be protected. Since it is an input that multiplies, it makes sense to plant quality inspected and tested seed from a known source.

How do I know if it's QA Inspected?

Look for the trademarked QA logo on the seed or planting stock tag or bag. The QA logo means that the seeded planting stock being offered for sale is of known origin, has been field inspected and laboratory tested using QA procedures and standards administered by an authorized seed or crop improvement agency.

What does QA do for suppliers?

Quality Assurance allows the seed firm or plant material supplier to introduce new varieties and maintain established ones with a high level of product confidence. QA gives the farmer peace of mind that they are planting seed or vegetative propagules of a known origin, purity and quality.