Reminder - Fee Increase
The CCIA Board of Directors approved a fee increase on 2/22 to both field applications and seed lot certification (including OECD and ‘Not Finally Certified’ fees). Increases were also made to programs outside of regular seed certification, including potatoes, turfgrass, Pre-Variety Germplasm, and the rice QA program. This change went into effective 3/1/2024.
For context, with few exceptions, the field certification fees have remained unchanged for over 20 years, and the seed lot certification fee has not changed in 7 years. In addition to inflation adjustments, recent declines in sunflower seed production in CA have prompted a review of the fee structure.
The CCIA is a non-profit organization, and the CCIA Board has a policy for when to return to customers revenue in excess of the financial reserve. The new structure can be found by visiting
The CCIA Board of Directors has approved an increase to the minimum fee for seed lots including rejected lots. Effective March 1, 2024, there is a minimum certification fee of $125.00.
Important Dates
December 18 - January 2, 2025 - CCIA offices will have limited hours due to holiday schedules
February 6, 2025 - CTC Meeting
February 9-11, 2025 - Pacific Seed Association Annual Convention
February 20, 2025 - CCIA Annual Members Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting
March 16-19, 2025 - California Seed Association Annual Convention
June 26, 2025 - CCIA Board of Directors Meeting
Research Awards
Research fees are collected on several crops and the funds collected are awarded each year for research projects to improve these crops. Research grants were awarded at the June Board of Directors meeting as follows:
Alfalfa:
$37,639 - Dr. Dan Putnam and Dr. Charles Brummer for “Field Testing for Alfalfa Varieties and Alfalfa Variety Development”
Beans:
$6,983 - Michelle Leinfelder-Miles for “Improvement of Blackeye and Garbanzo bean for yield, quality, pest and disease tolerance & regional acclimation
Cotton:
$99,649 - California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association for research
Small Grains:
$74,958 - Jorge Dubcovsky for “Development of wheat varieties for California”
$9,994 - Isabela Alicia del Blanco for “Oat Improvement for California”
$7,996 - Isabela Alicia del Blanco for “Breeding malting barley for California”
$12,993 - Joshua Hegarty for “Development of awnless triticale varieties for California”
$75,958 - Joshua Hegarty for “Small grains variety testing for California”
Year in Review: Rice Seed
Rice acres approved for seed production in 2024 totaled 24,000 acres, of which, 872 acres were in the Quality Assurance (QA) program. The seed production acreage in 2024 was a 3818 acre decrease from 2023, but it is worth noting that rice seed producers generally overproduce seed and there should be ample seed in 2025.
Variety summary:
In 2024, there was production of 38 rice varieties (9 long grain, 17 medium grain, 12 short grain). Seed production exceeded 1000 acres only for the 5 Calrose varieties. Of the Calrose-type varieties, the current ranking in acres approved is M-206 (5583 acres), M-211 (3980 acres), M-105 (3640 acres), M-209 (3431 acres), and M-210 (3003 acres). These 5 varieties made up 81% of the seed production. M-206 is trending downward in seed production, and M-210 and M-105 are trending upward.
More variety-specific acreage details and analysis can be found on the CCRRF/Rice Experiment Station website: https://crrf.org/
Seed Field Inspections:
~100 acres of seed were rejected due to the presence of weedy red rice. There were additional partial rejections due to excessive weeds and other varieties. Several Certified class fields required roguing due to excessive off-types. Incidence of rice blast was rare this year.
The Certified seed and QA programs ensure that every rice seed field is inspected by field inspectors from the California Crop Improvement Association, and every seed lot is tested, to ensure that planting seed meets industry expectations for quality seed.
California Crop Isolation Pinning Map
CCIA crop year started on October 1 marking the beginning of the crop isolation pinning map availability to pin your planned sunflower production for 2025. Recently, CCIA updated how pins are changed from “pushed,” “planted,” and “inactive.” Additionally, the CCIA Board of Directors implemented a “penalty pin” fee to improve pinning etiquette and ensure accuracy of the pinning map.
To most efficiently take advantage of these updates, we recommend companies to link their pins by clicking “link to isolation map” rather than “update/create map” when completing you field applications to produce certified seed. Once you link your pin and submit the field application to CCIA, the pin on the isolation map will automatically update status from “pushed” to “planted”.
Isolation pins placed on the map but not linked to an application (the map was “updated/created” rather than pin “linked” to a field application) still requires a status update from “pushed” to “planted” or “inactive” before August 1st. This will require a manual update from “Your Pins” summary table on the Crop Isolation Pinning Map.
Below is the billing information for the Crop Isolation Pinning Map:
- Sunflower
- Pin status must be changed from “pushed” to “planted” within 30 days of initial pinning date. Pins linked to an application to produce certified seed will automatically update the status to “planted” when the application is submitted to CCIA.
- Pins are billed after 30 days at $15 per pin.
- If the status of a pin is changed to “inactive” prior to 30 days there will be no charge for the pin.
- Inactive pins are deleted immediately
On August 1st, pins on the map with a status of “pushed” will be assigned a “penalty” fee of $125 per pin. The status of the pin will be changed to “penalty pin.” To avoid penalty fees, the status of the pin needs to be updated to “planted” or “inactive” before 8/1.
Seed Sampler Training Update
The purpose of the seed sampler training workshops that are being conducted by the CCIA is to ensure that representative samples are uniformly collected for seed testing. Seed sampling is an important and the very first step to conducting a good seed test. A representative seed sample is that which provides proper connection between the seed lot awaiting sale at the warehouse and the sample that is being tested at the seed laboratory to ensure that the test results accurately reflect the quality of the seed lot. The sampling principles, methods and equipment to uniformly obtain a representative seed sample were developed by the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) and the Association of American Seed Control Officials (AASCO) and are contained in the Federal Seed Act. They form the basis of the certified seed sampler training program.
During the 2024 crop year the CCIA conducted seed sampler training workshops at Santa Barbara on 1 November 2023, at Davis on 14 November 2023, at Five Points on 23 January 2024 and at Holtville on 20 February 2024. During the 2025 crop year the CCIA will conduct seed sampler training workshops at the following centers and dates: a) Parsons Building on 12 November 2024 for Sacramento Valley samplers; b) Westside Research and Extension Center, 7353 W Oakland Ave, Five Points, CA on 14 January 2025 for Central Valley samplers and c) Desert Research and Extension Center, 1004 Holton Rd, Holtville, CA on 18 February 2025 for Imperial Valley samplers.
Several training workshops have been scheduled this crop year as follows:
- Davis – Nov 12 (for Sacramento Valley seed samplers)
- Fresno – Jan 14 (for Central Valley seed samplers)
- Imperial Valley – Feb 18 (for Imperial Valley seed samplers)
More information and registration forms will be posted at the Seed Sampler Certification Program page
https://ccia.ucdavis.edu/certification/seed-sampler-certification-program.
CCIA Native Seed Program Update
Last year (2023), the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine [NASEM] released their report of an independent assessment of the needs and capacity for native seeds in the United States. The assessment was conducted to help identify seed needs and ensure the availability of genetically appropriate seeds for ecological restoration and other purposes. The assessment determined that the supply of native seeds is insufficient to meet the needs of current and future projects. The report called for concerted action to build a more robust native seed supply and industry.
Tangential to these findings at the national level, there was a realization at the state level in California that there is a general lack of a concerted effort to provide good quality native seed, particularly that which is certified, within the native seed industry. As a result, a group of concerned representatives of the native seed industry convened a meeting with the California Crop Improvement Association [CCIA] staff on February 5, 2024, to facilitate a conversation around certification of native seed. That meeting resolved to form a Native Seed Working Group [NSWG] under the CCIA umbrella, whose goals would be to; a) Review, update and expand standards of native species and establish common terminology; b) Determine how to get existing species information from producers into the CCIA database; c) Clarify the process for grandfathering existing G0 seed; d) Determine a ‘representative seed collection area’, especially where collections are done over a large area; and e) Discuss ways to increase consistency across seed testing. These goals were to be reviewed and updated periodically as may be deemed necessary. NSWG participation would be through active listening, respect for perspectives of others, and seeking solutions that would benefit the industry as a whole. The NSWG agreed to have the California Native Seed Supply Collaborative [CNSSC], an independent participant, to facilitate the initial meetings and to include CCIA staff, who would be non-voting members, and two (2) participating members/companies with one (1) voting member per company. The CCIA Board of Directors Meeting of February 22, 2024, approved the formation of the NSWG and voted on its membership, as would be done for each subsequent year.
The NSWG has since reviewed the standards for over 300 current native species in the CCIA database and has reviewed standards for over 50 new species. In addition, the NSWG has taken the following related decisions: a) Companies should provide a 2-week lead time from application submission to site or field inspection by CCIA; b) The NSWG will review standards for any new species before they are added to the CCIA database; c) One contiguous piece of land, i.e. public/private land, farm or state park, etc., will constitute a collection site instead of several such masses of land; d) Since native species may also be regarded as weeds, seed laboratories are encouraged to refer to the AOSA document when determining the ‘weed’ fraction in a seed sample for any native species, and e) The CCIA will allow G0 seed to be grandfathered into the program as long as their applications are submitted by 31 December 2025. Lately, the NSWG has taken note of the CCIA Board of Directors’ concern for: a) a proliferation of common (wild) sunflower production as a result of inclusion of such seed in the pollinator mixes particularly in the certified hybrid seed production areas of the Sacramento Valley and b) proliferation of weeds in the crop production areas through production of seed of the native species. The CCIA native seed program had about 70 applications for a combination of G0 and G1 in the 2024 crop year compared to about 30 applications in the previous crop year, representing a 2-fold increase.
AOSCA Variety Review Board Updates
AOSCA (Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies) has upcoming submission deadlines for variety applications. Of importance to California:
Alfalfa – Dec. 6th
Small Grain – Jan. 1st
Sunflower – Feb. 25th
To the plant breeders intending to submit variety applications, the applications have been updated by the AOSCA office in an ongoing effort to streamline the process of data entry and Variety Review Board examination.
To seed companies wanting to review a variety description 1-page summary, the variety index/database has been updated to make searching for descriptions easier.
The purpose of variety review is to establish that varieties are uniform, distinct, and stable. Varieties can be brought into seed certification through any one of these five systems:
1) AOSCA Variety Review Board
2) PVP + additional info.
3) Listed as eligible in the OECD Seed Scheme
4) Approved by an AOSCA member agency
5) Approved by CCIA’s Certification Technical Committee.
More info can be found here, https://ccia.ucdavis.edu/standards/certification-technical-committee and here, https://aosca.org/programs-services/national-variety-review-boards/
2024 Acreage Report
