Section 18. Conditioning Seed

Conditioning of seed intended for certification is subject to supervision by the county Agricultural Commissioner, (California Food and Agricultural Code, Section 52421).  A seed conditioning facility eligible to condition certified seed will be recommended by the Agricultural Commissioner from the county where the facility is located.

18.1  Approved Conditioning Facility. An "Application For Certified Seed Conditioning Permit" designating the facility as "Approved" may be obtained through the Agricultural Commissioner's office or on the CCIA website (certification forms) and must be renewed annually (July 1). The form must be signed by the Agricultural Commissioner and then forwarded to the CCIA. Only facilities recommended by the commissioner and approved by the CCIA may condition seed for certification.

The management of an "Approved" conditioning facility must assume full responsibility for cleaning and inspection of all equipment, abide by the CCIA seed certification rules and regulations, agree to handle seed in a manner such as to maintain identity, keep complete records, and cooperate fully with the Agricultural Commissioner's office and the CCIA.

18.2  Accredited Conditioning Facility. All "Approved" facilities conditioning more than an occasional lot of certified seed are encouraged to become an "Accredited" facility. The Agricultural Commissioner may designate a conditioner as "accredited" by checking the appropriate box on the Certified Seed Conditioning Permit and submitting a letter of delegation. This designation involves the approval of a "Certification Representative" at the facility who is responsible for the supervision of all conditioning and related operations. Requirements include the following:

1. All sampling must be performed by a trained "Certified Seed Sampler" using approved sampling methods.
2. All samples must be submitted to a Seed laboratory that complies with AOSA rules and all CCIA special testing requirements.
3. Seed certification request must be submitted by the Seed Conditioner.
4. Tag requests must be submitted by the Seed Conditioner.
5. Proper maintenance of all documents and records of equipment and facilities inspections, conditioning equipment inspections, Seed Transfer Certificates and Bulk sales certificates.
6. Some Accredited facilities may also be granted permission by the CCIA to perform the following operations:
   1. Tags: print tags, pre-tag, maintain series tag records
   2. Blends: blending, sampling, and records of blends

18.3  Conditioner Records. Complete records must be maintained for seed being conditioned. These records must contain the following information:

1. Identification (All of this information is found on the Field Inspection Report).
   1. Application number(s)
   2. Name and address of applicant
   3. Name and address of grower
   4. Kind and variety of the seed being conditioned
   5. Certification number
   6. Class of seed produced - Foundation, Registered, Certified
   7. Variety Status - varieties will be marked as "Pending" if the variety has not been approved by the CCIA Board of Directors
2. Seed received "In-Dirt"
   1. Date(s) seed received
   2. Inter-County or Inter-State Permit as necessary
   3. Weight of "in-dirt" seed
   4. Number of containers (if appropriate)
   5. Identity of container(s) - each bin/container of seed harvested shall be properly identified with the certification number
3. Conditioning Equipment Inspections
   1. Date of inspection
   2. Name of inspector and company or organization
   3. Results of inspection
4. Conditioning and Reconditioning
   1. Date and time conditioning started
   2. Date and time conditioning completed
   3. Certification and lot number assigned to the seed
   4. Weight of conditioned seed
   5. Identity of containers and number of containers
   6. Weight of screenings
   7. Weight of losses
5. Sampling and Seed Analysis
   1. Date sampled and Sampler(s) name and ID numbers:
      1. Seed analysis sample and submitted sample weight
      2. Sampling method (automated, probed boxes, and sampled, etc.)
      3. Sampling equipment used
      4. Container type
      5. Container weight
      6. Number of containers
      7. Number of containers sampled
      8. Number of primary samples
   2. Laboratory report of analysis and any other required tests on file
6. Seed Identification Number (SID) and Seed Inspection Report
7. Tag Records or Bulk Sale Certificates
   1. Number of certified tags attached to lot of seed and seed weight per bag
   2. Tag series numbers applied to the lot
   3. Bulk sale certificate

18.4  Reconditioning. When a lot of seed fails to meet the CCIA standards for certification, it may be reconditioned and resampled with a new lot number. The appropriate box should be checked on the request for seed certification to show that the seed has been reconditioned.