Illinois Crop tour highlights expansion

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A major expansion of the Illinois Crop Improvement Association laboratory facilities as part of its ongoing commitment to growth and service is complete.

The new expansion features an additional 11,380 square feet of laboratory and larger greenhouse, nearly doubling the size of the facility. ICIA also purchased an additional four acres in Interstate Research Park.

ICIA provides unbiased third-party services that can be used to confidently and transparently produce improved seeds and grains.

ICIA certifies seed for varietal purity and identity. Information concerning germination and mechanical purity, such as the percent of inert matter and percent weed seed, must comply with state and federal seed laws.

Certification is a multistep process that begins with the proper introduction of new varieties or lines to the system. All laboratory, bulk transfers, field inspection, seed source and limited-generation requirements must be met before tags or certificates are issued.

“The new addition is driven primarily by the seed laboratory. As the consolidations in the seed industry occurred, we took a look outside of the corn, soybean, wheat and oat row crops that Illinois is famous for and said we can also apply seed-testing methodologies to almost anything that’s in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rules,” said Doug Miller, ICIA CEO.

“So, we just started slowly building the number of species we work with. We categorized them into turf and forage, vegetable, flour and then the row crops that we’re famous for.”

As seed companies of traditional crops began to consolidate, those companies also expanded their own labs to conduct their own seed quality testing.

“They would still need to send certification samples, but since seed certification is a voluntary program, we only would see the seed samples that were for international shipment,” Miller said.

“I would say our No. 1 customer are seed companies, family-owned seed companies, independent seed companies, seed dealers that do no have access to a large lab at a large company.”

The expansion into testing other seeds along with row crops has been ongoing for the past 15 years at the facility.

Miller said the diversification over time was necessitated to increase the revenue stream and “utilize the talents of our registered seed technologists.”

“We have three on staff and I think the last count I saw there are 112 registered seed technologists in the U.S.,” he said.

Registered seed technologists sign official seed analysis reports. To make it an official test for seeds to be sold, it must be signed by a registered seed technologist.

Improved Seed Flow

The new addition is designed to improve sample flow from when the seed enters the building through to the final certification.

“Our samples come in, progress through the lab and then out through the middle of the building. So, it’s just one direction,” said Steve Beals, ICIA registered seed technologist and seed laboratory director, during a recent open house and tour.

“Prior to January of this year, our samples would come in the building, they would just scatter and moved from area to area. So, it’s definitely a big improvement.

“It’s allowed our company to have more room and expand, and it allows us as a business to offer more services. We have more room to be able to take on those extra services.”

Testing

The seeds are tested with multiple goals in mind.

“If I’m a seed producer, I want to test the seed to make sure that I have a good-quality product that I can sell to customers. Whether I’m selling to an end-user or I’m selling it to someone who’s going to move that seed further down the line and sell it, I want to make sure that I’m providing a good-quality seed,” Beals said.

“Some seeds are sold on contracts. I have to make sure that I meet those contract requirements for that seed.

“If I’m going to be a seed buyer, I want to make sure that I’m purchasing good quality seeds. So, I might send it into a lab and have them test the seed to make sure that what I am purchasing is actually going meet whatever needs I have, whether that be that I’m using it for my own purposes or if I’m selling it or trying to move that seed on someone else.

“The last reason is basically for regulatory reasons. There are different regulatory labs in each state associated with the seed control officials. They’ll pull samples and check that seed compared to that seed tag or that label that’s affixed to that seed to make sure that that seed complies with that label.

“If it’s not, then there’s different recourses of action that can be taken. They may stop sale of the seed, they may issue fines, and if it’s a repeat offender, they may even pull their dealer license in extreme cases.”

“We receive multiple shipments daily from FedEx, UPS, USPS, plus walk-in customers who drop off their samples,” said Jessica Chenoweth, sample receiving and sample entry lead.

“When samples arrive for seed laboratory services, they are unpacked, sorted according to any included paperwork and lined up in the order they are received. Samples for the identity-preserved brand lab are taken to their department and entered separately.

“Seed lab and field services combined receive approximately 60,000 samples annually. Some of those samples require multiple testing. Seed lab alone actually completes just under 90,000 tests each year. Depending on the time of year, we will have a few samples delivered, or we may have multiple carts of samples in line for entry.”

Field Services

Seed certification begins with a field inspection.

“This season, we manage 42 field inspectors that work remotely and seasonally out of their homes during the field season to perform inspections,” said Zach Duray, ICIA field services department director.

“We primarily inspect small grains, corn and soybeans, assessing for varietal purity and isolation standards, but will do other inspections, as well.”

ICIA has several accreditations, including North American Invasive Species Management Association and National Seed Health System field inspectors for specific crops.

“Through the North American Invasive Species Management Association, Illinois Crop conducts field forage inspections, inspecting over 34,000 last year of corn, soybeans and wheat,” Duray said.

Greenhouse

Construction of the 100-by-30-foot greenhouse was completed late last year and is kept between 70 and 80 degrees year-round.

The greenhouse is used primarily for herbicide bioassay testing — seedling spray and seed inhibition.

“For seedling spray, we grow corn or soybeans out in 10-by-20-inch flats on our greenhouse bench and spray a piloted herbicide solution over the flat at the seedling stage,” Duray said.

“The vast majority of the tests that we do in this greenhouse are herbicide bioassays. However, there are some grow-out observational tests that we can do that give us valuable information about a specific seed sample.”