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Seeds, Inc. 



P.O. Box S66 Phone (509) 2M-2S48 



Tekoa, Washington 990334)866 FAX (609) 234-6464 



Processor* Of Quality Kentucky Bluegraae Seed 



May 19, 1994 



Honorable Charles Stenholm 



Chairman 



Department Operations and Nutrition Subcommittee 



Room 1301 Longworth House Office Building 



Washington, DC 2051S 



Dear Congressman Stenholm' 



Seeds, Inc. is a grower owned seed company that specializes in the production, 

 processing, and marketing of Kentucky bhiegrass. The company operates facilities in 

 Washington and Idaho. It handles proprietary as well as common Kentucky bluegrasses. 

 Its primary production base is in the non-irrigated areas of Eastern Washington and North 

 Idaho. 



We have a major objection to the implementation of H R. 2927, the Plant Variety 

 Protection Act Amendments of 1993, as prepared. The amendments as written would 

 prohibit the sale of seed of a protected variety unless it meets certification standards and 

 can thus be identified by variety name. It would make it illegal to sell seed of protected 

 varieties that fail to meet the standards for varietal certification even though the seed 

 meets, or exceeds, the State and Federal seed laws. This would make the seed 

 unmarketable. We strongly support the revision of these amendments to include the VNS 

 labeling allowance for grasses, alfalfa, and clover as agreed to by the Senate version of the 

 amendments. 



Due to weather variability we have less control over the factors that impact quality in the 

 final seed product. Thus we cannot guaranty that a major portion of our production will 

 fall within the parameters established for varietal certification. We have a greater portion 

 of our product that falls outside of the premium standards required for certification. We 

 must retain the option of marketing this non-premium material as uncertified or "Variety 

 Not Stated" seed. There is a legitimate market for this quality of seed, and in fact the 

 market currently demands access to this material. Full adherence to this component of the 

 amendments would require that the growers destroy this seed, putting an undue financial 

 burden on them for not complying with varietal certification requirements through no fault 

 of their own. 



