COOPERATIVE VEGETABLE SEED PROGRAM 
Certi-Seed Service 
Successful gardening is dependent, 
to a large extent, upon the character 
of seed used. Through experience 
farmers have come to recognize the 
need for a cooperative vegetable seed 
service for more dependable crop 
production of the desired type and 
economy in the purchase of their basic 
and most important raw material — 
seeds. 
Farmer Ownership and Control 
The Eastern States Farmers’ Ex¬ 
change is a non-stock, non-profit 
cooperative organization, owned and 
controlled by the farmers it serves. 
The only requirement for member¬ 
ship is participation and each member 
benefits in proportion to his pur¬ 
chases. Through a large volume of 
business farmers have accumulated 
adequate capital, developed ample 
facilities and employed trained per¬ 
sonnel to carry out the sole purpose — 
service to its members. 
Method of Procedure 
Information is assembled from pro¬ 
ducers, marketing agencies, process¬ 
ors and consumers to ascertain the 
types of the various vegetables pre¬ 
ferred because of their superiority 
in production, distribution, manufac¬ 
ture and consumption. 
Extensive Trials in Many Places 
Seed performance is observed by 
comparing the most promising vari¬ 
eties, strains and seed sources in order 
to determine their adaptation to the 
principal vegetable producing regions, 
trueness to the desired types, pro¬ 
ductiveness and resistance to or free¬ 
dom from disease. 
Seed Improvement Is Thorough 
Plant breeding operations are per¬ 
formed by trained specialists working 
in cooperation with State Experiment 
Stations and the United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture. In-breeding 
purifies strains so that they come true 
with uniformity; hybridization in¬ 
stills extreme vigor; cross-breeding 
creates new lines of the desired type; 
progeny reproduction affords pure- 
line selections; and mass production 
assures economy in the development 
of a seed supply with this type of 
inheritance for dependable perform¬ 
ance. 
Seed Is Treated to Control Disease 
Disease control, through a complete 
schedule of seed treatment, is per¬ 
formed at its source before the seeds 
are shipped because here the deadly 
chemicals and delicate heat treat¬ 
ments are most effectively applied, 
accurately controlled and economi¬ 
cally done. 
The Exchange Keeps a Complete 
Record of Each Lot of Seed 
Each lot of seed distributed will be 
identified by a brief discriptive name 
