AMS No. 222-12

Nadine Wilkins (202)720-8998

Nadine.wilkins@ams.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced that OreGro Seeds Inc., Albany, Ore., has paid $3,375 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed Act.

This settlement resolves five cases, which involved two shipments of annual ryegrass seed, two shipments of perennial ryegrass seed, and one shipment of tall fescue seed to Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. The shipment to Louisiana was subsequently reshipped to Tennessee. The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were:

-false labeling of varietal purity, other crop seed, and germination percentages;

-failure to label the presence of noxious-weed seeds;

-misleading lot representation as to variety;

-failure to label as a mixture; and

-failure to keep or supply required records.

AMS administers the Federal Seed Act with the assistance of state seed officials. The investigation was completed through the joint efforts of AMS and seed regulatory officials in Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.