At its Jan. 17 meeting in Little Rock, the Arkansas Plant Board Seed Committee sent the following recommendations to the full board.
In seed of wheat, soybeans, rice and cotton, the label must contain the commonly accepted name of the kind and variety of each agricultural seed component in excess of 5 percent of the whole and the percentage by weight of each. Variety identification is not required for wheat seed labeled “for cover crop.”
The name of a kind and variety of seed and any descriptive terms pertaining thereto shall be correctly represented in any labeling of the seed. The name of each variety of agricultural or vegetable seed is the name determined in accordance with the following considerations:
Name of variety. The name of each variety of agricultural or vegetable seed is the name determined in accordance with the following considerations:
(a) The variety name shall represent a subdivision of a kind, which is characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed, or other characters by which it can be differentiated from other sorts of the same kind.
(b) The name of a new variety shall be the name given by the originator or discoverer of the variety, except that in the event the originator or discoverer of a new unnamed variety, at the time seed of the variety is first introduced into channels of commerce of the United States for sale to the public, cannot or chooses not to name the variety, the name of the variety shall be the first name under which the seed is introduced into such commerce.
(c) The variety name shall not be misleading. The same variety name shall not be assigned to more than one variety of the same kind of seed.
Add definition of brand: As used in these regulations, “brand” means a word, mark or picture representing a trademark or a term taken from a trademark which indicates the owner, originator, or labeler of the seed and does not indicate the genetic identity of the seed.
Labeling Brands: When agricultural seed is labeled with a brand, trademark, or term taken from a brand or trademark, the seed label must clearly identify the term with the word “brand” and as being other than part of the variety name.
Example: When both a brand and a variety name are stated, the terms must be shown by stating the brand name, followed by the term “brand.”
For crops that can be sold as “variety not stated,” the seed must be labeled in the following order: The brand name, the word “brand,” the kind name and the words “variety not stated.”
List of varieties/brands sold in or into Arkansas: For all crop kinds required to be labeled by variety name, each company marketing those kinds within or into Arkansas shall provide a list of the varieties and any associated brand names to the Plant Board Seed Division, before those varieties are distributed for commercial purposes within or into the state. (This is not intended to require any genetic information or any fees.)