Certified Seed: What Every Grower Needs to Know
In this episode of The AIC Podcast, Rose Riby, AIC Head of Combinable Crops and Seed, and David Huish from Dalton Seeds and Vice Chair of the AIC Seed Committee join Wendy Ford, AIC Communications Manager, to discuss certified seed, what it is, what it means for growers and why it matters for the future of the UK seed industry.
We explore how certified seed provides confidence in the identity, quality, purity, germination and traceability of the seed farmers buy. We also discuss how the royalty system supports continued investment in plant breeding, helping to ensure that growers have access to the varieties and genetics needed to meet future market, disease and environmental challenges.
We cover:
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What certified seed is and how it gives growers confidence that the seed they purchase meets recognised quality standards.
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What seed certification involves, including independent checks of germination, physical purity, moisture levels and the presence of weeds or other impurities.
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How growers can weigh the upfront cost of certified seed against its wider value, including quality assurance, traceability and investment in future varieties.
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The role of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s Recommended Lists in helping farmers compare varieties, disease resistance, straw strength and market opportunities.
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Why royalties are important in supporting plant breeders’ research and development, helping to bring forward new varieties and improved genetics.
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How seed treatments can protect crops against seed-borne diseases, and why accurate application rates and independent assurance are important.
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The role of the European Seed Treatment Assurance Scheme, known as ESTA, in supporting the safe and high-quality handling of treated seed.
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How certified seed can support sustainable crop production through known germination standards, improved varieties, responsible production and more targeted use of inputs.
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Why growers should seek advice from someone who understands their farm, the seed market, variety traits, disease risks and the needs of the end market.
As Rose Riby explains, certified seed provides “confidence that what you’re purchasing in a bag is as it should be”. David Huish describes it as “trust in a bag”, reflecting the reassurance provided by independent testing, traceability and recognised quality standards.
This episode is ideal for arable farmers, growers, seed merchants, plant breeders, agronomists and anyone who wants to understand certified seed, the certification process and the role it plays in supporting crop production and continued investment in future varieties.
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Transcript
Wendy Welcome to the AIC podcast, where we share practical guidance and insight for members and help the industry understand how the agri food supply chain works. I'm Wendy Ford, I'm the AIC Communications Manager. And today we're talking certified seed, what it is, what it means for growers and the future of the industry. I'm pleased to be joined by Rose Riby, AIC Head of Combinable Crops and Seed, and David Huish from Dalton Seeds and Vice Chair of the AIC Seed Committee. Thank you both for joining me and welcome to the podcast. Let's start really simply, when you hear the term certified seed, what do you want listeners to understand straight away?
Rose Certified seed is a standard, that gives confidence that what you're purchasing in a bag is as it should be.
David Yeah, I like that. I think genetics coming from an industry, obviously hours and investment in the industry coming forward. And that's what I think certified seed is, good quality in a bag on farm for a reason. And the reason is end user market, but also the growers knowing that that seed in the bag is going to do what it says on the tin.
Rose So therefore that gives you the traceability as to what you're looking at, you know, where it's come from, you know how it's been grown. The end users, as you've just mentioned, it's safe.
David Yeah. from end user right the way through to grower. What's in a bag is going to be saying when it's in a bag. So trust is a big thing. I think it's trust in a bag, if that makes any sense.
Wendy No that makes complete sense. And that's a really good way of looking at it. So looking ahead, how important is certified seed in ensuring we continue to have the right varieties and innovation coming through?
Rose It's always been an important topic, without a doubt. Times are tough on farm and there's, there's no doubt about that. The certified seed gives you the confidence in a bag as David said, that what you're drilling is what you've asked for and expected. But what it also does, is give you a return on investment. so for every bag of certified seed that you buy, through the royalty system, There's money returning to the breeders for research and development and whatever is happening at the minute in time. I think we've got to keep looking forwards to ensure that in five years time and ten years time, we've got the varieties that we require to be able to meet the market demands that are there for us.
Wendy There is clearly pressure on farm at the moment, and and growers have choices, including farm saved seed. So how should people think about those choices in the context of the wider industry?
David Farm saved seed is a choice. I don't think anyone is saying that shouldn't be a choice. And I suppose the question is to the trade and also the wider agricultural industry industries. Do we want a UK trade in agriculture?
David Do we want to have the very
David best product on farm for farmers or with the SPS agreement coming in, is going to have the opportunity to bring more material from European easier. We think we're pretty sure, but we think so. It gives an opportunity for breeders to stop breeding in the UK if they are not feasibly profitable. What would be the point in breeders in the UK? And I think this is where the big question is what? What do we want? What do farmers want? What does the industry want? And they are huge questions for us all to try and get our heads around and understand. But for me, it's putting the best genetics in a bag
Wendy Okay, so cost is obviously a major factor. How should growers look at that decision beyond just the upfront price?
David Now we know there's issues. We know that fuel is at an all time high. Electrics. It's an all time high. Tractors absolutely everything. And people are trying to save money here and there. And do I blame them? Absolutely not. However, you can't shy away from changing varieties. We need to have the best varieties in the market that serves the point for end goals.
Rose Cost is always a difficult one. with certified seed, you've got to look at the benefits and you've got to weigh that up with the long term gain. If you're looking at a piece of paper and a number, it's quite short sighted at times. And that's why I think I said at the beginning of the podcast that there's not as much realisation or acknowledgement anymore as to the value of what certified seed means. And that isn't just value as a cost, it's value as to what that gives you and the return for the future.
David We're seeing huge differentials on farm. Y R 15 yellow rust gene, for instance, has broken down? How do we fix that? Look, we know we can spray at the moment. However, breeding wise we can breed better weeds. We can breed better barleys. We can change things easier with pressure coming in from Europe and other places on actives and sprays in general, Breeding is the answer to all these problems. Going back to what Rose said, I think a lot of growers look at that upfront cost and they're not looking at everything else behind it. They're looking at the cost of certified seed versus farm saved seed. The farm save seed, are they taking into account everything time, man hours, mobile coming down, see treatment, etc.? Or is it just about that royalty? And that's what I can't quite grasp myself now, being a farmer at home as well. I know that my uncle and I have very different opinions on this. He sort of sees the cost saving of he's not perhaps doing stuff, but some time of the year and he might want to farm save seed, which I completely agree with. However, if he's rushed around, he's busy. Then I think he calls it more into question. And I think we can be pretty honest in this conversation and say the royalties are massively different. And that has a serious impact on farm, and I don't think we can shy away from it. I think we almost need to stand up and admit it, and admit that breeders need money for R&D to bring the new varieties in.
Wendy You mentioned new varieties. What is the best way for farmers to learn about these?
David AHDB, I think is a really, really, really solid tool, especially the recommended list.
Wendy Could I just pause there for a second? And just for some of our listeners, could you explain what the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board recommended list is?
Rose So the recommended list from the AHDB this is a tool that's been widely available for farmers for many years, but what that recommended list does is, is create a level playing field for all farmers. So that side by side, they can look at group one, group two, group three and group four varieties, untreated treated. The disease scores straw strength that that goes alongside that to start making their decisions as to what the right variety is for them on farm. and obviously looking at the different groupings, there is then the potential of marketability at the end of it as well. So the recommended list is definitely a useful tool and like I say, creates a level playing field. and it's also independently tested.
Wendy Okay, so let's take a step back. What does certification actually involve?
David It's in simple terms, it's the independent quality check system that inspects and approves the seed. It ensures minimum quality standards have been reached, and it means that a high purity without excessive impurities or inert matter, and especially a good germination. So this is guaranteeing that the farmer, at the end of the day can have the confidence in its origin, but also its quality. The other thing I was thinking were saying, that its independently verified, because I think that's quite important for people to know. What this means is the seed is tested by a third party and always this is an analyst in charge or a qualified seed analyst under supervision of an analyst in charge and analyst checked germination rates, physical purity, presence of weeds, moisture, etc., etc., etc. and although they may not work for the seed producer all the time, they are answerable and reportable to the governing body. So approximately five percent of all lab samples are routinely checked by Niab, and samples are also obtained by APHA in storage in the warehouses for our site, for instance, all results then cross-checked and discrepancies between varieties are questioned.
Wendy So I guess what you're saying is the certification process is very strong around transparency and traceability. Is there anything else that the process does to support transparency traceability in the supply chain?
David Certified seed is more traceable than meat going into the UK food chain, we have so many hoops to jump through, so many checks, so much auditing that it's very, very, very important that we are clean, it's clean, it's clean at all times.
Rose If we think back, though, to the reasons why the seed marketing regulations and especially the Plant Variety and Seeds Act was put in place. It was put in place to protect the farmer to ensure that seed borne diseases were tested. For that, the seeds stayed pure, that fundamentally the farmer knew what he was buying and was protected.
Speaker So, Rose, where do seed treatments fit into this and why are they important?
Rose Like a lot of this conversation that we've had today, choice and availability of choices is again, part of it. You can choose to treat your seed and you can choose not to treat your seed. What seed treatment does though, is bring you protection. And especially if we're talking about your s p d dressings. They give you a basic level of protection, which is very important if we think back possibly thirty years. The issues that we had with such things as common bunt were huge. And it was the rise of these dressings that removed those problems.
David It's interesting the use of the word SPD. I always think so. SPD. Single. Purpose. Dressed. In fact there's no single purpose of these dressings. So let's take for instance what we use on our wheats loose smut, bunt seedling blight, Fusarium other diseases. It protects against all of this. And I think sometimes SPD can sort of imply one trick for one thing. but actually it does it a multitude of different things. And I think the fact that we're not seeing as much Fusarium as much bunt is testament to how good they work. And I think that's what we've really got to understand is there's a reason why we're not seeing this in the field. Look, don't get me wrong, possibly does slow emergence slightly. I don't think we can shy away from that. But the coverage it gives you in peace of mind. Now. biostimulants and things are coming into the trade. And some people don't want to see treatment. They want to get it out of the ground as quickly as possible. And for that, they believe untreated seeds are best. And again, as you just said, choice is a really important thing here. But we've got to remember the fundamentals of the reason why we're not seeing the problems that we are in the field is because these treatments are working. So it's very, very important to keep that in mind.
Wendy And how important is it to get application dosage? Right?
David So if rates are too low, you're not going to get the coverage of seed. If the rates are too high, you're going to potentially damage the seed. And the machines that we use are so finite and so accurate. It's really important that you are using for farm safe seed people you really trust. Now, realistically, I think there's too little being put on. Sometimes you hear rumours about half rate, etc., which is completely pointless. So in our plant we can, I can say we've got electromagnetic pulse flow meters, and they're calibrated twice a day to a couple of mm. So again, it just ensures the quality's there. And again, these things get checked. We get checked for this. So reassurance and peace of mind.
Rose It's probably a very prudent time to touch upon ESTA.
Speaker Which is the European Seed Treatment Assurance Scheme.
Rose ESTA is run by AIC. It's a voluntary scheme. and it's managed by a membership organisation. The AIC belongs to called Euro seeds. What ESTA does is ensure safety and quality. Any of these companies that are handling treated seed must follow specific protocols to maintain certification.
Wendy Okay, so that transitions really nicely into discussing sustainability. If we zoom out slightly, and look at sustainability, how does certified seeds support that?
Rose If I kick off on that one first, I don't know if you want to input as I go along. David. I think there's probably four key components, in relation to sustainable seed or sustainable crop production. So whether that's ensuring that you can target your approaches with your nitrogen fertiliser, for example, or use water more efficiently. You've also got sustainable seed production, so the seed itself is produced under systems that protect soil or use crop protection products responsibly. We've talked through already about certified seed as a tool, but that provides assured identity and purity and delivers on known germination standards. And then lastly, I think it probably supports environmental and policy goals. Sustainable seed is increasingly linked to net zero carbon reduction strategies, biodiversity enhancement for example.
Wendy And what are your thoughts, David?
David No, I think, when we talk about sustainability, I think it is such a buzzword at the moment. But also it can mean different things to different people. So I look at sustainability as in we're producing high yielding products. It can be with a good IPM. It is a benefit for grower, for environment, for end user, for everything. We're trying to produce the best quality seed, but also that end use market and yield is a huge thing. If we increase yield, we increase sustainability. And that's really important.
Wendy Just to wrap this all up, if a grower is making decisions right now, what would be your one key piece of advice?
David My piece of advice would be understand your farm, which you do, but then speak to someone who understands the trade, who understands traits, who understands the seed market. Because things like BYDV things like markets, yellow rust. we're forgetting about septoria in wheat. These things are such buzzwords in one year and fallen off the shelf the next. Yellow rust is particularly prevalent at the moment, and people are looking at it. Are people's eyes being taken off septoria? Absolutely. If we have a bad septoria year, it's going to be devastating because we're looking at some varieties with high yellow rust scores than septoria. Can we treat for yellow rust? Yes. Is it as easy to treat septoria? No. So it goes back to this thing I said earlier is speak to someone who is a seed seller and who knows seed, not just an order taker. Understand your product. Understand what you are selling and where. So go to someone who understands a product, who understands the industry to give you the best quality advice you can on farm.
Wendy That's great advice. And Rose, what's the one thing you'd really like listeners to take away from this conversation?
Rose it's all a balance. There's no right or wrong answer throughout any of this process. You all know your own farms. You all know your own farming systems. And likewise, the people that you are dealing with along that process, whether it be end users, or merchants in particular, there's a place for everything. And it's understanding that. And as much as anything, I'm probably going to link into what David just said. And it's really important to ensure that you get the advice that's right for you and your objectives. At the end of the day, supporting a certified seed industry, without a doubt is important. and that's what's going to ensure that we've got the varieties and the genetics going forward.
Wendy That's great. Thank you It's been a really useful discussion. I think what's clear is that certified seed isn't just about what's in the bag today. It's about confidence now and investment for the future.
Wendy Thanks for listening. And if you haven't already, please make sure you follow and subscribe. Thank you.
Wendy Members can find further updates, guidance and resources on the AIC website and through our member communications. Thank you for listening, and we'll be back with another episode soon. If you found this useful, please share it with a colleague and check the show notes for links of definitions. And again, thank you for joining us.
Wendy The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect any organisation they represent. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Listener discretion is advised. Thank you.
Author
Wendy Ford
Wendy Ford is Communications Manager at AIC, creating and overseeing the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media.
