PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 99-04-096.
Title of Rule: Seed certification and standards.
Purpose: Response to industry request to increase seed certification fees for buckwheat, chickpea, field pea, lentil, millet, soybean, sorghum, and small grains, and to revise standards for certain crops.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 15.49.310 and 15.49.370(3).
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.49 RCW.
Summary: Proposal increases seed certification fees for buckwheat, chickpea, field pea, lentil, millet, soybean, sorghum, and small grains, and changes standards for field pea and chickpea.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The fee increases will reflect current costs of operating the portion of the seed certification program delegated by the director to the Washington State Crop Improvement Association. Standards revisions are needed due to changes in production practices and available varieties.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Graydon Robinson, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Seed Program, 21 North 1st Avenue, Yakima, (509) 575-2750.
Name of Proponent: Washington State Crop Improvement Association, private; and Washington State Department of Agriculture, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The proposal is in response to industry request to increase seed certification fees for buckwheat, chickpea, field pea, lentil, millet, soybean, sorghum, and small grains. The fee increases reflect the operating costs of the portion of the seed certification program delegated by the director to the Washington State Crop Improvement Association.
The proposal also, at industry request, makes revisions to the seed certification standards for field pea. The changes clarify the differences in crop history requirements for certification of Austrian peas and spring peas. This is in response to the recent development and release by Washington State University of an improved Austrian pea variety that growers desire to certify. Prior to this release, only spring pea varieties were certified.
The proposal also, at industry request, makes revisions to the seed certification standards for chickpea. The change reduces the land history requirements for registered and certified class fields from three years to two years. This change is based on a recommendation by the primary chickpea plant breeder at Washington State University.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: Increases seed certification fees and revises certain seed certification standards.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The fees in question are for services provided by the Washington State Crop Improvement Association (WSCIA), a nonprofit organization, through a memorandum of agreement with the Washington State Department of Agriculture. This working relationship has been in effect continuously since the early 1950's. WSCIA operates as an independent entity, without any benefits or protection provided by the state of Washington, and must retain the ability to adjust their fees (within the restrictions set by Initiative 601) to reflect changes in operating expenses, in order to remain in business and continue to provide service to the seed industry.
Participation in the seed certification program in Washington is not required by the State Seed Act or any regulation. The fees in question are for inspection services that are entirely voluntary, in that it is possible to grow, condition, and market quality seeds that are not included in the seed certification program. For example: 94% of the acreage inspected by WSCIA is wheat and barley. Approximately 25-35% of the wheat and barley grain crop in Washington is planted with seed that did not go through the seed certification process.
The proposal does not place a disproportionate impact on small business. All growers and conditioners in the Washington seed industry who choose to participate in the seed certification program meet the definition of a small business. All growers and conditioners pay the same rate per acre or cwt., regardless of the size of the business, and when last surveyed felt that fee increases within the restrictions set by Initiative 601 would cause an insignificant impact on their businesses. The proposed fee increase would cost the average grower about $20.63, and the average conditioner $185.03 per year.
The proposed fee increase is at the request of the Washington seed industry through its primary organizations: Washington-North Idaho Seed Association, Washington Seed Council, and WSCIA board of directors.
Section 201, chapter 403, Laws of 1995, does not apply to this rule adoption. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency in section 201.
Hearing Location: Washington State Department of Agriculture, 21 North 1st Avenue, Yakima, WA 98902, on July 28, 1999, at 10:00 a.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Cathy Jensen by July 21, 1999, TDD (360) 902-1996.
Submit Written Comments to: Graydon Robinson, Program Manager, Washington State Department of Agriculture Seed Program, 21 North 1st Avenue, Yakima, WA 98902, fax (509) 454-4395, by July 28, 1999, at 5:00 p.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: August 31, 1999.
June 23, 1999
Julie C. Sandberg
Assistant Director
OTS-2938.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 98-12-032, filed 5/28/98, effective 6/28/98)
WAC 16-316-474
Buckwheat--Chickpea--Field
pea--Lentil--Millet--Soybean--Sorghum--Small grain--Application and fees.
(1) An application for seed certification with application fee, field inspection fee, and late application fee (if due) for each field shall be filed by or for each grower with Washington State Crop Improvement Association, Inc., the certifying agency for seeds of buckwheat, chickpea (garbanzo beans), field pea, lentil, millet, soybean, sorghum and small grains.
(2) Due dates:
(a) Buckwheat - June 1
(b) Field pea - June 1
(c) Chickpea - June 1
(d) Lentil - June 1
(e) Millet - June 1
(f) Soybean - July 1
(g) Sorghum - July 15
(h) Small grains - June 1 for both winter varieties and spring varieties.
(i) After due date, an application with late application fee may be accepted for service.
(3) Fees:
| (a) Application fee per variety per grower . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| (b) Field inspection fee per acre except millet and hybrid sorghum . . . . . . . . . . . . |
(( |
| (c) Millet - first acre . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| - each additional acre . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| (d) Hybrid sorghum - first acre . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| - each additional acre . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| (e) Special field inspection fee per acre . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| (f) Late application fee . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| (g) Reinspection fee . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| minimum for each field which did not pass field inspection
plus $ 0.40 for each acre over twenty-five. The reinspection
fee for isolation requirements only for a field of any size is . . . . . . . . . . . . (( |
|
| (h) Final certification fee . . . . . . . . . . . . | (( |
| per cwt. of clean seed sampled, which shall be charged to | |
| conditioning plant, or production fee . . . . . . . . . . . . | $0.105 |
| per cwt. of production from fields inspected which is utilized for seed, which shall be charged to the grower or the final seller prior to brokerage, retail sale, sale to plant not approved for conditioning certified seed, or transshipment out-of-state. | |
| (i) Sampling fee . . . . . . . . . . . . | $0.105 |
| per cwt. of clean seed sampled, with minimum charge of ten dollars per sample, which shall be charged to conditioning plant in lieu of mechanical sampling. | |
(5) Harvest before field inspection causes forfeitures of both the application and field inspection fees, and completion of certification.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.310 and 15.49.370(3). 98-12-032, § 16-316-474, filed 5/28/98, effective 6/28/98; 97-16-026, § 16-316-474, filed 7/29/97, effective 8/29/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.310. 96-14-091, § 16-316-474, filed 7/2/96, effective 8/2/96. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.310 and 15.49.370(3). 95-22-037 (Order 5087), § 16-316-474, filed 10/25/95, effective 11/25/95. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.49 RCW. 94-12-046 (Order 5045), § 16-316-474, filed 5/27/94, effective 6/27/94; 93-24-043 (Order 5019), § 16-316-474, filed 11/23/93, effective 12/24/93; 92-13-027 (Order 2093), § 16-316-474, filed 6/9/92, effective 7/10/92; 90-12-098 (Order 2041), § 16-316-474, filed 6/5/90, effective 7/6/90; 89-11-078 (Order 2005), § 16-316-474, filed 5/22/89; 85-11-004 (Order 1851), § 16-316-474, filed 5/2/85. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.310, 15.49.370 and 15.49.400. 83-11-031 (Order 1798), § 16-316-474, filed 5/16/83. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.49 RCW. 81-15-032 (Order 1744), § 16-316-474, filed 7/10/81; 78-03-110 (Order 1563), § 16-316-474, filed 3/1/78, effective 4/1/78; Order 1458, § 16-316-474, filed 5/13/76; Order 1366, § 16-316-474, filed 6/12/74; Order 1312, § 16-316-474, filed 4/24/73; Order 1254, § 16-316-474, filed 4/13/72, effective 5/14/72.]
(1) Field pea - land, isolation, and field standards:
| LAND | ISOLATION | FIELD | ||
| CLASS | MINIMUM YEARS |
MINIMUM FEET |
OFF-TYPE MAXIMUM PLANTS/ACRE |
OTHER CROP MAXIMUM PLANTS/ACRE |
| Foundation | 5* | 100** | None found | None found*** |
| Registered | 3* | 100** | 10 | None found*** |
| Certified | 2* | 25** | 20 | None found*** |
| ** | Reduce to three feet from fields producing a certified class of the same variety. In addition, each field pea field for certification must be isolated from small grain fields by three feet. To prevent mechanical field mixing of swathed field pea seedcrop, the planting of small grain between field pea fields, except for three feet of isolation, is recommended. |
| (( |
MINIMUM Austrian pea |
|||
| 10)) | |||
|
|||
| *** | For spring peas, no Austrian pea or rye is permitted. For Austrian peas, no rye is permitted. |
(2) Field pea - seed standards:
| CLASS | OFF-TYPE MAXIMUM % |
PURE SEED MINIMUM % |
INERT MAXIMUM % |
OTHER CROP MAXIMUM % |
WEED MAXIMUM % |
GERMINATION
MINIMUM % |
| Foundation | None found | 99.00 | 1.00 | None found | None found | 85 |
| Registered | None found | 99.00 | 1.00 | None found | 0.25** | 85 |
| Certified | 0.03 | 99.00 | 1.00 | 0.10* | 0.25** | 85 |
| * | For spring peas, no Austrian pea or rye is permitted. For Austrian peas, no rye is permitted. |
| ** | Other tolerance for weed seed: |
OBJECTIONABLE WEED SEED MAXIMUM |
|
| Registered | 1/lb |
| Certified | 2/lb |
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.49 RCW. 94-12-046 (Order 5045), § 16-316-717, filed 5/27/94, effective 6/27/94; 93-24-043 (Order 5019), § 16-316-717, filed 11/23/93, effective 12/24/93; 92-13-027 (Order 2093), § 16-316-717, filed 6/9/92, effective 7/10/92; 81-15-032 (Order 1744), § 16-316-717, filed 7/10/81.]
(1) Chickpea - land, isolation, and field standards:
| Land Requirements (1) (minimum years) |
Isolation (min feet) | Off-type (plants/acre) | Other Crop (2) (plants/acre) |
Noxious (3) Weeds |
Ascochyta Blight (4) (plants/acre) |
|
| Class | ||||||
| Foundation | 3 | 100 | none found | none found | none found | none found |
| Registered | (( |
50 | 5 | none found | none found | none found |
| Certified | (( |
25 | 10 | none found | none found | 10 |
| (1) | Shall not have been planted to chickpeas for three years for foundation class, and two years for registered and certified class, unless the previous crop is of the same variety and passed certification field standards of the same or higher generation. |
| (2) | Inseparable other crops. |
| (3) | Prohibited, restricted, and other weeds difficult to separate must be controlled. |
| (4) | None found in all classes of nontolerant varieties. Planting seedstock shall be treated with Thiabendazole (2-(4-triazoyl) benzimidazole. |
| Foundation and registered class fields must have two field inspections. One at bloom stage and one at late pod stage. Certified class fields must have one inspection at bloom stage plus another at pod stage if ascochyta blight is observed during the bloom stage inspection. |
| Pure seed | Inert | Other crop | Weed seed | Germination | |
| Class (7) | |||||
| Foundation | 99.00% | 1.0% | none found | none found | 85% |
| Registered | 99.00% | 1.0% | none found | none found | 85% |
| Certified | 99.00% | 1.0% | 2 seeds/lb (5) | 2 seeds/lb (6) | 85% |
| (5) | None found for Austrian pea, rye, or vetch. |
| (6) | None found for nightshade berries or prohibited noxious weed seeds. |
| (7) | All classes shall be treated with Thiabendazole (2-(4-thiazoyl) benzimidazole at the labeled rate.) |
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.005, 15.49.310 and 15.49.370 (3) and (4). 95-22-036 (Order 5086), § 16-316-727, filed 10/25/95, effective 11/25/95. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.49 RCW. 94-12-046 (Order 5045), § 16-316-727, filed 5/27/94, effective 6/27/94; 93-24-043 (Order 5019), § 16-316-727, filed 11/23/93, effective 12/24/93; 92-13-027 (Order 2093), § 16-316-727, filed 6/9/92, effective 7/10/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.49.370. 82-08-034 (Order 1758), § 16-316-727, filed 3/31/82, effective 5/1/82.]