The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that a Salem, Oregon, seed company has paid USDA $1,125 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed Act.

The company, Mountain View Seeds Ltd., settled the case in agreement with officials from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges.

The case resolved by the settlement involved three shipments of colonial bentgrass seed and tall fescue seed made to Virginia.

The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were:

• false test date on label;

• failure to supply complete records;

• false labeling in regard to noxious-weed seed; and,

• failure to use proper nomenclature on a seed label.

AMS administers the act with the help of state seed officials. Seed regulatory officials in Virginia cooperated with AMS in making the investigations. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.