The business of cleaning seed wheat could be especially complicated this year because so many farmers are scrambling to find seed. According to the Kansas Crop Improvement Association, most purchased wheat seed cannot legally be commercially cleaned this year. Custom seed cleaners should be aware that the wheat their customers are bringing to be cleaned may put them in violation of the law.

Farmer-saved seed can be cleaned and planted back as long as it comes from the farmer’s own production. However, the quality of wheat in many parts of Kansas is such that many (if not most) farmers have sold all their wheat, not saving any for planting. If they choose to circumvent the seed laws and buy uncertified seed from another farmer, any seed cleaners that handle this seed are at risk of becoming entangled in an unlawful situation.

“Seed cleaners should be suspicious of seed that seems too good to be true for the area,” said Daryl Strouts, executive director of the Kansas Crop Improvement Association. “A seed cleaner’s customers may look the same, but because of the weather this year, the situation is different.”

Most of the popular wheat varieties are protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA), a federal law that prohibits the sale of unauthorized seed.  PVPA allows farmers to save seed from their own production for their own planting.  However, selling such saved seed is a violation of the act.  Likewise, cleaning illegally sold seed is also an infringement of the rights of the owner of the variety.

The best course of action a seed cleaner can take is to only clean seed when he knows what variety it is and that it was produced on the farmer’s own farm for the farmer’s own use.  Beyond that, Strouts said seed cleaners can protect their interests by asking all of their customers to sign a statement affirming that they have the right to save and clean the seed and will hold harmless and defend the cleaner against any legal action.

Such a form is available on the KCIA web site at www.kscrop.org/manuals.aspx.