GENERAL

The provisions of this IM shall apply to seed and seed mixtures defined in the plans and Section 4169 of the Standard Specifications.

ACCEPTANCE

Seed

Seeds shall be furnished and labeled in accordance with laws relating to agriculture seeds and the fuels and regulations of Iowa Department of Agriculture. The exception being the information on the tag or label shall be mechanically printed. Each unit of seed furnished shall have a label or tag containing the name and address of the person or company who labeled said seed, kind and variety, percent purity, percent germination, percent hard seed, if present, and date tested. The test date to determine the percentage of germination shall have been completed within a nine-month period prior to seed application exclusive of the calendar month in which the test was completed (for example, seed tested 8/5/12 shall be applied by 5/31/13. If seed is to be applied after 5/31/13, then seed requires a new test).

Prior to seeding, entire lots of seed to be used should be inspected for damage due to rough handling, exposure to moisture or rodents. Evidence of contamination, or other reasons which would indicate the quality of seed is questionable, should be considered cause for holding until the lots or bags in question have been tested before use. Routine monitoring samples for testing will not be required.

If the seed does not comply with minimum requirements for purity and germination, and such seed cannot be obtained, the Engineer may approve use of the seed on a basis of pure live seed (Germination times Purity equals Pure Live Seed) or may authorize a suitable substitution for the seed specified.

Seed Mixing

· On-site Mixing (rural stabilizing crop seeding only):

Prior to seeding operations, the Engineer shall be provided opportunity to inspect seed tickets and witness the mixing of seed varieties for compliance with requirements of the contract requirements. Contractor shall provide weighing equipment or evidence of the weights of pre-bagged seed to demonstrate required application rates.

· Off-site Mixing:

Seed mixtures certified by an approved source may be incorporated into the project. Each shipment to a project shall be accompanied by proper report and certification documents described in this IM. Seed bags shall be tagged with bag weight and lot number corresponding to certification documents.

Each shipment to a project should be inspected for damage, loss or contamination, and sufficiency to demonstrate required application rate. Bags shall arrive onsite from seed conditioner in sealed/unopened bags.

APPROVED SOURCES

Seed mixture from seed conditioners approved by the Iowa Crop Improvement Association may be furnished to Iowa DOT projects on a certification basis.

Seed conditioners approved by other state’s Crop Improvement Associations may furnish seed mixtures on a certification basis.

Seed shall be mixed by an approved seed conditioner as described in this IM, but the seed is not required to come from an approved seed conditioner.

CERTIFICATION DOCUMENTS

Certified seed conditioner shall furnish with each shipment a certified seed mixture report and certification sheet (see Appendix A). Each mixture report shall identify the county, project number, contractor or subcontractor, type of seed mixture. Blank forms are available at the Office of Materials website.

Each certification sheet shall be signed by a designated responsible company representative.

One copy of the above described documents shall be forwarded to the project engineer at the time of shipment to the project. In addition, one copy shall be sent to the District Materials Engineer in the district in which the project is being administered.

Certified seed mixture reports and seed lot test information for seeds furnished to Department projects shall be kept by the approved seed conditioner for a minimum of three years.

APPROVED SOURCE MONITORING

The District Materials Engineer shall be responsible for establishing and performing a supplier monitoring program at least once per year.

The following items shall be evaluated during a monitor inspection and documented on a Seed Monitor Report form (see Appendix B):

· Project number/customer

· Certification date and certifying scale company of all mixing scales

· Intended seed mixture

· Verification of seed varieties, germination percentage, purity percentage, PLS percentage, date tested, and lot number

· Verification of weighed seed increments and bags

· Labeling and certification/documentation