Treated seed lawOnce planting is complete, soybean farmers may be tempted to combine their remaining treated seed with soybeans still in the bin from last year’s harvest. But doing so would not be a good idea.
Dwain Ford, a United Soybean Board farmer-leader from Illinois, explains why.
“It is illegal to put treated seeds in the United States into commercialized soybeans and take them to the elevator. It is unacceptable not only in the United States but worldwide as well.”
He adds, “It’s important that U.S. soybean farmers use and know the laws here in the United States for disposing of treated seeds and that they’re very conscious in ensuring that those are disposed of in the proper, legal manner.”
Exports remain very important to U.S. soybean farmers’ bottom lines. Providing high-quality, contamination-free soy shipments helps U.S. farmers maintain access in those valuable markets and remain the world’s preferred soybean supplier.
Soybean seed treated with crop-protection products have become more popular in recent years, but it has also become more important for farmers to properly dispose of leftover seed. Some international customers forbid the presence of any treated seed in soybean shipments and a rejected shipment could cost U.S. soybean farmers millions of dollars.
“I believe that U.S. soybean farmers are very conscious about this and do a very good job in segregating and keeping those treated seeds out of commercial soybeans,” Ford adds. “However, customers can reject a whole shipload of our soybeans over just a few soybeans that have been treated, and that could cost all of us millions of dollars.”
For more information on soybean exports and the importance of maintaining international market access, visit www.unitedsoybean.org.