Hall, New York
April 2, 2009
This letter was sent to Seedway
customers to communicate information on the inquiry by the New
York State Department of Agriculture & Markets and Attorney
General's office regarding the certification and tagging of
small grain seed conditioned at Seedway's Agriculver,
Mecklenburg location
Seedway Customers:
Seedway has been involved
in resolving an inquiry by the New York State Department of
Agriculture & Markets and the Attorney General’s Office
regarding the certification and tagging of small grain seed
conditioned at Seedway’s Agriculver, Mecklenburg location. This
matter has now been resolved with a settlement agreement with
the agencies.
This matter involved a small quantity of small grain seed
originating from the Mecklenburg facility. These issues are not
illustrative of the bulk of Seedway’s operations and represented
less than one percent of our business during the applicable
period. No charges were ever filed against Seedway, and we
self-reported the facts that led to this inquiry to Ag & Markets
soon after they became known to management in the summer of
2007. Seedway had already voluntarily given up its self-tagging
privileges at Mecklenburg and had requested the New York State
seed certification officer to take all certified samples for
laboratory analysis before issuing certification tags. Seedway
management was further unaware that some of the seed was not
properly being labeled for germination issues.
Upon learning of mislabeling issues at Mecklenburg, Seedway
conducted its own internal investigation and all information was
promptly shared with Ag & Markets. During its investigation,
Seedway learned that approximately 22,000 units of small grain
seed were mislabeled and sold without either having supporting
laboratory reports for germination or were ineligible for
certification due to the mixture of seed classes. Nearly half of
these units (Trical triticale) -- while meeting all physical and
germination requirements – were not properly certified due to
the mixture of seed classes, which occurred prior to Seedway’s
purchase of Agriculver.
Seedway fully cooperated with Ag & Markets and the Attorney
General in their investigation and provided full access to all
employees and records. This inquiry was isolated to the
Mecklenburg facility; and individuals involved in the
mislabeling no longer work for Seedway. Seedway has a long
history of compliance with New York seed law and remains
committed to complying with all applicable laws in the future.
Seedway has already paid the penalties and costs to the Attorney
General as required by the settlement and will continue good
faith efforts to try to identify end-consumers of this seed to
make further restitution. In May 2008, Seedway voluntarily
initiated its own restitution program for the involved seed lots
and has already refunded a substantial portion of the
restitution amount to growers known to have acquired any of this
seed. Further, at that time, Seedway voluntarily disposed of any
of the suspect seed lots still on hand. Seedway is committed to
making full restitution and will continue to attempt to identify
the lot numbers and time of shipments to dealers who purchased
the seed. Should the growers not be found, Seedway will forward
any unclaimed restitution to the New York State Abandoned Funds
account.
Seedway management had no knowledge of the misdeeds occurring at
Mecklenburg and certainly never intended to engage in any
deceptive activity or mislabeling. As soon as management became
aware of the issues, it commenced an internal investigation and
reported these results to Ag & Markets. None of the mislabeling
occurred after the date that management was apprised of the
problems.
Seedway values its reputation for integrity in the seed
industry. We take seed labeling, certification and compliance
with all state and federal seed laws seriously. Seedway’s
investment in testing and certifying seeds exceeds several
hundred thousand dollars each year. Responsible seed companies,
such as Seedway, strive to ensure labeling accuracy. We believe
that Seedway’s record of conformity with standard testing and
labeling practices for over 45 years has been exemplary. We
deeply regret this incident and the damage that it may have done
to your confidence in us. Seedway is committed to deserving the
trust that you have in our products and our reputation.
We thank you for your patronage and confidence in Seedway and
Agriculver. We strive daily to serve your seed needs in a
professional and honest manner. Should you have any questions or
concerns, please contact me at 1-800-836-3710.
Sincerely yours,
Don Wertman
Chief Operating Officer |
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